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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 | |
27 | install. | |
97abc6ad | 28 | |
b4bc034f GS |
29 | Also note that, as of Perl version 5.005 and later, an ANSI C compliant |
30 | compiler is required to build Perl. VAX C is *not* ANSI compliant, as it | |
31 | died a natural death some time before the standard was set. Therefore | |
1bc81404 | 32 | VAX C will not compile Perl 5.005 or later. We are sorry about that. |
3bf5f72b | 33 | |
b4bc034f | 34 | If you are stuck without DEC C (the VAX C license should be good for DEC C, |
3bf5f72b GS |
35 | but the media charges might prohibit an upgrade), consider getting Gnu C |
36 | instead. | |
37 | ||
b4bc034f | 38 | |
a83b6f46 | 39 | =head2 Introduction to Perl on VMS |
fb73857a | 40 | |
41 | The VMS port of Perl is as functionally complete as any other Perl port | |
42 | (and as complete as the ports on some Unix systems). The Perl binaries | |
43 | provide all the Perl system calls that are either available under VMS or | |
b4bc034f GS |
44 | reasonably emulated. There are some incompatibilities in process handling |
45 | (e.g. the fork/exec model for creating subprocesses doesn't do what you | |
fb73857a | 46 | might expect under Unix), mainly because VMS and Unix handle processes and |
47 | sub-processes very differently. | |
48 | ||
b4bc034f | 49 | There are still some unimplemented system functions, and of course we |
fb73857a | 50 | could use modules implementing useful VMS system services, so if you'd like |
b4bc034f | 51 | to lend a hand we'd love to have you. Join the Perl Porting Team Now! |
fb73857a | 52 | |
53 | The current sources and build procedures have been tested on a VAX using | |
b4bc034f | 54 | DEC C, and on an AXP using DEC C. If you run into problems with |
1bc81404 CB |
55 | other compilers, please let us know. (Note: DEC C was renamed to Compaq C |
56 | around version 6.2). | |
fb73857a | 57 | |
b4bc034f GS |
58 | There are issues with various versions of DEC C, so if you're not running a |
59 | relatively modern version, check the "DEC C issues" section later on in this | |
fb73857a | 60 | document. |
61 | ||
a83b6f46 | 62 | =head2 Other required software for Compiling Perl on VMS |
b4bc034f GS |
63 | |
64 | In addition to VMS and DCL you will need two things: | |
fb73857a | 65 | |
b4bc034f GS |
66 | =over 4 |
67 | ||
68 | =item 1 A C compiler. | |
69 | ||
1bc81404 | 70 | DEC (now Compaq) C or gcc for VMS (AXP or VAX). |
b4bc034f GS |
71 | |
72 | =item 2 A make tool. | |
73 | ||
74 | DEC's MMS (v2.6 or later), or MadGoat's free MMS | |
75 | analog MMK (available from ftp.madgoat.com/madgoat) both work | |
76 | just fine. Gnu Make might work, but it's been so long since | |
77 | anyone's tested it that we're not sure. MMK is free though, so | |
78 | go ahead and use that. | |
79 | ||
80 | =back | |
81 | ||
a83b6f46 | 82 | =head2 Additional software that is optional for Perl on VMS |
fb73857a | 83 | |
9f3f8d50 | 84 | You may also want to have on hand: |
b4bc034f GS |
85 | |
86 | =over 4 | |
87 | ||
88 | =item 1 GUNZIP/GZIP.EXE for VMS | |
89 | ||
90 | A de-compressor for *.gz and *.tgz files available from a number | |
58979ab1 PP |
91 | of web/ftp sites and is distributed on the OpenVMS Freeware CD-ROM |
92 | from Compaq. | |
b4bc034f | 93 | |
9f3f8d50 | 94 | http://www.fsf.org/order/ftp.html |
58979ab1 PP |
95 | http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/GZIP/ |
96 | ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/VMS/ | |
1bc81404 | 97 | http://www.crinoid.com/utils/ |
b4bc034f GS |
98 | |
99 | =item 2 VMS TAR | |
100 | ||
101 | For reading and writing unix tape archives (*.tar files). Vmstar is also | |
58979ab1 PP |
102 | available from a number of web/ftp sites and is distributed on the OpenVMS |
103 | Freeware CD-ROM from Compaq. | |
b4bc034f | 104 | |
9f3f8d50 | 105 | ftp://ftp.lp.se/vms/ |
58979ab1 PP |
106 | http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/VMSTAR/ |
107 | ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/VMS/ | |
b4bc034f GS |
108 | |
109 | =item 3 UNZIP.EXE for VMS | |
110 | ||
111 | A combination decompressor and archive reader/writer for *.zip files. | |
112 | Unzip is available from a number of web/ftp sites. | |
113 | ||
114 | http://www.cdrom.com/pub/infozip/UnZip.html | |
58979ab1 PP |
115 | http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/INFO-ZIP/ |
116 | ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/VMS/ | |
117 | ftp://ftp.openvms.compaq.com/ | |
b4bc034f GS |
118 | ftp://ftp.madgoat.com/madgoat/ |
119 | ftp://ftp.wku.edu/vms/ | |
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/ | |
129 | ftp://ftp.wku.edu/vms/narnia/most.zip | |
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/ | |
139 | ||
b4bc034f GS |
140 | =back |
141 | ||
9f3f8d50 | 142 | Please note that UNZIP and GUNZIP are not the same thing (they work with |
b4bc034f | 143 | different formats). Many of the useful files from CPAN (the Comprehensive |
58979ab1 PP |
144 | Perl Archive Network) are in *.tar.gz or *.tgz format (this includes copies |
145 | of the source code for perl as well as modules and scripts that you may | |
146 | wish to add later) hence you probably want to have GUNZIP.EXE and | |
147 | VMSTAR.EXE on your VMS machine. | |
fb73857a | 148 | |
b4bc034f GS |
149 | If you want to include socket support, you'll need a TCP/IP stack and either |
150 | DEC C, or socket libraries. See the "Socket Support (optional)" topic | |
151 | for more details. | |
fb73857a | 152 | |
b4bc034f | 153 | =head1 Configuring the Perl build |
fb73857a | 154 | |
97abc6ad | 155 | To configure perl (a necessary first step), issue the command |
fb73857a | 156 | |
b4bc034f | 157 | @ Configure |
fb73857a | 158 | |
b4bc034f GS |
159 | from the top of an unpacked perl source directory. You will be asked a |
160 | series of questions, and the answers to them (along with the capabilities | |
161 | of your C compiler and network stack) will determine how perl is custom | |
162 | built for your machine. | |
fb73857a | 163 | |
b4bc034f GS |
164 | If you have multiple C compilers installed, you'll have your choice of |
165 | which one to use. Various older versions of DEC C had some caveats, so if | |
166 | you're using a version older than 5.2, check the "DEC C Issues" section. | |
fb73857a | 167 | |
b4bc034f GS |
168 | If you have any symbols or logical names in your environment that may |
169 | interfere with the build or regression testing of perl then configure.com | |
170 | will try to warn you about them. If a logical name is causing | |
7bb57f25 GS |
171 | you trouble but is in an LNM table that you do not have write access to |
172 | then try defining your own to a harmless equivalence string in a table | |
173 | such that it is resolved before the other (e.g. if TMP is defined in the | |
b4bc034f GS |
174 | SYSTEM table then try DEFINE TMP "NL:" or somesuch in your process table) |
175 | otherwise simply deassign the dangerous logical names. The potentially | |
176 | troublesome logicals and symbols are: | |
7bb57f25 GS |
177 | |
178 | TMP "LOGICAL" | |
179 | LIB "LOGICAL" | |
180 | T "LOGICAL" | |
181 | FOO "LOGICAL" | |
182 | EXT "LOGICAL" | |
a3bd614a PP |
183 | SOME_LOGICAL_NAME_NOT_LIKELY "LOGICAL" |
184 | DOWN_LOGICAL_NAME_NOT_LIKELY "LOGICAL" | |
7bb57f25 | 185 | TEST "SYMBOL" |
fb73857a | 186 | |
97abc6ad HM |
187 | As a handy shortcut, the command: |
188 | ||
b4bc034f GS |
189 | @ Configure "-des" |
190 | ||
191 | (note the quotation marks and case) will choose reasonable defaults | |
192 | automatically (it takes DEC C over Gnu C, DEC C sockets over SOCKETSHR | |
1bc81404 CB |
193 | sockets, and either over no sockets). Some options can be given |
194 | explicitly on the command line; the following example specifies a | |
195 | non-default location for where Perl will be installed: | |
196 | ||
197 | @ Configure "-d" "-Dprefix=dka100:[utils.perl5.]" | |
198 | ||
199 | More help with configure.com is available from: | |
b4bc034f GS |
200 | |
201 | @ Configure "-h" | |
202 | ||
203 | See the "Changing compile-time options (optional)" section below to learn | |
204 | even more details about how to influence the outcome of the important | |
205 | configuration step. If you find yourself reconfiguring and rebuilding | |
206 | then be sure to also follow the advice in the "Cleaning up and starting | |
207 | fresh (optional)" and the checklist of items in the "CAVEATS" sections | |
208 | below. | |
209 | ||
a83b6f46 | 210 | =head2 Changing compile-time options (optional) for Perl on VMS |
b4bc034f GS |
211 | |
212 | Most of the user definable features of Perl are enabled or disabled in | |
213 | [.VMS]CONFIG.VMS. There is code in there to Do The Right Thing, but that | |
214 | may end up being the wrong thing for you. Make sure you understand what | |
215 | you are doing since inappropriate changes to CONFIG.VMS can render perl | |
216 | unbuildable. | |
217 | ||
218 | Odds are that there's nothing here to change, unless you're on a version of | |
219 | VMS later than 6.2 and DEC C later than 5.6. Even if you are, the correct | |
220 | values will still be chosen, most likely. Poking around here should be | |
221 | unnecessary. | |
222 | ||
223 | The one exception is the various *DIR install locations. Changing those | |
224 | requires changes in genconfig.pl as well. Be really careful if you need to | |
225 | change these, as they can cause some fairly subtle problems. | |
226 | ||
a83b6f46 | 227 | =head2 Socket Support (optional) for Perl on VMS |
b4bc034f GS |
228 | |
229 | Perl includes a number of functions for IP sockets, which are available if | |
230 | you choose to compile Perl with socket support. Since IP networking is an | |
231 | optional addition to VMS, there are several different IP stacks available. | |
232 | How well integrated they are into the system depends on the stack, your | |
233 | version of VMS, and the version of your C compiler. | |
234 | ||
235 | The most portable solution uses the SOCKETSHR library. In combination with | |
236 | either UCX or NetLib, this supports all the major TCP stacks (Multinet, | |
237 | Pathways, TCPWare, UCX, and CMU) on all versions of VMS Perl runs on, with | |
238 | all the compilers on both VAX and Alpha. The socket interface is also | |
239 | consistent across versions of VMS and C compilers. It has a problem with | |
240 | UDP sockets when used with Multinet, though, so you should be aware of | |
241 | that. | |
242 | ||
243 | The other solution available is to use the socket routines built into DEC | |
244 | C. Which routines are available depend on the version of VMS you're | |
245 | running, and require proper UCX emulation by your TCP/IP vendor. | |
246 | Relatively current versions of Multinet, TCPWare, Pathway, and UCX all | |
247 | provide the required libraries--check your manuals or release notes to see | |
248 | if your version is new enough. | |
249 | ||
250 | =head1 Building Perl | |
251 | ||
252 | The configuration script will print out, at the very end, the MMS or MMK | |
253 | command you need to compile perl. Issue it (exactly as printed) to start | |
254 | the build. | |
97abc6ad | 255 | |
b4bc034f GS |
256 | Once you issue your MMS or MMK command, sit back and wait. Perl should |
257 | compile and link without a problem. If a problem does occur check the | |
258 | "CAVEATS" section of this document. If that does not help send some | |
259 | mail to the VMSPERL mailing list. Instructions are in the "Mailing Lists" | |
260 | section of this document. | |
97abc6ad | 261 | |
b4bc034f | 262 | =head1 Testing Perl |
fb73857a | 263 | |
b4bc034f GS |
264 | Once Perl has built cleanly you need to test it to make sure things work. |
265 | This step is very important since there are always things that can go wrong | |
266 | somehow and yield a dysfunctional Perl for you. | |
fb73857a | 267 | |
268 | Testing is very easy, though, as there's a full test suite in the perl | |
b4bc034f | 269 | distribution. To run the tests, enter the *exact* MMS line you used to |
fb73857a | 270 | compile Perl and add the word "test" to the end, like this: |
271 | ||
b4bc034f | 272 | If the compile command was: |
fb73857a | 273 | |
b4bc034f | 274 | MMS |
fb73857a | 275 | |
b4bc034f | 276 | then the test command ought to be: |
fb73857a | 277 | |
b4bc034f | 278 | MMS test |
fb73857a | 279 | |
b4bc034f GS |
280 | MMS (or MMK) will run all the tests. This may take some time, as there are |
281 | a lot of tests. If any tests fail, there will be a note made on-screen. | |
282 | At the end of all the tests, a summary of the tests, the number passed and | |
283 | failed, and the time taken will be displayed. | |
fb73857a | 284 | |
b4bc034f | 285 | If any tests fail, it means something is wrong with Perl. If the test suite |
fb73857a | 286 | hangs (some tests can take upwards of two or three minutes, or more if |
9f3f8d50 | 287 | you're on an especially slow machine, depending on your machine speed, so |
fb73857a | 288 | don't be hasty), then the test *after* the last one displayed failed. Don't |
289 | install Perl unless you're confident that you're OK. Regardless of how | |
290 | confident you are, make a bug report to the VMSPerl mailing list. | |
291 | ||
b4bc034f GS |
292 | If one or more tests fail, you can get more information on the failure by |
293 | issuing this command sequence: | |
fb73857a | 294 | |
b4bc034f | 295 | @ [.VMS]TEST .typ "" "-v" [.subdir]test.T |
fb73857a | 296 | |
297 | where ".typ" is the file type of the Perl images you just built (if you | |
298 | didn't do anything special, use .EXE), and "[.subdir]test.T" is the test | |
299 | that failed. For example, with a normal Perl build, if the test indicated | |
300 | that [.op]time failed, then you'd do this: | |
301 | ||
b4bc034f | 302 | @ [.VMS]TEST .EXE "" "-v" [.OP]TIME.T |
fb73857a | 303 | |
304 | When you send in a bug report for failed tests, please include the output | |
305 | from this command, which is run from the main source directory: | |
306 | ||
b4bc034f GS |
307 | MCR []MINIPERL "-V" |
308 | ||
309 | Note that -"V" really is a capital V in double quotes. This will dump out a | |
310 | couple of screens worth of configuration information, and can help us | |
311 | diagnose the problem. If (and only if) that did not work then try enclosing | |
312 | the output of: | |
313 | ||
314 | MMS printconfig | |
fb73857a | 315 | |
9f3f8d50 PP |
316 | If (and only if) that did not work then try enclosing the output of: |
317 | ||
b4bc034f | 318 | @ [.vms]myconfig |
fb73857a | 319 | |
b4bc034f GS |
320 | You may also be asked to provide your C compiler version ("CC/VERSION NL:" |
321 | with DEC C, "gcc --version" with GNU CC). To obtain the version of MMS or | |
322 | MMK you are running try "MMS/ident" or "MMK /ident". The GNU make version | |
323 | can be identified with "make --version". | |
324 | ||
a83b6f46 | 325 | =head2 Cleaning up and starting fresh (optional) installing Perl on VMS |
fb73857a | 326 | |
327 | If you need to recompile from scratch, you have to make sure you clean up | |
b4bc034f GS |
328 | first. There is a procedure to do it--enter the *exact* MMS line you used |
329 | to compile and add "realclean" at the end, like this: | |
fb73857a | 330 | |
b4bc034f | 331 | if the compile command was: |
fb73857a | 332 | |
b4bc034f | 333 | MMS |
fb73857a | 334 | |
b4bc034f | 335 | then the cleanup command ought to be: |
fb73857a | 336 | |
b4bc034f | 337 | MMS realclean |
fb73857a | 338 | |
b4bc034f GS |
339 | If you do not do this things may behave erratically during the subsequent |
340 | rebuild attempt. They might not, too, so it is best to be sure and do it. | |
fb73857a | 341 | |
b4bc034f | 342 | =head1 Installing Perl |
fb73857a | 343 | |
344 | There are several steps you need to take to get Perl installed and | |
3a385817 | 345 | running. |
fb73857a | 346 | |
a3ef2c6f | 347 | =over 4 |
b4bc034f | 348 | |
a3ef2c6f | 349 | =item 1 |
fb73857a | 350 | |
a3ef2c6f | 351 | Check your default file protections with |
fb73857a | 352 | |
a3ef2c6f | 353 | SHOW PROTECTION /DEFAULT |
fb73857a | 354 | |
a3ef2c6f | 355 | and adjust if necessary with SET PROTECTION=(code)/DEFAULT. |
fb73857a | 356 | |
a3ef2c6f | 357 | =item 2 |
3a385817 | 358 | |
1bc81404 CB |
359 | Decide where you want Perl to be installed (unless you have already done so |
360 | by using the "prefix" configuration parameter -- see the example in the | |
361 | "Configuring the Perl build" section). | |
b4bc034f | 362 | |
1bc81404 CB |
363 | The DCL script PERL_SETUP.COM that is written by CONFIGURE.COM will help you |
364 | with the definition of the PERL_ROOT and PERLSHR logical names and the PERL | |
365 | foreign command symbol. Take a look at PERL_SETUP.COM and modify it if you | |
366 | want to. The installation process will execute PERL_SETUP.COM and copy | |
367 | files to the directory tree pointed to by the PERL_ROOT logical name defined | |
368 | there, so make sure that you have write access to the parent directory of | |
369 | what will become the root of your Perl installation. | |
fb73857a | 370 | |
a3ef2c6f | 371 | =item 3 |
b4bc034f | 372 | |
a3ef2c6f | 373 | Run the install script via: |
b4bc034f | 374 | |
a3ef2c6f | 375 | MMS install |
b4bc034f | 376 | |
a3ef2c6f | 377 | or |
9f3f8d50 | 378 | |
a3ef2c6f | 379 | MMK install |
b4bc034f | 380 | |
a3ef2c6f GS |
381 | If for some reason it complains about target INSTALL being up to date, |
382 | throw a /FORCE switch on the MMS or MMK command. | |
b4bc034f | 383 | |
a3ef2c6f GS |
384 | =back |
385 | ||
1bc81404 CB |
386 | Copy PERL_SETUP.COM to a place accessible to your perl users. |
387 | ||
a3ef2c6f | 388 | For example: |
fb73857a | 389 | |
a3ef2c6f | 390 | COPY PERL_SETUP.COM SYS$LIBRARY: |
b4bc034f | 391 | |
a3ef2c6f GS |
392 | If you want to have everyone on the system have access to perl |
393 | then add a line that reads | |
fb73857a | 394 | |
a3ef2c6f | 395 | $ @sys$library:perl_setup |
491527d0 | 396 | |
a3ef2c6f | 397 | to SYS$MANAGER:SYLOGIN.COM. |
85988417 | 398 | |
a3ef2c6f GS |
399 | Two alternatives to the foreign symbol would be to install PERL into |
400 | DCLTABLES.EXE (Check out the section "Installing Perl into DCLTABLES | |
401 | (optional)" for more information), or put the image in a | |
402 | directory that's in your DCL$PATH (if you're using VMS V6.2 or higher). | |
85988417 | 403 | |
a3ef2c6f GS |
404 | An alternative to having PERL_SETUP.COM define the PERLSHR logical name |
405 | is to simply copy it into the system shareable library directory with: | |
406 | ||
407 | copy perl_root:[000000]perlshr.exe sys$share: | |
85988417 | 408 | |
a3ef2c6f | 409 | See also the "INSTALLing images (optional)" section. |
491527d0 | 410 | |
a83b6f46 | 411 | =head2 Installing Perl into DCLTABLES (optional) on VMS |
fb73857a | 412 | |
9ef4b0a6 | 413 | Execute the following command file to define PERL as a DCL command. |
b4bc034f | 414 | You'll need CMKRNL privilege to install the new dcltables.exe. |
fb73857a | 415 | |
7bb57f25 GS |
416 | $ create perl.cld |
417 | ! | |
418 | ! modify to reflect location of your perl.exe | |
419 | ! | |
420 | define verb perl | |
421 | image perl_root:[000000]perl.exe | |
422 | cliflags (foreign) | |
423 | $! | |
424 | $ set command perl /table=sys$common:[syslib]dcltables.exe - | |
425 | /output=sys$common:[syslib]dcltables.exe | |
426 | $ install replace sys$common:[syslib]dcltables.exe | |
427 | $ exit | |
fb73857a | 428 | |
a83b6f46 | 429 | =head2 INSTALLing Perl images (optional) on VMS |
9f3f8d50 PP |
430 | |
431 | On systems that are using perl quite a bit, and particularly those with | |
432 | minimal RAM, you can boost the performance of perl by INSTALLing it as | |
1bc81404 | 433 | a known image. PERLSHR.EXE is typically larger than 2500 blocks |
9f3f8d50 PP |
434 | and that is a reasonably large amount of IO to load each time perl is |
435 | invoked. | |
436 | ||
437 | INSTALL ADD PERLSHR/SHARE | |
b4bc034f | 438 | INSTALL ADD PERL/HEADER |
9f3f8d50 PP |
439 | |
440 | should be enough for PERLSHR.EXE (/share implies /header and /open), | |
441 | while /HEADER should do for PERL.EXE (perl.exe is not a shared image). | |
442 | ||
b4bc034f GS |
443 | If your code 'use's modules, check to see if there is a shareable image for |
444 | them, too. In the base perl build, POSIX, IO, Fcntl, Opcode, SDBM_File, | |
9f3f8d50 PP |
445 | DCLsym, and Stdio all have shared images that can be installed /SHARE. |
446 | ||
b4bc034f | 447 | How much of a win depends on your memory situation, but if you are firing |
9f3f8d50 | 448 | off perl with any regularity (like more than once every 20 seconds or so) |
b4bc034f | 449 | it is probably beneficial to INSTALL at least portions of perl. |
9f3f8d50 PP |
450 | |
451 | While there is code in perl to remove privileges as it runs you are advised | |
452 | to NOT INSTALL PERL.EXE with PRIVs! | |
fb73857a | 453 | |
b4bc034f | 454 | =head1 Reporting Bugs |
fb73857a | 455 | |
456 | If you come across what you think might be a bug in Perl, please report | |
457 | it. There's a script in PERL_ROOT:[UTILS], perlbug, that walks you through | |
458 | the process of creating a bug report. This script includes details of your | |
459 | installation, and is very handy. Completed bug reports should go to | |
9f3f8d50 | 460 | perlbug@perl.com. |
fb73857a | 461 | |
b4bc034f | 462 | =head1 CAVEATS |
fb73857a | 463 | |
464 | Probably the single biggest gotcha in compiling Perl is giving the wrong | |
b4bc034f GS |
465 | switches to MMS/MMK when you build. Use *exactly* what the configure.com |
466 | script prints! | |
467 | ||
468 | The next big gotcha is directory depth. Perl can create directories four, | |
469 | five, or even six levels deep during the build, so you don't have to be | |
470 | too deep to start to hit the RMS 8 level limit (for versions of VMS prior | |
471 | to V7.2 and even with V7.2 on the VAX). It is best to do | |
472 | ||
473 | DEFINE/TRANS=(CONC,TERM) PERLSRC "disk:[dir.dir.dir.perldir.]" | |
474 | SET DEFAULT PERLSRC:[000000] | |
475 | ||
476 | before building in cases where you have to unpack the distribution so deep | |
477 | (note the trailing period in the definition of PERLSRC). Perl modules | |
478 | from CPAN can be just as bad (or worse), so watch out for them, too. Perl's | |
479 | configuration script will warn if it thinks you are too deep (at least on | |
480 | a VAX or on Alpha versions of VMS prior to 7.2). But MakeMaker will not | |
481 | warn you if you start out building a module too deep in a directory. | |
482 | ||
483 | Be sure that the process that you use to build perl has a PGFLQ greater | |
484 | than 100000. Be sure to have a correct local time zone to UTC offset | |
485 | defined (in seconds) in the logical name SYS$TIMEZONE_DIFFERENTIAL before | |
486 | running the regression test suite. The SYS$MANAGER:UTC$CONFIGURE_TDF.COM | |
487 | procedure will help you set that logical for your system but may require | |
488 | system privileges. For example, a location 5 hours west of UTC (such as | |
489 | the US East coast while not on daylight savings time) would have: | |
490 | ||
491 | DEFINE SYS$TIMEZONE_DIFFERENTIAL "-18000" | |
492 | ||
493 | A final thing that causes trouble is leftover pieces from a failed | |
494 | build. If things go wrong make sure you do a "(MMK|MMS|make) realclean" | |
fb73857a | 495 | before you rebuild. |
496 | ||
a83b6f46 | 497 | =head2 DEC C issues with Perl on VMS |
fb73857a | 498 | |
b4bc034f | 499 | Note to DEC C users: Some early versions (pre-5.2, some pre-4. If you're DEC |
c54e8273 | 500 | C 5.x or higher, with current patches if any, you're fine) of the DECCRTL |
fb73857a | 501 | contained a few bugs which affect Perl performance: |
b4bc034f GS |
502 | |
503 | =over 4 | |
504 | ||
505 | =item - pipes | |
506 | ||
507 | Newlines are lost on I/O through pipes, causing lines to run together. | |
508 | This shows up as RMS RTB errors when reading from a pipe. You can | |
509 | work around this by having one process write data to a file, and | |
510 | then having the other read the file, instead of the pipe. This is | |
511 | fixed in version 4 of DEC C. | |
512 | ||
513 | =item - modf() | |
514 | ||
515 | The modf() routine returns a non-integral value for some values above | |
516 | INT_MAX; the Perl "int" operator will return a non-integral value in | |
517 | these cases. This is fixed in version 4 of DEC C. | |
518 | ||
519 | =item - ALPACRT ECO | |
520 | ||
521 | On the AXP, if SYSNAM privilege is enabled, the CRTL chdir() routine | |
522 | changes the process default device and directory permanently, even | |
523 | though the call specified that the change should not persist after | |
524 | Perl exited. This is fixed by DEC CSC patch ALPACRT04_061 or later. | |
525 | See also: | |
526 | ||
58979ab1 | 527 | http://ftp.service.compaq.com/patches/.new/openvms.html |
b4bc034f GS |
528 | |
529 | =back | |
530 | ||
531 | Please note that in later versions "DEC C" may also be known as | |
532 | "Compaq C". | |
533 | ||
a83b6f46 | 534 | =head2 GNU issues with Perl on VMS |
b4bc034f GS |
535 | |
536 | It has been a while since the GNU utilities such as GCC or GNU make | |
537 | were used to build perl on VMS. Hence they may require a great deal | |
538 | of source code modification to work again. | |
539 | ||
540 | http://slacvx.slac.stanford.edu/HELP/GCC | |
541 | http://www.progis.de/ | |
542 | http://vms.gnu.org/ | |
543 | http://www.lp.se/products/gnu.html | |
544 | ||
545 | =head1 Mailing Lists | |
546 | ||
547 | There are several mailing lists available to the Perl porter. For VMS | |
fb73857a | 548 | specific issues (including both Perl questions and installation problems) |
b4bc034f | 549 | there is the VMSPERL mailing list. It is usually a low-volume (10-12 |
fb73857a | 550 | messages a week) mailing list. |
551 | ||
1bc81404 CB |
552 | To subscribe, send a mail message to VMSPERL-SUBSCRIBE@PERL.ORG. The VMSPERL |
553 | mailing list address is VMSPERL@PERL.ORG. Any mail sent there gets echoed | |
554 | to all subscribers of the list. There is a searchable archive of the list | |
555 | on the web at: | |
b4bc034f GS |
556 | |
557 | http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/vmsperl/ | |
a83b6f46 | 558 | |
1bc81404 CB |
559 | To unsubscribe from VMSPERL send a message to VMSPERL-UNSUBSCRIBE@PERL.ORG. |
560 | Be sure to do so from the subscribed account that you are canceling. | |
b4bc034f | 561 | |
a83b6f46 | 562 | =head2 Web sites for Perl on VMS |
b4bc034f GS |
563 | |
564 | Vmsperl pages on the web include: | |
565 | ||
566 | http://www.sidhe.org/vmsperl/index.html | |
1bc81404 | 567 | http://www.crinoid.com/ |
b4bc034f | 568 | http://duphy4.physics.drexel.edu/pub/cgi_info.htmlx |
b4bc034f | 569 | http://www.cpan.org/modules/by-module/VMS/ |
60d9c7be | 570 | http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/vmsperl/ |
b4bc034f GS |
571 | http://nucwww.chem.sunysb.edu/htbin/software_list.cgi |
572 | http://www.best.com/~pvhp/vms/ | |
573 | http://bkfug.kfunigraz.ac.at/~binder/perl.html | |
60d9c7be PP |
574 | http://lists.perl.org/showlist.cgi?name=vmsperl |
575 | http://archive.develooper.com/vmsperl@perl.org/ | |
fb73857a | 576 | |
b4bc034f GS |
577 | =head1 SEE ALSO |
578 | ||
579 | Perl information for users and programmers about the port of perl to VMS is | |
580 | available from the [.VMS]PERLVMS.POD file that gets installed as L<perlvms>. | |
581 | For administrators the perlvms document also includes a detailed discussion | |
582 | of extending vmsperl with CPAN modules after Perl has been installed. | |
583 | ||
584 | =head1 AUTHORS | |
585 | ||
1bc81404 CB |
586 | Revised 5-April-2001 by Craig Berry craigberry@mac.com. |
587 | Revised 25-February-2000 by Peter Prymmer pvhp@best.com. | |
588 | Revised 27-October-1999 by Craig Berry craigberry@mac.com. | |
b4bc034f GS |
589 | Revised 01-March-1999 by Dan Sugalski dan@sidhe.org. |
590 | Originally by Charles Bailey bailey@newman.upenn.edu. | |
591 | ||
592 | =head1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | |
fb73857a | 593 | |
594 | A real big thanks needs to go to Charles Bailey | |
b4bc034f | 595 | bailey@newman.upenn.edu, who is ultimately responsible for Perl 5.004 |
fb73857a | 596 | running on VMS. Without him, nothing the rest of us have done would be at |
597 | all important. | |
598 | ||
599 | There are, of course, far too many people involved in the porting and testing | |
600 | of Perl to mention everyone who deserves it, so please forgive us if we've | |
601 | missed someone. That said, special thanks are due to the following: | |
b4bc034f GS |
602 | |
603 | Tim Adye T.J.Adye@rl.ac.uk | |
fb73857a | 604 | for the VMS emulations of getpw*() |
b4bc034f | 605 | David Denholm denholm@conmat.phys.soton.ac.uk |
fb73857a | 606 | for extensive testing and provision of pipe and SocketShr code, |
b4bc034f | 607 | Mark Pizzolato mark@infocomm.com |
fb73857a | 608 | for the getredirection() code |
b4bc034f | 609 | Rich Salz rsalz@bbn.com |
fb73857a | 610 | for readdir() and related routines |
b4bc034f | 611 | Peter Prymmer pvhp@best.com |
fb73857a | 612 | for extensive testing, as well as development work on |
613 | configuration and documentation for VMS Perl, | |
b4bc034f | 614 | Dan Sugalski dan@sidhe.org |
fb73857a | 615 | for extensive contributions to recent version support, |
616 | development of VMS-specific extensions, and dissemination | |
617 | of information about VMS Perl, | |
618 | the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory and the | |
619 | Laboratory of Nuclear Studies at Cornell University for | |
9f3f8d50 | 620 | the opportunity to test and develop for the AXP, |
a3ef2c6f GS |
621 | John Hasstedt John.Hasstedt@sunysb.edu |
622 | for VAX VMS V7.2 support | |
b4bc034f | 623 | |
fb73857a | 624 | and to the entire VMSperl group for useful advice and suggestions. In |
625 | addition the perl5-porters deserve credit for their creativity and | |
626 | willingness to work with the VMS newcomers. Finally, the greatest debt of | |
b4bc034f | 627 | gratitude is due to Larry Wall larry@wall.org, for having the ideas which |
fb73857a | 628 | have made our sleepless nights possible. |
629 | ||
630 | Thanks, | |
631 | The VMSperl group | |
b4bc034f GS |
632 | |
633 | =cut | |
634 |