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3bf5f72b | 1 | Last Revised 21-July-1998 by Dan Sugalski <sugalskd@ous.edu> |
fb73857a | 2 | Originally by Charles Bailey <bailey@newman.upenn.edu> |
3 | ||
97abc6ad HM |
4 | * Important safety tip |
5 | ||
3a385817 GS |
6 | The build and install procedures have changed significantly from the 5.004 |
7 | releases! Make sure you read the "Building Perl" and "Installing Perl" | |
8 | sections before you build or install. | |
97abc6ad | 9 | |
3bf5f72b GS |
10 | Also note that, as of 5.005, an ANSI C compliant compiler is required to |
11 | build Perl. Vax C is *not* ANSI compliant, as it died a natural death some | |
12 | time before the standard was set. Therefore Vax C will not compile perl | |
13 | 5.005. Sorry about that. | |
14 | ||
15 | If you're stuck without Dec C (the Vax C license should be good for Dec C, | |
16 | but the media charges might prohibit an upgrade), consider getting Gnu C | |
17 | instead. | |
18 | ||
fb73857a | 19 | * Intro |
20 | ||
21 | The VMS port of Perl is as functionally complete as any other Perl port | |
22 | (and as complete as the ports on some Unix systems). The Perl binaries | |
23 | provide all the Perl system calls that are either available under VMS or | |
24 | reasonably emulated. There are some incompatibilites in process handling | |
25 | (e.g the fork/exec model for creating subprocesses doesn't do what you | |
26 | might expect under Unix), mainly because VMS and Unix handle processes and | |
27 | sub-processes very differently. | |
28 | ||
29 | There are still some unimplemented system functions, and of coursse we | |
30 | could use modules implementing useful VMS system services, so if you'd like | |
31 | to lend a hand we'd love to have you. Join the Perl Porting Team Now! | |
32 | ||
33 | The current sources and build procedures have been tested on a VAX using | |
9f3f8d50 | 34 | Dec C, and on an AXP using Dec C. If you run into problems with |
fb73857a | 35 | other compilers, please let us know. |
36 | ||
37 | There are issues with varions versions of Dec C, so if you're not running a | |
38 | relatively modern version, check the Dec C issues section later on in this | |
39 | document. | |
40 | ||
41 | * Other required software | |
42 | ||
43 | In addition to VMS, you'll need: | |
9f3f8d50 | 44 | 1) A C compiler. Dec C or gcc for AXP or the VAX. |
fb73857a | 45 | 2) A make tool. Dec's MMS (v2.6 or later), or MadGoat's free MMS |
46 | analog MMK (available from ftp.madgoat.com/madgoat) both work | |
47 | just fine. Gnu Make might work, but it's been so long since | |
48 | anyone's tested it that we're not sure. MMK's free, though, so | |
49 | go ahead and use that. | |
50 | ||
9f3f8d50 PP |
51 | You may also want to have on hand: |
52 | 1) UNZIP.EXE for VMS available from a number of web/ftp sites. | |
53 | http://www.cdrom.com/pub/infozip/UnZip.html | |
54 | http://www.openvms.digital.com/cd/INFO-ZIP/ | |
55 | ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/VMS/ | |
56 | ftp://ftp.openvms.digital.com/ | |
57 | ftp://ftp.madgoat.com/madgoat/ | |
58 | ftp://ftp.wku.edu/vms/ | |
59 | 2) GUNZIP/GZIP.EXE for VMS available from a number of web/ftp sites. | |
60 | http://www.fsf.org/order/ftp.html | |
61 | ftp://ftp.uu.net/archive/systems/gnu/diffutils*.tar.gz | |
62 | ftp://gatekeeper.dec.com/pub/GNU/diffutils*.tar.gz | |
63 | ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/diffutils*.tar.gz | |
64 | http://www.openvms.digital.com/cd/GZIP/ | |
65 | ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/VMS/ | |
66 | 3) VMS TAR also available from a number of web/ftp sites. | |
67 | ftp://ftp.lp.se/vms/ | |
68 | http://www.openvms.digital.com/cd/VMSTAR/ | |
69 | ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/VMS/ | |
70 | Please note that UNZIP and GUNZIP are not the same thing (they work with | |
71 | different formats). Most of the useful files from CPAN (the Comprehensive | |
72 | Perl Archive Network) are in .tar.gz format (this includes copies of the | |
73 | source code for perl as well as modules and scripts that you may wish to | |
74 | add later) hence you probably want to have GUNZIP.EXE and VMSTAR.EXE on | |
75 | your VMS machine. | |
fb73857a | 76 | |
77 | If you want to include socket support, you'll need a TCP stack and either | |
78 | Dec C, or socket libraries. See the Socket Support topic for more details. | |
79 | ||
97abc6ad | 80 | * Building Perl |
fb73857a | 81 | |
97abc6ad | 82 | Building perl has two steps, configuration and compilation. |
fb73857a | 83 | |
97abc6ad | 84 | To configure perl (a necessary first step), issue the command |
fb73857a | 85 | |
97abc6ad | 86 | @CONFIGURE |
fb73857a | 87 | |
97abc6ad HM |
88 | from the top of an unpacked perl directory. You'll be asked a series of |
89 | questions, and the answers to them (along with the capabilities of your C | |
90 | compiler and network stack) will determine how perl's built. | |
fb73857a | 91 | |
97abc6ad | 92 | If you've got multiple C compilers installed, you'll have your choice of |
3bf5f72b GS |
93 | which one to use. Various older versions of Dec C had some gotchas, so if |
94 | you're using a version older than 5.2, check the Dec C Issues section. | |
fb73857a | 95 | |
97abc6ad HM |
96 | The configuration script will print out, at the very end, the MMS or MMK |
97 | command you need to compile perl. Issue it (exactly as printed) to start | |
98 | the build. | |
fb73857a | 99 | |
100 | Once you issue your MMS command, sit back and wait. Perl should build and | |
101 | link without a problem. If it doesn't, check the Gotchas to watch out for | |
102 | section. If that doesn't help, send some mail to the VMSPERL mailing list. | |
103 | Instructions are in the Mailing Lists section. | |
104 | ||
97abc6ad HM |
105 | As a handy shortcut, the command: |
106 | ||
107 | @CONFIGURE "-des" | |
108 | ||
9f3f8d50 PP |
109 | (note the quotation marks and case) will choose reasonable defaults. (It |
110 | takes Dec C over Gnu C, Dec C sockets over SOCKETSHR sockets, and either | |
111 | over no sockets) | |
97abc6ad | 112 | |
fb73857a | 113 | * Testing Perl |
114 | ||
115 | Once Perl has built cleanly, you need to test it to make sure things work. | |
116 | This step is very important--there are always things that can go wrong | |
117 | somehow and get you a dysfunctional Perl. | |
118 | ||
119 | Testing is very easy, though, as there's a full test suite in the perl | |
120 | distribution. To run the tests, enter the *exact* MMS line you used to | |
121 | compile Perl and add the word "test" to the end, like this: | |
122 | ||
123 | Compile Command: | |
124 | ||
97abc6ad | 125 | $MMS/Macro=("__AXP__=1","decc=1","DECCRTL_SOCKETS=1") |
fb73857a | 126 | |
127 | Test Command: | |
128 | ||
97abc6ad | 129 | $MMS/Macro=("__AXP__=1","decc=1","DECCRTL_SOCKETS=1") test |
fb73857a | 130 | |
131 | MMS will run all the tests. This may take some time, as there are a lot of | |
132 | tests. If any tests fail, there will be a note made on-screen. At the end | |
133 | of all the tests, a summary of the tests, the number passed and failed, and | |
134 | the time taken will be displayed. | |
135 | ||
136 | If any tests fail, it means something's wrong with Perl. If the test suite | |
137 | hangs (some tests can take upwards of two or three minutes, or more if | |
9f3f8d50 | 138 | you're on an especially slow machine, depending on your machine speed, so |
fb73857a | 139 | don't be hasty), then the test *after* the last one displayed failed. Don't |
140 | install Perl unless you're confident that you're OK. Regardless of how | |
141 | confident you are, make a bug report to the VMSPerl mailing list. | |
142 | ||
143 | If one or more tests fail, you can get more info on the failure by issuing | |
144 | this command sequence: | |
145 | ||
97abc6ad | 146 | $ @[.VMS]TEST .typ "-v" [.subdir]test.T |
fb73857a | 147 | |
148 | where ".typ" is the file type of the Perl images you just built (if you | |
149 | didn't do anything special, use .EXE), and "[.subdir]test.T" is the test | |
150 | that failed. For example, with a normal Perl build, if the test indicated | |
151 | that [.op]time failed, then you'd do this: | |
152 | ||
97abc6ad | 153 | $ @[.VMS]TEST .EXE "-v" [.OP]TIME.T |
fb73857a | 154 | |
155 | When you send in a bug report for failed tests, please include the output | |
156 | from this command, which is run from the main source directory: | |
157 | ||
158 | MCR []MINIPERL "-V" | |
159 | ||
160 | Note that "-V" really is a capital V in double quotes. This will dump out a | |
161 | couple of screens worth of config info, and can help us diagnose the problem. | |
9f3f8d50 PP |
162 | If (and only if) that did not work then try enclosing the output of: |
163 | ||
164 | @[.vms]myconfig | |
fb73857a | 165 | |
166 | * Cleaning up and starting fresh | |
167 | ||
168 | If you need to recompile from scratch, you have to make sure you clean up | |
169 | first. There's a procedure to do it--enter the *exact* MMS line you used to | |
170 | compile and add "realclean" at the end, like this: | |
171 | ||
172 | Compile Command: | |
173 | ||
97abc6ad | 174 | $MMS/Macro=("__AXP__=1","decc=1","DECCRTL_SOCKETS=1") |
fb73857a | 175 | |
176 | Cleanup Command: | |
177 | ||
97abc6ad | 178 | $MMS/Macro=("__AXP__=1","decc=1","DECCRTL_SOCKETS=1") realclean |
fb73857a | 179 | |
180 | If you don't do this, things may behave erratically. They might not, too, | |
181 | so it's best to be sure and do it. | |
182 | ||
183 | * Installing Perl | |
184 | ||
185 | There are several steps you need to take to get Perl installed and | |
3a385817 | 186 | running. |
fb73857a | 187 | |
188 | 1) Create a directory somewhere and define the concealed logical PERL_ROOT | |
189 | to point to it. For example, DEFINE/TRANS=(CONC,TERM) PERL_ROOT dka200:[perl.] | |
190 | ||
3a385817 | 191 | 2) Run the install script via: |
fb73857a | 192 | |
3a385817 | 193 | MMS install |
fb73857a | 194 | |
3a385817 | 195 | or |
fb73857a | 196 | |
3a385817 GS |
197 | MMK install |
198 | ||
199 | If for some reason it complains about target INSTALL being up to date, | |
200 | throw a /FORCE switch on the MMS or MMK command. | |
201 | ||
9f3f8d50 PP |
202 | The script [.VMS]PERL_SETUP.COM that is written by CONFIGURE.COM |
203 | will take care of most of the following: | |
204 | ||
3a385817 | 205 | 3) Either define the symbol PERL somewhere, such as |
fb73857a | 206 | SYS$MANAGER:SYLOGIN.COM, to be "PERL :== $PERL_ROOT:[000000]PERL.EXE", or |
3a385817 | 207 | install Perl into DCLTABLES.EXE (Check out the section "Installing Perl |
fb73857a | 208 | into DCLTABLES" for more info), or put the image in a directory that's in |
209 | your DCL$PATH (if you're using VMS 6.2 or higher). | |
210 | ||
9f3f8d50 PP |
211 | 4) Either define the logical name PERLSHR somewhere |
212 | (such as in PERL_SETUP.COM) like so: | |
213 | DEFINE/NOLOG PERLSHR PERL_ROOT:[000000]PERLSHR.EXE | |
214 | or copy perl_root:[000000]perlshr.exe sys$share:. | |
215 | ||
216 | 5) Optionally define the command PERLDOC as | |
bd3fa61c | 217 | PERLDOC == "$PERL_ROOT:[000000]PERL PERL_ROOT:[LIB.POD]PERLDOC.COM -t" |
491527d0 | 218 | Note that if you wish to use most as a pager please see |
9f3f8d50 PP |
219 | ftp://space.mit.edu/pub/davis/ for both most and slang (or perhaps |
220 | ftp://ftp.wku.edu/vms/narnia/most.zip ). | |
fb73857a | 221 | |
9f3f8d50 | 222 | 6) Optionally define the command PERLBUG (the Perl bug report generator) as |
bd3fa61c | 223 | PERLBUG == "$PERL_ROOT:[000000]PERL PERL_ROOT:[LIB]PERLBUG.COM" |
fb73857a | 224 | |
9f3f8d50 | 225 | 7) Optionally define the command POD2MAN (Converts POD files to nroff |
491527d0 GS |
226 | source suitable for converting to man pages. Also quiets complaints during |
227 | module builds) as | |
228 | ||
229 | DEFINE/NOLOG POD2MAN PERL_ROOT:[LIB.POD]POD2MAN.COM | |
bd3fa61c | 230 | POD2MAN == "$PERL_ROOT:[000000]PERL POD2MAN" |
85988417 | 231 | |
9f3f8d50 | 232 | 8) Optionally define the command POD2TEXT (Converts POD files to text, |
85988417 GS |
233 | which is required for perldoc -f to work properly) as |
234 | ||
235 | DEFINE/NOLOG POD2TEXT PERL_ROOT:[LIB.POD]POD2TEXT.COM | |
bd3fa61c | 236 | POD2TEXT == "$PERL_ROOT:[000000]PERL POD2TEXT" |
85988417 GS |
237 | |
238 | In all these cases, if you've got PERL defined as a foreign command, you | |
239 | can replace $PERL_ROOT:[000000]PERL with ''perl'. If you've installed perl | |
240 | into DCLTABLES, replace it with just perl. | |
491527d0 | 241 | |
fb73857a | 242 | * Installing Perl into DCLTABLES |
243 | ||
9ef4b0a6 BH |
244 | Execute the following command file to define PERL as a DCL command. |
245 | You'll need CMKRNL priv to install the new dcltables.exe. | |
fb73857a | 246 | |
9ef4b0a6 BH |
247 | $ create perl.cld |
248 | ! | |
249 | ! modify to reflect location of your perl.exe | |
250 | ! | |
fb73857a | 251 | define verb perl |
9ef4b0a6 BH |
252 | image perl_root:[000000]perl.exe |
253 | cliflags (foreign) | |
254 | $! | |
fb73857a | 255 | $ set command perl /table=sys$common:[syslib]dcltables.exe - |
256 | /output=sys$common:[syslib]dcltables.exe | |
257 | $ install replace sys$common:[syslib]dcltables.exe | |
9ef4b0a6 | 258 | $ exit |
fb73857a | 259 | |
260 | * Changing compile-time things | |
261 | ||
262 | Most of the user-definable features of Perl are enabled or disabled in | |
263 | [.VMS]CONFIG.VMS. There's code in there to Do The Right Thing, but that may | |
264 | end up being the wrong thing for you. Make sure you understand what you're | |
265 | doing, since changes here can get you a busted perl. | |
266 | ||
267 | Odds are that there's nothing here to change, unless you're on a version of | |
268 | VMS later than 6.2 and Dec C later than 5.6. Even if you are, the correct | |
269 | values will still be chosen, most likely. Poking around here should be | |
270 | unnecessary. | |
271 | ||
272 | The one exception is the various *DIR install locations. Changing those | |
273 | requires changes in genconfig.pl as well. Be really careful if you need to | |
9f3f8d50 PP |
274 | change these, as they can cause some fairly subtle problems. |
275 | ||
276 | * INSTALLing images | |
277 | ||
278 | On systems that are using perl quite a bit, and particularly those with | |
279 | minimal RAM, you can boost the performance of perl by INSTALLing it as | |
280 | a known image. PERLSHR.EXE is typically larger than 1500 blocks | |
281 | and that is a reasonably large amount of IO to load each time perl is | |
282 | invoked. | |
283 | ||
284 | INSTALL ADD PERLSHR/SHARE | |
285 | ||
286 | should be enough for PERLSHR.EXE (/share implies /header and /open), | |
287 | while /HEADER should do for PERL.EXE (perl.exe is not a shared image). | |
288 | ||
289 | If your code 'use's modules, check to see if there's an executable for | |
290 | them, too. In the base perl build, POSIX, IO, Fcntl, Opcode, SDBM_File, | |
291 | DCLsym, and Stdio all have shared images that can be installed /SHARE. | |
292 | ||
293 | How much of a win depends on your memory situation, but if you're firing | |
294 | off perl with any regularity (like more than once every 20 seconds or so) | |
295 | it's probably a win. | |
296 | ||
297 | While there is code in perl to remove privileges as it runs you are advised | |
298 | to NOT INSTALL PERL.EXE with PRIVs! | |
fb73857a | 299 | |
300 | * Extra things in the Perl distribution | |
301 | ||
302 | In addition to the standard stuff that gets installed, there are two | |
303 | optional extensions, DCLSYM and STDIO, that are handy. Instructions for | |
304 | these two modules are in [.VMS.EXT.DCLSYM] and [.VMS.EXT.STDIO], | |
9f3f8d50 | 305 | respectively. They are built automatically for versions of perl >= 5.005. |
fb73857a | 306 | |
307 | * Socket Support | |
308 | ||
309 | Perl includes a number of functions for IP sockets, which are available if | |
9f3f8d50 PP |
310 | you choose to compile Perl with socket support (see the section Compiling |
311 | Perl for more info on selecting a socket stack). Since IP networking is an | |
fb73857a | 312 | optional addition to VMS, there are several different IP stacks |
313 | available. How well integrated they are into the system depends on the | |
314 | stack, your version of VMS, and the version of your C compiler. | |
315 | ||
316 | The most portable solution uses the SOCKETSHR library. In combination with | |
317 | either UCX or NetLib, this supports all the major TCP stacks (Multinet, | |
318 | Pathways, TCPWare, UCX, and CMU) on all versions of VMS Perl runs on, with | |
319 | all the compilers on both VAX and Alpha. The socket interface is also | |
320 | consistent across versions of VMS and C compilers. It has a problem with | |
321 | UDP sockets when used with Multinet, though, so you should be aware of | |
322 | that. | |
323 | ||
324 | The other solution available is to use the socket routines built into Dec | |
325 | C. Which routines are available depend on the version of VMS you're | |
326 | running, and require proper UCX emulation by your TCP/IP vendor. | |
327 | Relatively current versions of Multinet, TCPWare, Pathway, and UCX all | |
328 | provide the required libraries--check your manuals or release notes to see | |
329 | if your version is new enough. | |
330 | ||
331 | * Reporting Bugs | |
332 | ||
333 | If you come across what you think might be a bug in Perl, please report | |
334 | it. There's a script in PERL_ROOT:[UTILS], perlbug, that walks you through | |
335 | the process of creating a bug report. This script includes details of your | |
336 | installation, and is very handy. Completed bug reports should go to | |
9f3f8d50 | 337 | perlbug@perl.com. |
fb73857a | 338 | |
339 | * Gotchas to watch out for | |
340 | ||
341 | Probably the single biggest gotcha in compiling Perl is giving the wrong | |
97abc6ad HM |
342 | switches to MMS/MMK when you build. Use *exactly* what the configure script |
343 | prints! | |
fb73857a | 344 | |
345 | The next big gotcha is directory depth. Perl can create directories four | |
346 | and five levels deep during the build, so you don't have to be too deep to | |
347 | start to hit the RMS 8 level point. It's best to do a | |
348 | $DEFINE/TRANS=(CONC,TERM) PERLSRC disk:[dir.dir.dir.perldir.]" (note the | |
349 | trailing period) and $SET DEFAULT PERLSRC:[000000] before building. Perl | |
97abc6ad | 350 | modules can be just as bad (or worse), so watch out for them, too. The |
9f3f8d50 PP |
351 | configuration script will warn if it thinks you're too deep (at least on |
352 | versions of VMS prior to 7.2). | |
fb73857a | 353 | |
354 | Finally, the third thing that bites people is leftover pieces from a failed | |
355 | build. If things go wrong, make sure you do a "(MMK|MMS|make) realclean" | |
356 | before you rebuild. | |
357 | ||
358 | * Dec C issues | |
359 | ||
360 | Note to DECC users: Some early versions (pre-5.2, some pre-4. If you're Dec | |
361 | C 5.x or higher, with current patches if anym you're fine) of the DECCRTL | |
362 | contained a few bugs which affect Perl performance: | |
363 | - Newlines are lost on I/O through pipes, causing lines to run together. | |
364 | This shows up as RMS RTB errors when reading from a pipe. You can | |
365 | work around this by having one process write data to a file, and | |
366 | then having the other read the file, instead of the pipe. This is | |
367 | fixed in version 4 of DECC. | |
368 | - The modf() routine returns a non-integral value for some values above | |
369 | INT_MAX; the Perl "int" operator will return a non-integral value in | |
370 | these cases. This is fixed in version 4 of DECC. | |
371 | - On the AXP, if SYSNAM privilege is enabled, the CRTL chdir() routine | |
372 | changes the process default device and directory permanently, even | |
373 | though the call specified that the change should not persist after | |
374 | Perl exited. This is fixed by DEC CSC patch AXPACRT04_061. | |
375 | ||
376 | * Mailing Lists | |
377 | ||
378 | There are several mailing lists available to the Perl porter. For VMS | |
379 | specific issues (including both Perl questions and installation problems) | |
380 | there is the VMSPERL mailing list. It's usually a low-volume (10-12 | |
381 | messages a week) mailing list. | |
382 | ||
383 | The subscription address is VMSPERL-REQUEST@NEWMAN.UPENN.EDU. Send a mail | |
384 | message with just the words SUBSCRIBE VMSPERL in the body of the message. | |
385 | ||
386 | The VMSPERL mailing list address is VMSPERL@NEWMAN.UPENN.EDU. Any mail | |
387 | sent there gets echoed to all subscribers of the list. | |
388 | ||
9f3f8d50 PP |
389 | To unsubscribe from VMSPERL send the message UNSUBSCRIBE VMSPERL to |
390 | VMSPERL-REQUEST@NEWMAN.UPENN.EDU. Be sure to do so from the subscribed | |
391 | account that you are cancelling. | |
392 | ||
fb73857a | 393 | |
394 | * Acknowledgements | |
395 | ||
396 | A real big thanks needs to go to Charles Bailey | |
397 | <bailey@newman.upenn.edu>, who is ultimately responsible for Perl 5.004 | |
398 | running on VMS. Without him, nothing the rest of us have done would be at | |
399 | all important. | |
400 | ||
401 | There are, of course, far too many people involved in the porting and testing | |
402 | of Perl to mention everyone who deserves it, so please forgive us if we've | |
403 | missed someone. That said, special thanks are due to the following: | |
404 | Tim Adye <T.J.Adye@rl.ac.uk> | |
405 | for the VMS emulations of getpw*() | |
406 | David Denholm <denholm@conmat.phys.soton.ac.uk> | |
407 | for extensive testing and provision of pipe and SocketShr code, | |
408 | Mark Pizzolato <mark@infocomm.com> | |
409 | for the getredirection() code | |
410 | Rich Salz <rsalz@bbn.com> | |
411 | for readdir() and related routines | |
9f3f8d50 | 412 | Peter Prymmer <pvhp@forte.com> or <pvhp@lns62.lns.cornell.edu> |
fb73857a | 413 | for extensive testing, as well as development work on |
414 | configuration and documentation for VMS Perl, | |
9f3f8d50 | 415 | Dan Sugalski <sugalskd@ous.edu> |
fb73857a | 416 | for extensive contributions to recent version support, |
417 | development of VMS-specific extensions, and dissemination | |
418 | of information about VMS Perl, | |
419 | the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory and the | |
420 | Laboratory of Nuclear Studies at Cornell University for | |
9f3f8d50 | 421 | the opportunity to test and develop for the AXP, |
fb73857a | 422 | and to the entire VMSperl group for useful advice and suggestions. In |
423 | addition the perl5-porters deserve credit for their creativity and | |
424 | willingness to work with the VMS newcomers. Finally, the greatest debt of | |
425 | gratitude is due to Larry Wall <larry@wall.org>, for having the ideas which | |
426 | have made our sleepless nights possible. | |
427 | ||
428 | Thanks, | |
429 | The VMSperl group |