[perl5.git] / README.os400

If you read this file _as_is_, just ignore the funny characters you see.
It is written in the POD format (see pod/perlpod.pod) which is specially
designed to be readable as is.

=head1 NAME

README.os400 - Perl version 5 on OS/400

=head1 DESCRIPTION

This document describes various features of IBM's OS/400 operating
system that will affect how Perl version 5 (hereafter just Perl) is
compiled and/or runs.

By far the easiest way to build Perl for OS/400 is to use the PASE
(Portable Application Solutions Environment), for more information see
http://www.iseries.ibm.com/developer/factory/pase/index.html
This environment allows one to use AIX APIs while programming, and it
provides a runtime that allows AIX binaries to execute directly on the
PowerPC iSeries.

=head2 Compiling Perl for OS/400 PASE

The recommended way to build Perl for the OS/400 PASE is to build the
Perl 5 source code (release 5.8.1 or later) under AIX.

The trick is to give a special parameter to the Configure shell script
when running it on AIX:

  sh Configure -DPASE ...

The default installation directory of Perl under PASE is /QOpenSys/perl.
This can be modified if needed with Configure parameter -Dprefix=/some/dir.

Starting from OS/400 V5R2 the IBM Visual Age compiler is supported
on OS/400 PASE, so it is possible to build Perl natively on OS/400.  
The easier way, however, is to compile in AIX, as just described.

If building natively on PASE, please do the build under the /QOpenSys
directory, since Perl is happier when built on a case sensitive filesystem.

=head2 Installing Perl in OS/400 PASE

If you are compiling on AIX, simply do a "make install" on the AIX box.
Once the install finishes, tar up the /QOpenSys/perl directory.  Transfer
the tarball to the OS/400 using FTP with the following commands:

  > binary
  > site namefmt 1
  > put perl.tar /QOpenSys

Once you have it on, simply bring up a PASE shell and extract the tarball.

If you are compiling in PASE, then "make install" is the only thing you
will need to do.

The default path for perl binary is /QOpenSys/perl/bin/perl.  You'll
want to symlink /QOpenSys/usr/bin/perl to this file so you don't have
to modify your path.

=head2 Using Perl in OS/400 PASE

Perl in PASE may be used in the same manner as you would use Perl on AIX.

Scripts starting with #!/usr/bin/perl should work if you have
/QOpenSys/usr/bin/perl symlinked to your perl binary.  This will not
work if you've done a setuid/setgid or have environment variable
PASE_EXEC_QOPENSYS="N".  If you have V5R1, you'll need to get the
latest PTFs to have this feature.  Scripts starting with
#!/QOpenSys/perl/bin/perl should always work.

=head2 Known Problems

When compiling in PASE, there is no "oslevel" command.  Therefore,
you may want to create a script called "oslevel" that echoes the
level of AIX that your version of PASE runtime supports.  If you're
unsure, consult your documentation or use "4.3.3.0".

If you have test cases that fail, check for the existence of spool files.
The test case may be trying to use a syscall that is not implemented
in PASE.  To avoid the SIGILL, try setting the PASE_SYSCALL_NOSIGILL
environment variable or have a handler for the SIGILL.  If you can
compile programs for PASE, run the config script and edit config.sh
when it gives you the option.  If you want to remove fchdir(), which
isn't implement in V5R1, simply change the line that says:

d_fchdir='define'

to

d_fchdir='undef'

and then compile Perl.  The places where fchdir() is used have
alternatives for systems that do not have fchdir() available.

=head2 Perl on ILE

There exists a port of Perl to the ILE environment.  This port, however,
is based quite an old release of Perl, Perl 5.00502 (August 1998).
(As of July 2002 the latest release of Perl is 5.8.0, and even 5.6.1
has been out since April 2001.)  If you need to run Perl on ILE, though,
you may need this older port: http://www.cpan.org/ports/#os400
Note that any Perl release later than 5.00502 has not been ported to ILE.

If you need to use Perl in the ILE environment, you may want to consider
using Qp2RunPase() to call the PASE version of Perl.

=head1 AUTHORS

Jarkko Hietaniemi <jhi@iki.fi>
Bryan Logan <bryanlog@us.ibm.com>
David Larson <larson1@us.ibm.com>

=cut
Commit	Line	Data
522b859a JH	1	If you read this file _as_is_, just ignore the funny characters you see.
	2	It is written in the POD format (see pod/perlpod.pod) which is specially
	3	designed to be readable as is.
	4
	5	=head1 NAME
	6
	7	README.os400 - Perl version 5 on OS/400
	8
	9	=head1 DESCRIPTION
	10
	11	This document describes various features of IBM's OS/400 operating
	12	system that will affect how Perl version 5 (hereafter just Perl) is
	13	compiled and/or runs.
	14
	15	By far the easiest way to build Perl for OS/400 is to use the PASE
	16	(Portable Application Solutions Environment), for more information see
	17	http://www.iseries.ibm.com/developer/factory/pase/index.html
	18	This environment allows one to use AIX APIs while programming, and it
	19	provides a runtime that allows AIX binaries to execute directly on the
	20	PowerPC iSeries.
	21
	22	=head2 Compiling Perl for OS/400 PASE
	23
	24	The recommended way to build Perl for the OS/400 PASE is to build the
	25	Perl 5 source code (release 5.8.1 or later) under AIX.
	26
	27	The trick is to give a special parameter to the Configure shell script
	28	when running it on AIX:
	29
	30	sh Configure -DPASE ...
	31
	32	The default installation directory of Perl under PASE is /QOpenSys/perl.
	33	This can be modified if needed with Configure parameter -Dprefix=/some/dir.
	34
	35	Starting from OS/400 V5R2 the IBM Visual Age compiler is supported
	36	on OS/400 PASE, so it is possible to build Perl natively on OS/400.
	37	The easier way, however, is to compile in AIX, as just described.
	38
	39	If building natively on PASE, please do the build under the /QOpenSys
	40	directory, since Perl is happier when built on a case sensitive filesystem.
	41
	42	=head2 Installing Perl in OS/400 PASE
	43
	44	If you are compiling on AIX, simply do a "make install" on the AIX box.
	45	Once the install finishes, tar up the /QOpenSys/perl directory. Transfer
	46	the tarball to the OS/400 using FTP with the following commands:
	47
	48	> binary
	49	> site namefmt 1
	50	> put perl.tar /QOpenSys
	51
	52	Once you have it on, simply bring up a PASE shell and extract the tarball.
	53
	54	If you are compiling in PASE, then "make install" is the only thing you
	55	will need to do.
	56
	57	The default path for perl binary is /QOpenSys/perl/bin/perl. You'll
	58	want to symlink /QOpenSys/usr/bin/perl to this file so you don't have
	59	to modify your path.
	60
	61	=head2 Using Perl in OS/400 PASE
	62
	63	Perl in PASE may be used in the same manner as you would use Perl on AIX.
	64
65	Scripts starting with #!/usr/bin/perl should work if you have
66	/QOpenSys/usr/bin/perl symlinked to your perl binary. This will not
67	work if you've done a setuid/setgid or have environment variable
68	PASE_EXEC_QOPENSYS="N". If you have V5R1, you'll need to get the
69	latest PTFs to have this feature. Scripts starting with
70	#!/QOpenSys/perl/bin/perl should always work.
71
954a4c1b JH	72	=head2 Known Problems
954a4c1b JH	73
61074b56 JH	74	When compiling in PASE, there is no "oslevel" command. Therefore,
	75	you may want to create a script called "oslevel" that echoes the
	76	level of AIX that your version of PASE runtime supports. If you're
	77	unsure, consult your documentation or use "4.3.3.0".
	78
	79	If you have test cases that fail, check for the existence of spool files.
	80	The test case may be trying to use a syscall that is not implemented
	81	in PASE. To avoid the SIGILL, try setting the PASE_SYSCALL_NOSIGILL
	82	environment variable or have a handler for the SIGILL. If you can
	83	compile programs for PASE, run the config script and edit config.sh
	84	when it gives you the option. If you want to remove fchdir(), which
	85	isn't implement in V5R1, simply change the line that says:
	86
	87	d_fchdir='define'
	88
	89	to
	90
	91	d_fchdir='undef'
	92
	93	and then compile Perl. The places where fchdir() is used have
	94	alternatives for systems that do not have fchdir() available.
954a4c1b	95
522b859a JH	96	=head2 Perl on ILE
	97
	98	There exists a port of Perl to the ILE environment. This port, however,
	99	is based quite an old release of Perl, Perl 5.00502 (August 1998).
	100	(As of July 2002 the latest release of Perl is 5.8.0, and even 5.6.1
	101	has been out since April 2001.) If you need to run Perl on ILE, though,
	102	you may need this older port: http://www.cpan.org/ports/#os400
	103	Note that any Perl release later than 5.00502 has not been ported to ILE.
	104
	105	If you need to use Perl in the ILE environment, you may want to consider
	106	using Qp2RunPase() to call the PASE version of Perl.
	107
	108	=head1 AUTHORS
	109
	110	Jarkko Hietaniemi <jhi@iki.fi>
	111	Bryan Logan <bryanlog@us.ibm.com>
	112	David Larson <larson1@us.ibm.com>
	113
	114	=cut