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1 | If you read this file _as_is_, just ignore the equal signs on the left. |
2 | This file is written in the POD format (see [.POD]PERLPOD.POD;1) which is | |
3 | specially designed to be readable as is. | |
fb73857a | 4 | |
b4bc034f GS |
5 | =head1 NAME |
6 | ||
7 | README.vms - Configuring, building, testing, and installing perl on VMS | |
8 | ||
9 | =head1 SYNOPSIS | |
10 | ||
11 | To configure, build, test, and install perl on VMS: | |
12 | ||
13 | @ Configure | |
14 | mms | |
15 | mms test | |
16 | mms install | |
17 | ||
18 | mmk may be used in place of mms in the last three steps. | |
19 | ||
20 | =head1 DESCRIPTION | |
21 | ||
22 | =head2 Important safety tip | |
97abc6ad | 23 | |
3a385817 | 24 | The build and install procedures have changed significantly from the 5.004 |
b4bc034f GS |
25 | releases! Make sure you read the "Configuring the Perl Build", "Building |
26 | Perl", and "Installing Perl" sections of this document before you build or | |
3541f8c8 CN |
27 | install. Also please note other changes in the current release by having |
28 | a look at L<perldelta/VMS>. | |
97abc6ad | 29 | |
b4bc034f GS |
30 | Also note that, as of Perl version 5.005 and later, an ANSI C compliant |
31 | compiler is required to build Perl. VAX C is *not* ANSI compliant, as it | |
32 | died a natural death some time before the standard was set. Therefore | |
1bc81404 | 33 | VAX C will not compile Perl 5.005 or later. We are sorry about that. |
3bf5f72b | 34 | |
3541f8c8 CN |
35 | If you are stuck without Compaq (formerly DEC) C consider trying Gnu C |
36 | instead, though there have been no recent reports of builds using Gnu C. | |
37 | There is minimal support for Compaq C++ but this support is not complete; | |
38 | if you get it working please write to the vmsperl list (for info see | |
39 | L</"Mailing Lists">). | |
3bf5f72b | 40 | |
b4bc034f | 41 | |
a83b6f46 | 42 | =head2 Introduction to Perl on VMS |
fb73857a | 43 | |
44 | The VMS port of Perl is as functionally complete as any other Perl port | |
45 | (and as complete as the ports on some Unix systems). The Perl binaries | |
46 | provide all the Perl system calls that are either available under VMS or | |
b4bc034f GS |
47 | reasonably emulated. There are some incompatibilities in process handling |
48 | (e.g. the fork/exec model for creating subprocesses doesn't do what you | |
fb73857a | 49 | might expect under Unix), mainly because VMS and Unix handle processes and |
50 | sub-processes very differently. | |
51 | ||
b4bc034f | 52 | There are still some unimplemented system functions, and of course we |
fb73857a | 53 | could use modules implementing useful VMS system services, so if you'd like |
b4bc034f | 54 | to lend a hand we'd love to have you. Join the Perl Porting Team Now! |
fb73857a | 55 | |
56 | The current sources and build procedures have been tested on a VAX using | |
b4bc034f | 57 | DEC C, and on an AXP using DEC C. If you run into problems with |
1bc81404 CB |
58 | other compilers, please let us know. (Note: DEC C was renamed to Compaq C |
59 | around version 6.2). | |
fb73857a | 60 | |
b4bc034f GS |
61 | There are issues with various versions of DEC C, so if you're not running a |
62 | relatively modern version, check the "DEC C issues" section later on in this | |
fb73857a | 63 | document. |
64 | ||
a83b6f46 | 65 | =head2 Other required software for Compiling Perl on VMS |
b4bc034f GS |
66 | |
67 | In addition to VMS and DCL you will need two things: | |
fb73857a | 68 | |
b4bc034f GS |
69 | =over 4 |
70 | ||
71 | =item 1 A C compiler. | |
72 | ||
1bc81404 | 73 | DEC (now Compaq) C or gcc for VMS (AXP or VAX). |
b4bc034f GS |
74 | |
75 | =item 2 A make tool. | |
76 | ||
77 | DEC's MMS (v2.6 or later), or MadGoat's free MMS | |
78 | analog MMK (available from ftp.madgoat.com/madgoat) both work | |
79 | just fine. Gnu Make might work, but it's been so long since | |
80 | anyone's tested it that we're not sure. MMK is free though, so | |
81 | go ahead and use that. | |
82 | ||
83 | =back | |
84 | ||
a83b6f46 | 85 | =head2 Additional software that is optional for Perl on VMS |
fb73857a | 86 | |
9f3f8d50 | 87 | You may also want to have on hand: |
b4bc034f GS |
88 | |
89 | =over 4 | |
90 | ||
91 | =item 1 GUNZIP/GZIP.EXE for VMS | |
92 | ||
93 | A de-compressor for *.gz and *.tgz files available from a number | |
58979ab1 PP |
94 | of web/ftp sites and is distributed on the OpenVMS Freeware CD-ROM |
95 | from Compaq. | |
b4bc034f | 96 | |
9f3f8d50 | 97 | http://www.fsf.org/order/ftp.html |
adc5a9a5 | 98 | http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/ |
1bc81404 | 99 | http://www.crinoid.com/utils/ |
b4bc034f GS |
100 | |
101 | =item 2 VMS TAR | |
102 | ||
103 | For reading and writing unix tape archives (*.tar files). Vmstar is also | |
58979ab1 PP |
104 | available from a number of web/ftp sites and is distributed on the OpenVMS |
105 | Freeware CD-ROM from Compaq. | |
b4bc034f | 106 | |
9f3f8d50 | 107 | ftp://ftp.lp.se/vms/ |
adc5a9a5 | 108 | http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/ |
b4bc034f GS |
109 | |
110 | =item 3 UNZIP.EXE for VMS | |
111 | ||
112 | A combination decompressor and archive reader/writer for *.zip files. | |
113 | Unzip is available from a number of web/ftp sites. | |
114 | ||
adc5a9a5 CB |
115 | http://www.info-zip.org/UnZip.html |
116 | http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/ | |
58979ab1 | 117 | ftp://ftp.openvms.compaq.com/ |
b4bc034f | 118 | ftp://ftp.madgoat.com/madgoat/ |
adc5a9a5 | 119 | ftp://ftp.process.com/vms-freeware/ |
b4bc034f GS |
120 | |
121 | =item 4 MOST | |
122 | ||
123 | Most is an optional pager that is convenient to use with perldoc (unlike | |
124 | TYPE/PAGE, MOST can go forward and backwards in a document and supports | |
125 | regular expression searching). Most builds with the slang | |
126 | library on VMS. Most and slang are available from: | |
127 | ||
128 | ftp://space.mit.edu/pub/davis/ | |
adc5a9a5 | 129 | ftp://ftp.process.com/vms-freeware/narnia/ |
b4bc034f | 130 | |
1bc81404 CB |
131 | =item 5 GNU PATCH and DIFFUTILS for VMS |
132 | ||
133 | Patches to Perl are usually distributed as GNU unified or contextual diffs. | |
134 | Such patches are created by the GNU diff program (part of the diffutils | |
135 | distribution) and applied with GNU patch. VMS ports of these utilities are | |
136 | available here: | |
137 | ||
138 | http://www.crinoid.com/utils/ | |
adc5a9a5 | 139 | http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/ |
1bc81404 | 140 | |
b4bc034f GS |
141 | =back |
142 | ||
9f3f8d50 | 143 | Please note that UNZIP and GUNZIP are not the same thing (they work with |
b4bc034f | 144 | different formats). Many of the useful files from CPAN (the Comprehensive |
58979ab1 PP |
145 | Perl Archive Network) are in *.tar.gz or *.tgz format (this includes copies |
146 | of the source code for perl as well as modules and scripts that you may | |
147 | wish to add later) hence you probably want to have GUNZIP.EXE and | |
148 | VMSTAR.EXE on your VMS machine. | |
fb73857a | 149 | |
b4bc034f GS |
150 | If you want to include socket support, you'll need a TCP/IP stack and either |
151 | DEC C, or socket libraries. See the "Socket Support (optional)" topic | |
152 | for more details. | |
fb73857a | 153 | |
b4bc034f | 154 | =head1 Configuring the Perl build |
fb73857a | 155 | |
97abc6ad | 156 | To configure perl (a necessary first step), issue the command |
fb73857a | 157 | |
b4bc034f | 158 | @ Configure |
fb73857a | 159 | |
b4bc034f GS |
160 | from the top of an unpacked perl source directory. You will be asked a |
161 | series of questions, and the answers to them (along with the capabilities | |
162 | of your C compiler and network stack) will determine how perl is custom | |
163 | built for your machine. | |
fb73857a | 164 | |
b4bc034f GS |
165 | If you have multiple C compilers installed, you'll have your choice of |
166 | which one to use. Various older versions of DEC C had some caveats, so if | |
167 | you're using a version older than 5.2, check the "DEC C Issues" section. | |
fb73857a | 168 | |
b4bc034f GS |
169 | If you have any symbols or logical names in your environment that may |
170 | interfere with the build or regression testing of perl then configure.com | |
171 | will try to warn you about them. If a logical name is causing | |
7bb57f25 GS |
172 | you trouble but is in an LNM table that you do not have write access to |
173 | then try defining your own to a harmless equivalence string in a table | |
174 | such that it is resolved before the other (e.g. if TMP is defined in the | |
b4bc034f GS |
175 | SYSTEM table then try DEFINE TMP "NL:" or somesuch in your process table) |
176 | otherwise simply deassign the dangerous logical names. The potentially | |
177 | troublesome logicals and symbols are: | |
7bb57f25 GS |
178 | |
179 | TMP "LOGICAL" | |
180 | LIB "LOGICAL" | |
181 | T "LOGICAL" | |
182 | FOO "LOGICAL" | |
183 | EXT "LOGICAL" | |
184 | TEST "SYMBOL" | |
fb73857a | 185 | |
97abc6ad HM |
186 | As a handy shortcut, the command: |
187 | ||
b4bc034f GS |
188 | @ Configure "-des" |
189 | ||
190 | (note the quotation marks and case) will choose reasonable defaults | |
191 | automatically (it takes DEC C over Gnu C, DEC C sockets over SOCKETSHR | |
1bc81404 CB |
192 | sockets, and either over no sockets). Some options can be given |
193 | explicitly on the command line; the following example specifies a | |
194 | non-default location for where Perl will be installed: | |
195 | ||
196 | @ Configure "-d" "-Dprefix=dka100:[utils.perl5.]" | |
197 | ||
dab31494 | 198 | Note that the installation location would be by default where you unpacked |
fe05d1a7 | 199 | the source with a "_ROOT." appended. For example if you unpacked the perl |
dab31494 PP |
200 | source into: |
201 | ||
202 | DKA200:[PERL-5_10_2...] | |
203 | ||
adc5a9a5 | 204 | Then the PERL_SETUP.COM that gets written out by CONFIGURE.COM will |
dab31494 PP |
205 | try to DEFINE your installation PERL_ROOT to be: |
206 | ||
fe05d1a7 | 207 | DKA200:[PERL-5_10_2_ROOT.] |
dab31494 | 208 | |
1bc81404 | 209 | More help with configure.com is available from: |
b4bc034f GS |
210 | |
211 | @ Configure "-h" | |
212 | ||
213 | See the "Changing compile-time options (optional)" section below to learn | |
214 | even more details about how to influence the outcome of the important | |
215 | configuration step. If you find yourself reconfiguring and rebuilding | |
216 | then be sure to also follow the advice in the "Cleaning up and starting | |
217 | fresh (optional)" and the checklist of items in the "CAVEATS" sections | |
218 | below. | |
219 | ||
a83b6f46 | 220 | =head2 Changing compile-time options (optional) for Perl on VMS |
b4bc034f GS |
221 | |
222 | Most of the user definable features of Perl are enabled or disabled in | |
adc5a9a5 CB |
223 | configure.com, which processes the hints file config_h.SH. There is |
224 | code in there to Do The Right Thing, but that may end up being the | |
225 | wrong thing for you. Make sure you understand what you are doing since | |
226 | inappropriate changes to configure.com or config_h.SH can render perl | |
227 | unbuildable; odds are that there's nothing in there you'll need to | |
228 | change. | |
b4bc034f GS |
229 | |
230 | The one exception is the various *DIR install locations. Changing those | |
231 | requires changes in genconfig.pl as well. Be really careful if you need to | |
232 | change these, as they can cause some fairly subtle problems. | |
233 | ||
a83b6f46 | 234 | =head2 Socket Support (optional) for Perl on VMS |
b4bc034f GS |
235 | |
236 | Perl includes a number of functions for IP sockets, which are available if | |
237 | you choose to compile Perl with socket support. Since IP networking is an | |
238 | optional addition to VMS, there are several different IP stacks available. | |
239 | How well integrated they are into the system depends on the stack, your | |
240 | version of VMS, and the version of your C compiler. | |
241 | ||
242 | The most portable solution uses the SOCKETSHR library. In combination with | |
243 | either UCX or NetLib, this supports all the major TCP stacks (Multinet, | |
244 | Pathways, TCPWare, UCX, and CMU) on all versions of VMS Perl runs on, with | |
245 | all the compilers on both VAX and Alpha. The socket interface is also | |
246 | consistent across versions of VMS and C compilers. It has a problem with | |
247 | UDP sockets when used with Multinet, though, so you should be aware of | |
248 | that. | |
249 | ||
250 | The other solution available is to use the socket routines built into DEC | |
251 | C. Which routines are available depend on the version of VMS you're | |
252 | running, and require proper UCX emulation by your TCP/IP vendor. | |
253 | Relatively current versions of Multinet, TCPWare, Pathway, and UCX all | |
254 | provide the required libraries--check your manuals or release notes to see | |
255 | if your version is new enough. | |
256 | ||
257 | =head1 Building Perl | |
258 | ||
259 | The configuration script will print out, at the very end, the MMS or MMK | |
260 | command you need to compile perl. Issue it (exactly as printed) to start | |
261 | the build. | |
97abc6ad | 262 | |
b4bc034f GS |
263 | Once you issue your MMS or MMK command, sit back and wait. Perl should |
264 | compile and link without a problem. If a problem does occur check the | |
265 | "CAVEATS" section of this document. If that does not help send some | |
266 | mail to the VMSPERL mailing list. Instructions are in the "Mailing Lists" | |
267 | section of this document. | |
97abc6ad | 268 | |
b4bc034f | 269 | =head1 Testing Perl |
fb73857a | 270 | |
b4bc034f GS |
271 | Once Perl has built cleanly you need to test it to make sure things work. |
272 | This step is very important since there are always things that can go wrong | |
273 | somehow and yield a dysfunctional Perl for you. | |
fb73857a | 274 | |
275 | Testing is very easy, though, as there's a full test suite in the perl | |
b4bc034f | 276 | distribution. To run the tests, enter the *exact* MMS line you used to |
fb73857a | 277 | compile Perl and add the word "test" to the end, like this: |
278 | ||
b4bc034f | 279 | If the compile command was: |
fb73857a | 280 | |
b4bc034f | 281 | MMS |
fb73857a | 282 | |
b4bc034f | 283 | then the test command ought to be: |
fb73857a | 284 | |
b4bc034f | 285 | MMS test |
fb73857a | 286 | |
b4bc034f GS |
287 | MMS (or MMK) will run all the tests. This may take some time, as there are |
288 | a lot of tests. If any tests fail, there will be a note made on-screen. | |
289 | At the end of all the tests, a summary of the tests, the number passed and | |
290 | failed, and the time taken will be displayed. | |
fb73857a | 291 | |
b4bc034f | 292 | If any tests fail, it means something is wrong with Perl. If the test suite |
fb73857a | 293 | hangs (some tests can take upwards of two or three minutes, or more if |
9f3f8d50 | 294 | you're on an especially slow machine, depending on your machine speed, so |
fb73857a | 295 | don't be hasty), then the test *after* the last one displayed failed. Don't |
296 | install Perl unless you're confident that you're OK. Regardless of how | |
297 | confident you are, make a bug report to the VMSPerl mailing list. | |
298 | ||
b4bc034f GS |
299 | If one or more tests fail, you can get more information on the failure by |
300 | issuing this command sequence: | |
fb73857a | 301 | |
b4bc034f | 302 | @ [.VMS]TEST .typ "" "-v" [.subdir]test.T |
fb73857a | 303 | |
304 | where ".typ" is the file type of the Perl images you just built (if you | |
305 | didn't do anything special, use .EXE), and "[.subdir]test.T" is the test | |
306 | that failed. For example, with a normal Perl build, if the test indicated | |
307 | that [.op]time failed, then you'd do this: | |
308 | ||
b4bc034f | 309 | @ [.VMS]TEST .EXE "" "-v" [.OP]TIME.T |
fb73857a | 310 | |
311 | When you send in a bug report for failed tests, please include the output | |
312 | from this command, which is run from the main source directory: | |
313 | ||
b4bc034f GS |
314 | MCR []MINIPERL "-V" |
315 | ||
316 | Note that -"V" really is a capital V in double quotes. This will dump out a | |
317 | couple of screens worth of configuration information, and can help us | |
318 | diagnose the problem. If (and only if) that did not work then try enclosing | |
319 | the output of: | |
320 | ||
321 | MMS printconfig | |
fb73857a | 322 | |
9f3f8d50 PP |
323 | If (and only if) that did not work then try enclosing the output of: |
324 | ||
b4bc034f | 325 | @ [.vms]myconfig |
fb73857a | 326 | |
b4bc034f GS |
327 | You may also be asked to provide your C compiler version ("CC/VERSION NL:" |
328 | with DEC C, "gcc --version" with GNU CC). To obtain the version of MMS or | |
329 | MMK you are running try "MMS/ident" or "MMK /ident". The GNU make version | |
330 | can be identified with "make --version". | |
331 | ||
a83b6f46 | 332 | =head2 Cleaning up and starting fresh (optional) installing Perl on VMS |
fb73857a | 333 | |
334 | If you need to recompile from scratch, you have to make sure you clean up | |
b4bc034f GS |
335 | first. There is a procedure to do it--enter the *exact* MMS line you used |
336 | to compile and add "realclean" at the end, like this: | |
fb73857a | 337 | |
b4bc034f | 338 | if the compile command was: |
fb73857a | 339 | |
b4bc034f | 340 | MMS |
fb73857a | 341 | |
b4bc034f | 342 | then the cleanup command ought to be: |
fb73857a | 343 | |
b4bc034f | 344 | MMS realclean |
fb73857a | 345 | |
b4bc034f GS |
346 | If you do not do this things may behave erratically during the subsequent |
347 | rebuild attempt. They might not, too, so it is best to be sure and do it. | |
fb73857a | 348 | |
b4bc034f | 349 | =head1 Installing Perl |
fb73857a | 350 | |
351 | There are several steps you need to take to get Perl installed and | |
3a385817 | 352 | running. |
fb73857a | 353 | |
a3ef2c6f | 354 | =over 4 |
b4bc034f | 355 | |
a3ef2c6f | 356 | =item 1 |
fb73857a | 357 | |
a3ef2c6f | 358 | Check your default file protections with |
fb73857a | 359 | |
a3ef2c6f | 360 | SHOW PROTECTION /DEFAULT |
fb73857a | 361 | |
a3ef2c6f | 362 | and adjust if necessary with SET PROTECTION=(code)/DEFAULT. |
fb73857a | 363 | |
a3ef2c6f | 364 | =item 2 |
3a385817 | 365 | |
1bc81404 CB |
366 | Decide where you want Perl to be installed (unless you have already done so |
367 | by using the "prefix" configuration parameter -- see the example in the | |
368 | "Configuring the Perl build" section). | |
b4bc034f | 369 | |
1bc81404 CB |
370 | The DCL script PERL_SETUP.COM that is written by CONFIGURE.COM will help you |
371 | with the definition of the PERL_ROOT and PERLSHR logical names and the PERL | |
372 | foreign command symbol. Take a look at PERL_SETUP.COM and modify it if you | |
373 | want to. The installation process will execute PERL_SETUP.COM and copy | |
374 | files to the directory tree pointed to by the PERL_ROOT logical name defined | |
375 | there, so make sure that you have write access to the parent directory of | |
376 | what will become the root of your Perl installation. | |
fb73857a | 377 | |
a3ef2c6f | 378 | =item 3 |
b4bc034f | 379 | |
a3ef2c6f | 380 | Run the install script via: |
b4bc034f | 381 | |
a3ef2c6f | 382 | MMS install |
b4bc034f | 383 | |
a3ef2c6f | 384 | or |
9f3f8d50 | 385 | |
a3ef2c6f | 386 | MMK install |
b4bc034f | 387 | |
a3ef2c6f GS |
388 | If for some reason it complains about target INSTALL being up to date, |
389 | throw a /FORCE switch on the MMS or MMK command. | |
b4bc034f | 390 | |
a3ef2c6f GS |
391 | =back |
392 | ||
1bc81404 CB |
393 | Copy PERL_SETUP.COM to a place accessible to your perl users. |
394 | ||
a3ef2c6f | 395 | For example: |
fb73857a | 396 | |
a3ef2c6f | 397 | COPY PERL_SETUP.COM SYS$LIBRARY: |
b4bc034f | 398 | |
a3ef2c6f GS |
399 | If you want to have everyone on the system have access to perl |
400 | then add a line that reads | |
fb73857a | 401 | |
a3ef2c6f | 402 | $ @sys$library:perl_setup |
491527d0 | 403 | |
a3ef2c6f | 404 | to SYS$MANAGER:SYLOGIN.COM. |
85988417 | 405 | |
a3ef2c6f GS |
406 | Two alternatives to the foreign symbol would be to install PERL into |
407 | DCLTABLES.EXE (Check out the section "Installing Perl into DCLTABLES | |
408 | (optional)" for more information), or put the image in a | |
409 | directory that's in your DCL$PATH (if you're using VMS V6.2 or higher). | |
85988417 | 410 | |
a3ef2c6f GS |
411 | An alternative to having PERL_SETUP.COM define the PERLSHR logical name |
412 | is to simply copy it into the system shareable library directory with: | |
413 | ||
414 | copy perl_root:[000000]perlshr.exe sys$share: | |
85988417 | 415 | |
a3ef2c6f | 416 | See also the "INSTALLing images (optional)" section. |
491527d0 | 417 | |
a83b6f46 | 418 | =head2 Installing Perl into DCLTABLES (optional) on VMS |
fb73857a | 419 | |
9ef4b0a6 | 420 | Execute the following command file to define PERL as a DCL command. |
b4bc034f | 421 | You'll need CMKRNL privilege to install the new dcltables.exe. |
fb73857a | 422 | |
7bb57f25 GS |
423 | $ create perl.cld |
424 | ! | |
425 | ! modify to reflect location of your perl.exe | |
426 | ! | |
427 | define verb perl | |
428 | image perl_root:[000000]perl.exe | |
429 | cliflags (foreign) | |
430 | $! | |
431 | $ set command perl /table=sys$common:[syslib]dcltables.exe - | |
432 | /output=sys$common:[syslib]dcltables.exe | |
433 | $ install replace sys$common:[syslib]dcltables.exe | |
434 | $ exit | |
fb73857a | 435 | |
a83b6f46 | 436 | =head2 INSTALLing Perl images (optional) on VMS |
9f3f8d50 PP |
437 | |
438 | On systems that are using perl quite a bit, and particularly those with | |
439 | minimal RAM, you can boost the performance of perl by INSTALLing it as | |
adc5a9a5 | 440 | a known image. PERLSHR.EXE is typically larger than 3000 blocks |
9f3f8d50 PP |
441 | and that is a reasonably large amount of IO to load each time perl is |
442 | invoked. | |
443 | ||
444 | INSTALL ADD PERLSHR/SHARE | |
b4bc034f | 445 | INSTALL ADD PERL/HEADER |
9f3f8d50 PP |
446 | |
447 | should be enough for PERLSHR.EXE (/share implies /header and /open), | |
448 | while /HEADER should do for PERL.EXE (perl.exe is not a shared image). | |
449 | ||
b4bc034f GS |
450 | If your code 'use's modules, check to see if there is a shareable image for |
451 | them, too. In the base perl build, POSIX, IO, Fcntl, Opcode, SDBM_File, | |
3541f8c8 CN |
452 | DCLsym, and Stdio, and other extensions all have shared images that can be |
453 | installed /SHARE. | |
9f3f8d50 | 454 | |
b4bc034f | 455 | How much of a win depends on your memory situation, but if you are firing |
9f3f8d50 | 456 | off perl with any regularity (like more than once every 20 seconds or so) |
b4bc034f | 457 | it is probably beneficial to INSTALL at least portions of perl. |
9f3f8d50 PP |
458 | |
459 | While there is code in perl to remove privileges as it runs you are advised | |
460 | to NOT INSTALL PERL.EXE with PRIVs! | |
fb73857a | 461 | |
dab31494 PP |
462 | =head2 Running h2ph to create perl header files (optional) on VMS |
463 | ||
464 | If using DEC C or Compaq C ensure that you have extracted loose versions | |
465 | of your compiler's header or *.H files. Be sure to check the contents of: | |
466 | ||
467 | SYS$LIBRARY:DECC$RTLDEF.TLB | |
468 | SYS$LIBRARY:SYS$LIB_C.TLB | |
469 | SYS$LIBRARY:SYS$STARLET_C.TLB | |
470 | ||
471 | etcetera. | |
472 | ||
473 | If using GNU cc then also check your GNU_CC:[000000...] tree for the locations | |
474 | of the GNU cc headers. | |
475 | ||
b4bc034f | 476 | =head1 Reporting Bugs |
fb73857a | 477 | |
478 | If you come across what you think might be a bug in Perl, please report | |
479 | it. There's a script in PERL_ROOT:[UTILS], perlbug, that walks you through | |
480 | the process of creating a bug report. This script includes details of your | |
481 | installation, and is very handy. Completed bug reports should go to | |
9f3f8d50 | 482 | perlbug@perl.com. |
fb73857a | 483 | |
b4bc034f | 484 | =head1 CAVEATS |
fb73857a | 485 | |
486 | Probably the single biggest gotcha in compiling Perl is giving the wrong | |
b4bc034f GS |
487 | switches to MMS/MMK when you build. Use *exactly* what the configure.com |
488 | script prints! | |
489 | ||
490 | The next big gotcha is directory depth. Perl can create directories four, | |
491 | five, or even six levels deep during the build, so you don't have to be | |
dab31494 PP |
492 | too deep to start to hit the RMS 8 level limit (for ODS 2 volumes which were |
493 | common on versions of VMS prior to V7.2 and even with V7.2 on the VAX). | |
494 | It is best to do: | |
b4bc034f GS |
495 | |
496 | DEFINE/TRANS=(CONC,TERM) PERLSRC "disk:[dir.dir.dir.perldir.]" | |
497 | SET DEFAULT PERLSRC:[000000] | |
498 | ||
499 | before building in cases where you have to unpack the distribution so deep | |
500 | (note the trailing period in the definition of PERLSRC). Perl modules | |
501 | from CPAN can be just as bad (or worse), so watch out for them, too. Perl's | |
502 | configuration script will warn if it thinks you are too deep (at least on | |
503 | a VAX or on Alpha versions of VMS prior to 7.2). But MakeMaker will not | |
504 | warn you if you start out building a module too deep in a directory. | |
505 | ||
506 | Be sure that the process that you use to build perl has a PGFLQ greater | |
507 | than 100000. Be sure to have a correct local time zone to UTC offset | |
508 | defined (in seconds) in the logical name SYS$TIMEZONE_DIFFERENTIAL before | |
509 | running the regression test suite. The SYS$MANAGER:UTC$CONFIGURE_TDF.COM | |
510 | procedure will help you set that logical for your system but may require | |
511 | system privileges. For example, a location 5 hours west of UTC (such as | |
512 | the US East coast while not on daylight savings time) would have: | |
513 | ||
514 | DEFINE SYS$TIMEZONE_DIFFERENTIAL "-18000" | |
515 | ||
516 | A final thing that causes trouble is leftover pieces from a failed | |
517 | build. If things go wrong make sure you do a "(MMK|MMS|make) realclean" | |
fb73857a | 518 | before you rebuild. |
519 | ||
a83b6f46 | 520 | =head2 DEC C issues with Perl on VMS |
fb73857a | 521 | |
b4bc034f | 522 | Note to DEC C users: Some early versions (pre-5.2, some pre-4. If you're DEC |
c54e8273 | 523 | C 5.x or higher, with current patches if any, you're fine) of the DECCRTL |
fb73857a | 524 | contained a few bugs which affect Perl performance: |
b4bc034f GS |
525 | |
526 | =over 4 | |
527 | ||
528 | =item - pipes | |
529 | ||
530 | Newlines are lost on I/O through pipes, causing lines to run together. | |
531 | This shows up as RMS RTB errors when reading from a pipe. You can | |
532 | work around this by having one process write data to a file, and | |
533 | then having the other read the file, instead of the pipe. This is | |
534 | fixed in version 4 of DEC C. | |
535 | ||
536 | =item - modf() | |
537 | ||
538 | The modf() routine returns a non-integral value for some values above | |
539 | INT_MAX; the Perl "int" operator will return a non-integral value in | |
540 | these cases. This is fixed in version 4 of DEC C. | |
541 | ||
542 | =item - ALPACRT ECO | |
543 | ||
544 | On the AXP, if SYSNAM privilege is enabled, the CRTL chdir() routine | |
545 | changes the process default device and directory permanently, even | |
546 | though the call specified that the change should not persist after | |
547 | Perl exited. This is fixed by DEC CSC patch ALPACRT04_061 or later. | |
548 | See also: | |
549 | ||
172b4273 | 550 | http://ftp.support.compaq.com/patches/.new/openvms.shtml |
b4bc034f GS |
551 | |
552 | =back | |
553 | ||
554 | Please note that in later versions "DEC C" may also be known as | |
555 | "Compaq C". | |
556 | ||
a83b6f46 | 557 | =head2 GNU issues with Perl on VMS |
b4bc034f GS |
558 | |
559 | It has been a while since the GNU utilities such as GCC or GNU make | |
560 | were used to build perl on VMS. Hence they may require a great deal | |
561 | of source code modification to work again. | |
562 | ||
563 | http://slacvx.slac.stanford.edu/HELP/GCC | |
564 | http://www.progis.de/ | |
b4bc034f GS |
565 | http://www.lp.se/products/gnu.html |
566 | ||
3541f8c8 CN |
567 | =head2 Floating Point Considerations |
568 | ||
569 | Prior to 5.8.0, Perl simply accepted the default floating point options of the | |
570 | C compiler, namely representing doubles with D_FLOAT on VAX and G_FLOAT on | |
571 | Alpha. Single precision floating point values are represented in F_FLOAT | |
572 | format when either D_FLOAT or G_FLOAT is in use for doubles. Beginning with | |
573 | 5.8.0, Alpha builds now use IEEE floating point formats by default, which in | |
574 | VMS parlance are S_FLOAT for singles and T_FLOAT for doubles. IEEE is not | |
575 | available on VAX, so F_FLOAT and D_FLOAT remain the defaults for singles and | |
576 | doubles respectively. The available non-default options are G_FLOAT on VAX | |
577 | and D_FLOAT or G_FLOAT on Alpha. | |
578 | ||
579 | The use of IEEE on Alpha introduces NaN, infinity, and denormalization | |
580 | capabilities not available with D_FLOAT and G_FLOAT. When using one of those | |
581 | non-IEEE formats, silent underflow and overflow are emulated in the conversion | |
582 | of strings to numbers, but it is preferable to get the real thing by using | |
583 | IEEE where possible. | |
584 | ||
585 | Regardless of what floating point format you consider preferable, be aware | |
586 | that the choice may have an impact on compatibility with external libraries, | |
587 | such as database interfaces, and with existing data, such as data created with | |
588 | the C<pack> function and written to disk, or data stored via the Storable | |
589 | extension. For example, a C<pack("d", $foo)")> will create a D_FLOAT, | |
590 | G_FLOAT, or T_FLOAT depending on what your Perl was configured with. When | |
591 | written to disk, the value can only be retrieved later by a Perl configured | |
592 | with the same floating point option that was in effect when it was created. | |
593 | ||
594 | To obtain a non-IEEE build on Alpha, simply answer no to the "Use IEEE math?" | |
595 | question during the configuration. To obtain an option different from the C | |
596 | compiler default on either VAX or Alpha, put in the option that you want in | |
597 | answer to the "Any additional cc flags?" question. For example, to obtain a | |
598 | G_FLOAT build on VAX, put in C</FLOAT=G_FLOAT>. | |
599 | ||
924d8646 CN |
600 | =head2 Multinet issues with Perl on VMS |
601 | ||
602 | Prior to the release of Perl 5.8.0 it was noted that the regression | |
603 | test for lib/Net/hostent (in file [.lib.Net]hostent.t) will fail owing | |
604 | to problems with the hostent structure returned by C calls to either | |
605 | gethostbyname() or gethostbyaddr() using DEC or Compaq C with a | |
606 | Multinet TCP/IP stack. The problem was noted in Multinet 4.3A | |
607 | using either Compaq C 6.5 or DEC C 6.0, and with Multinet 4.2A | |
608 | using DEC C 5.2, but could easily affect other versions of Multinet. | |
609 | A representative of Process Software Inc. has acknowledged a | |
610 | bug in the Multinet version of UCX$IPC_SHR for which there is | |
611 | an ECO forthcoming. If you see one or more tests in lib/Net/hostent | |
612 | fail we recommend that you apply the Multinet ECO when it becomes | |
613 | available from: | |
614 | ||
615 | http://www.multinet.process.com/eco.html | |
616 | ||
617 | You may determine the version of Multinet that you are running using | |
618 | the command: | |
619 | ||
620 | multinet show /version | |
621 | ||
622 | from the DCL command prompt. | |
623 | ||
624 | If you cannot wait for the ECO from Process you might try using | |
625 | Perl programming constructs such as: | |
626 | ||
627 | $address = substr($gethostbyname_addr,0,4); | |
628 | ||
629 | to temporarily work around the problem, or if you are brave | |
630 | and do not mind the possibility of breaking IPv6 addresses, | |
631 | you might modify the pp_sys.c file to add an ad-hoc correction | |
632 | like so: | |
633 | ||
634 | ||
635 | --- pp_sys.c;1 Thu May 30 14:42:17 2002 | |
636 | +++ pp_sys.c Thu May 30 12:54:02 2002 | |
637 | @@ -4684,6 +4684,10 @@ | |
638 | } | |
639 | #endif | |
640 | ||
641 | + if (hent) { | |
642 | + hent->h_length = 4; | |
643 | + } | |
644 | + | |
645 | if (GIMME != G_ARRAY) { | |
646 | PUSHs(sv = sv_newmortal()); | |
647 | if (hent) { | |
648 | ||
649 | then re-compile and re-test your perl. After the installation | |
650 | of the Multinet ECO you ought to back out any such changes though. | |
651 | ||
b4bc034f GS |
652 | =head1 Mailing Lists |
653 | ||
654 | There are several mailing lists available to the Perl porter. For VMS | |
fb73857a | 655 | specific issues (including both Perl questions and installation problems) |
b4bc034f | 656 | there is the VMSPERL mailing list. It is usually a low-volume (10-12 |
fb73857a | 657 | messages a week) mailing list. |
658 | ||
1bc81404 CB |
659 | To subscribe, send a mail message to VMSPERL-SUBSCRIBE@PERL.ORG. The VMSPERL |
660 | mailing list address is VMSPERL@PERL.ORG. Any mail sent there gets echoed | |
661 | to all subscribers of the list. There is a searchable archive of the list | |
662 | on the web at: | |
b4bc034f GS |
663 | |
664 | http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/vmsperl/ | |
a83b6f46 | 665 | |
1bc81404 CB |
666 | To unsubscribe from VMSPERL send a message to VMSPERL-UNSUBSCRIBE@PERL.ORG. |
667 | Be sure to do so from the subscribed account that you are canceling. | |
b4bc034f | 668 | |
a83b6f46 | 669 | =head2 Web sites for Perl on VMS |
b4bc034f GS |
670 | |
671 | Vmsperl pages on the web include: | |
672 | ||
673 | http://www.sidhe.org/vmsperl/index.html | |
1bc81404 | 674 | http://www.crinoid.com/ |
b4bc034f | 675 | http://duphy4.physics.drexel.edu/pub/cgi_info.htmlx |
468f45d5 | 676 | http://www.cpan.org/modules/by-module/VMS/ |
60d9c7be | 677 | http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/vmsperl/ |
b4bc034f | 678 | http://www.best.com/~pvhp/vms/ |
adc5a9a5 | 679 | http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~binder/perl.html |
60d9c7be PP |
680 | http://lists.perl.org/showlist.cgi?name=vmsperl |
681 | http://archive.develooper.com/vmsperl@perl.org/ | |
adc5a9a5 | 682 | http://www.openvms.compaq.com/openvms/products/ips/apache/csws_modperl.html |
fb73857a | 683 | |
b4bc034f GS |
684 | =head1 SEE ALSO |
685 | ||
686 | Perl information for users and programmers about the port of perl to VMS is | |
687 | available from the [.VMS]PERLVMS.POD file that gets installed as L<perlvms>. | |
688 | For administrators the perlvms document also includes a detailed discussion | |
689 | of extending vmsperl with CPAN modules after Perl has been installed. | |
690 | ||
691 | =head1 AUTHORS | |
692 | ||
adc5a9a5 | 693 | Revised 10-October-2001 by Craig Berry craigberry@mac.com. |
1bc81404 CB |
694 | Revised 25-February-2000 by Peter Prymmer pvhp@best.com. |
695 | Revised 27-October-1999 by Craig Berry craigberry@mac.com. | |
b4bc034f GS |
696 | Revised 01-March-1999 by Dan Sugalski dan@sidhe.org. |
697 | Originally by Charles Bailey bailey@newman.upenn.edu. | |
698 | ||
699 | =head1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | |
fb73857a | 700 | |
701 | A real big thanks needs to go to Charles Bailey | |
b4bc034f | 702 | bailey@newman.upenn.edu, who is ultimately responsible for Perl 5.004 |
fb73857a | 703 | running on VMS. Without him, nothing the rest of us have done would be at |
704 | all important. | |
705 | ||
706 | There are, of course, far too many people involved in the porting and testing | |
707 | of Perl to mention everyone who deserves it, so please forgive us if we've | |
708 | missed someone. That said, special thanks are due to the following: | |
b4bc034f GS |
709 | |
710 | Tim Adye T.J.Adye@rl.ac.uk | |
fb73857a | 711 | for the VMS emulations of getpw*() |
b4bc034f | 712 | David Denholm denholm@conmat.phys.soton.ac.uk |
fb73857a | 713 | for extensive testing and provision of pipe and SocketShr code, |
b4bc034f | 714 | Mark Pizzolato mark@infocomm.com |
fb73857a | 715 | for the getredirection() code |
b4bc034f | 716 | Rich Salz rsalz@bbn.com |
fb73857a | 717 | for readdir() and related routines |
b4bc034f | 718 | Peter Prymmer pvhp@best.com |
fb73857a | 719 | for extensive testing, as well as development work on |
720 | configuration and documentation for VMS Perl, | |
b4bc034f | 721 | Dan Sugalski dan@sidhe.org |
fb73857a | 722 | for extensive contributions to recent version support, |
723 | development of VMS-specific extensions, and dissemination | |
724 | of information about VMS Perl, | |
725 | the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory and the | |
726 | Laboratory of Nuclear Studies at Cornell University for | |
9f3f8d50 | 727 | the opportunity to test and develop for the AXP, |
a3ef2c6f GS |
728 | John Hasstedt John.Hasstedt@sunysb.edu |
729 | for VAX VMS V7.2 support | |
b4bc034f | 730 | |
fb73857a | 731 | and to the entire VMSperl group for useful advice and suggestions. In |
732 | addition the perl5-porters deserve credit for their creativity and | |
733 | willingness to work with the VMS newcomers. Finally, the greatest debt of | |
b4bc034f | 734 | gratitude is due to Larry Wall larry@wall.org, for having the ideas which |
fb73857a | 735 | have made our sleepless nights possible. |
736 | ||
737 | Thanks, | |
738 | The VMSperl group | |
b4bc034f GS |
739 | |
740 | =cut | |
741 |