Yes. The other way to require 5.8 is to write:

use 5.8.0;

The problem with that is that v-strings (numbers with multiple dots) don't exist in Perl prior to 5.6.0. That means that instead of a nice message telling you to upgrade to 5.8 you get a syntax error. Check out what happens if you try to use just 5.8:

$ perl -e 'use 5.8'
Perl v5.800.0 required (did you mean v5.008?)--this is only v5.8.0, st
+opped at -e line 1.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at -e line 1.
[download]

-sam

PS: I cover this topic in greater depth in my just-published book, Writing Perl Modules for CPAN. Buy a copy and support the artist of this message!