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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 | |
32 | VAX C will not compile perl 5.005. 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 GS |
38 | |
39 | =head2 Introduction | |
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 |
fb73857a | 55 | other compilers, please let us know. |
56 | ||
b4bc034f GS |
57 | There are issues with various versions of DEC C, so if you're not running a |
58 | relatively modern version, check the "DEC C issues" section later on in this | |
fb73857a | 59 | document. |
60 | ||
b4bc034f GS |
61 | =head2 Other required software |
62 | ||
63 | In addition to VMS and DCL you will need two things: | |
fb73857a | 64 | |
b4bc034f GS |
65 | =over 4 |
66 | ||
67 | =item 1 A C compiler. | |
68 | ||
69 | DEC C or gcc for VMS (AXP or VAX). | |
70 | ||
71 | =item 2 A make tool. | |
72 | ||
73 | DEC's MMS (v2.6 or later), or MadGoat's free MMS | |
74 | analog MMK (available from ftp.madgoat.com/madgoat) both work | |
75 | just fine. Gnu Make might work, but it's been so long since | |
76 | anyone's tested it that we're not sure. MMK is free though, so | |
77 | go ahead and use that. | |
78 | ||
79 | =back | |
80 | ||
81 | =head2 Additional software that is optional | |
fb73857a | 82 | |
9f3f8d50 | 83 | You may also want to have on hand: |
b4bc034f GS |
84 | |
85 | =over 4 | |
86 | ||
87 | =item 1 GUNZIP/GZIP.EXE for VMS | |
88 | ||
89 | A de-compressor for *.gz and *.tgz files available from a number | |
90 | of web/ftp sites. | |
91 | ||
9f3f8d50 PP |
92 | http://www.fsf.org/order/ftp.html |
93 | ftp://ftp.uu.net/archive/systems/gnu/diffutils*.tar.gz | |
94 | ftp://gatekeeper.dec.com/pub/GNU/diffutils*.tar.gz | |
95 | ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/diffutils*.tar.gz | |
96 | http://www.openvms.digital.com/cd/GZIP/ | |
97 | ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/VMS/ | |
b4bc034f GS |
98 | |
99 | =item 2 VMS TAR | |
100 | ||
101 | For reading and writing unix tape archives (*.tar files). Vmstar is also | |
102 | available from a number of web/ftp sites. | |
103 | ||
9f3f8d50 PP |
104 | ftp://ftp.lp.se/vms/ |
105 | http://www.openvms.digital.com/cd/VMSTAR/ | |
106 | ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/VMS/ | |
b4bc034f GS |
107 | |
108 | =item 3 UNZIP.EXE for VMS | |
109 | ||
110 | A combination decompressor and archive reader/writer for *.zip files. | |
111 | Unzip is available from a number of web/ftp sites. | |
112 | ||
113 | http://www.cdrom.com/pub/infozip/UnZip.html | |
114 | http://www.openvms.digital.com/cd/INFO-ZIP/ | |
115 | ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/VMS/ | |
116 | ftp://ftp.openvms.digital.com/ | |
117 | ftp://ftp.madgoat.com/madgoat/ | |
118 | ftp://ftp.wku.edu/vms/ | |
119 | ||
120 | =item 4 MOST | |
121 | ||
122 | Most is an optional pager that is convenient to use with perldoc (unlike | |
123 | TYPE/PAGE, MOST can go forward and backwards in a document and supports | |
124 | regular expression searching). Most builds with the slang | |
125 | library on VMS. Most and slang are available from: | |
126 | ||
127 | ftp://space.mit.edu/pub/davis/ | |
128 | ftp://ftp.wku.edu/vms/narnia/most.zip | |
129 | ||
130 | =back | |
131 | ||
9f3f8d50 | 132 | Please note that UNZIP and GUNZIP are not the same thing (they work with |
b4bc034f GS |
133 | different formats). Many of the useful files from CPAN (the Comprehensive |
134 | Perl Archive Network) are in *.tar.gz format (this includes copies of the | |
9f3f8d50 PP |
135 | source code for perl as well as modules and scripts that you may wish to |
136 | add later) hence you probably want to have GUNZIP.EXE and VMSTAR.EXE on | |
137 | your VMS machine. | |
fb73857a | 138 | |
b4bc034f GS |
139 | If you want to include socket support, you'll need a TCP/IP stack and either |
140 | DEC C, or socket libraries. See the "Socket Support (optional)" topic | |
141 | for more details. | |
fb73857a | 142 | |
b4bc034f | 143 | =head1 Configuring the Perl build |
fb73857a | 144 | |
97abc6ad | 145 | To configure perl (a necessary first step), issue the command |
fb73857a | 146 | |
b4bc034f | 147 | @ Configure |
fb73857a | 148 | |
b4bc034f GS |
149 | from the top of an unpacked perl source directory. You will be asked a |
150 | series of questions, and the answers to them (along with the capabilities | |
151 | of your C compiler and network stack) will determine how perl is custom | |
152 | built for your machine. | |
fb73857a | 153 | |
b4bc034f GS |
154 | If you have multiple C compilers installed, you'll have your choice of |
155 | which one to use. Various older versions of DEC C had some caveats, so if | |
156 | you're using a version older than 5.2, check the "DEC C Issues" section. | |
fb73857a | 157 | |
b4bc034f GS |
158 | If you have any symbols or logical names in your environment that may |
159 | interfere with the build or regression testing of perl then configure.com | |
160 | will try to warn you about them. If a logical name is causing | |
7bb57f25 GS |
161 | you trouble but is in an LNM table that you do not have write access to |
162 | then try defining your own to a harmless equivalence string in a table | |
163 | such that it is resolved before the other (e.g. if TMP is defined in the | |
b4bc034f GS |
164 | SYSTEM table then try DEFINE TMP "NL:" or somesuch in your process table) |
165 | otherwise simply deassign the dangerous logical names. The potentially | |
166 | troublesome logicals and symbols are: | |
7bb57f25 GS |
167 | |
168 | TMP "LOGICAL" | |
169 | LIB "LOGICAL" | |
170 | T "LOGICAL" | |
171 | FOO "LOGICAL" | |
172 | EXT "LOGICAL" | |
173 | TEST "SYMBOL" | |
fb73857a | 174 | |
97abc6ad HM |
175 | As a handy shortcut, the command: |
176 | ||
b4bc034f GS |
177 | @ Configure "-des" |
178 | ||
179 | (note the quotation marks and case) will choose reasonable defaults | |
180 | automatically (it takes DEC C over Gnu C, DEC C sockets over SOCKETSHR | |
181 | sockets, and either over no sockets). More help with configure.com is | |
182 | available from: | |
183 | ||
184 | @ Configure "-h" | |
185 | ||
186 | See the "Changing compile-time options (optional)" section below to learn | |
187 | even more details about how to influence the outcome of the important | |
188 | configuration step. If you find yourself reconfiguring and rebuilding | |
189 | then be sure to also follow the advice in the "Cleaning up and starting | |
190 | fresh (optional)" and the checklist of items in the "CAVEATS" sections | |
191 | below. | |
192 | ||
193 | =head2 Changing compile-time options (optional) | |
194 | ||
195 | Most of the user definable features of Perl are enabled or disabled in | |
196 | [.VMS]CONFIG.VMS. There is code in there to Do The Right Thing, but that | |
197 | may end up being the wrong thing for you. Make sure you understand what | |
198 | you are doing since inappropriate changes to CONFIG.VMS can render perl | |
199 | unbuildable. | |
200 | ||
201 | Odds are that there's nothing here to change, unless you're on a version of | |
202 | VMS later than 6.2 and DEC C later than 5.6. Even if you are, the correct | |
203 | values will still be chosen, most likely. Poking around here should be | |
204 | unnecessary. | |
205 | ||
206 | The one exception is the various *DIR install locations. Changing those | |
207 | requires changes in genconfig.pl as well. Be really careful if you need to | |
208 | change these, as they can cause some fairly subtle problems. | |
209 | ||
210 | =head2 Socket Support (optional) | |
211 | ||
212 | Perl includes a number of functions for IP sockets, which are available if | |
213 | you choose to compile Perl with socket support. Since IP networking is an | |
214 | optional addition to VMS, there are several different IP stacks available. | |
215 | How well integrated they are into the system depends on the stack, your | |
216 | version of VMS, and the version of your C compiler. | |
217 | ||
218 | The most portable solution uses the SOCKETSHR library. In combination with | |
219 | either UCX or NetLib, this supports all the major TCP stacks (Multinet, | |
220 | Pathways, TCPWare, UCX, and CMU) on all versions of VMS Perl runs on, with | |
221 | all the compilers on both VAX and Alpha. The socket interface is also | |
222 | consistent across versions of VMS and C compilers. It has a problem with | |
223 | UDP sockets when used with Multinet, though, so you should be aware of | |
224 | that. | |
225 | ||
226 | The other solution available is to use the socket routines built into DEC | |
227 | C. Which routines are available depend on the version of VMS you're | |
228 | running, and require proper UCX emulation by your TCP/IP vendor. | |
229 | Relatively current versions of Multinet, TCPWare, Pathway, and UCX all | |
230 | provide the required libraries--check your manuals or release notes to see | |
231 | if your version is new enough. | |
232 | ||
233 | =head1 Building Perl | |
234 | ||
235 | The configuration script will print out, at the very end, the MMS or MMK | |
236 | command you need to compile perl. Issue it (exactly as printed) to start | |
237 | the build. | |
97abc6ad | 238 | |
b4bc034f GS |
239 | Once you issue your MMS or MMK command, sit back and wait. Perl should |
240 | compile and link without a problem. If a problem does occur check the | |
241 | "CAVEATS" section of this document. If that does not help send some | |
242 | mail to the VMSPERL mailing list. Instructions are in the "Mailing Lists" | |
243 | section of this document. | |
97abc6ad | 244 | |
b4bc034f | 245 | =head1 Testing Perl |
fb73857a | 246 | |
b4bc034f GS |
247 | Once Perl has built cleanly you need to test it to make sure things work. |
248 | This step is very important since there are always things that can go wrong | |
249 | somehow and yield a dysfunctional Perl for you. | |
fb73857a | 250 | |
251 | Testing is very easy, though, as there's a full test suite in the perl | |
b4bc034f | 252 | distribution. To run the tests, enter the *exact* MMS line you used to |
fb73857a | 253 | compile Perl and add the word "test" to the end, like this: |
254 | ||
b4bc034f | 255 | If the compile command was: |
fb73857a | 256 | |
b4bc034f | 257 | MMS |
fb73857a | 258 | |
b4bc034f | 259 | then the test command ought to be: |
fb73857a | 260 | |
b4bc034f | 261 | MMS test |
fb73857a | 262 | |
b4bc034f GS |
263 | MMS (or MMK) will run all the tests. This may take some time, as there are |
264 | a lot of tests. If any tests fail, there will be a note made on-screen. | |
265 | At the end of all the tests, a summary of the tests, the number passed and | |
266 | failed, and the time taken will be displayed. | |
fb73857a | 267 | |
b4bc034f | 268 | If any tests fail, it means something is wrong with Perl. If the test suite |
fb73857a | 269 | hangs (some tests can take upwards of two or three minutes, or more if |
9f3f8d50 | 270 | you're on an especially slow machine, depending on your machine speed, so |
fb73857a | 271 | don't be hasty), then the test *after* the last one displayed failed. Don't |
272 | install Perl unless you're confident that you're OK. Regardless of how | |
273 | confident you are, make a bug report to the VMSPerl mailing list. | |
274 | ||
b4bc034f GS |
275 | If one or more tests fail, you can get more information on the failure by |
276 | issuing this command sequence: | |
fb73857a | 277 | |
b4bc034f | 278 | @ [.VMS]TEST .typ "" "-v" [.subdir]test.T |
fb73857a | 279 | |
280 | where ".typ" is the file type of the Perl images you just built (if you | |
281 | didn't do anything special, use .EXE), and "[.subdir]test.T" is the test | |
282 | that failed. For example, with a normal Perl build, if the test indicated | |
283 | that [.op]time failed, then you'd do this: | |
284 | ||
b4bc034f | 285 | @ [.VMS]TEST .EXE "" "-v" [.OP]TIME.T |
fb73857a | 286 | |
287 | When you send in a bug report for failed tests, please include the output | |
288 | from this command, which is run from the main source directory: | |
289 | ||
b4bc034f GS |
290 | MCR []MINIPERL "-V" |
291 | ||
292 | Note that -"V" really is a capital V in double quotes. This will dump out a | |
293 | couple of screens worth of configuration information, and can help us | |
294 | diagnose the problem. If (and only if) that did not work then try enclosing | |
295 | the output of: | |
296 | ||
297 | MMS printconfig | |
fb73857a | 298 | |
9f3f8d50 PP |
299 | If (and only if) that did not work then try enclosing the output of: |
300 | ||
b4bc034f | 301 | @ [.vms]myconfig |
fb73857a | 302 | |
b4bc034f GS |
303 | You may also be asked to provide your C compiler version ("CC/VERSION NL:" |
304 | with DEC C, "gcc --version" with GNU CC). To obtain the version of MMS or | |
305 | MMK you are running try "MMS/ident" or "MMK /ident". The GNU make version | |
306 | can be identified with "make --version". | |
307 | ||
308 | =head2 Cleaning up and starting fresh (optional) | |
fb73857a | 309 | |
310 | If you need to recompile from scratch, you have to make sure you clean up | |
b4bc034f GS |
311 | first. There is a procedure to do it--enter the *exact* MMS line you used |
312 | to compile and add "realclean" at the end, like this: | |
fb73857a | 313 | |
b4bc034f | 314 | if the compile command was: |
fb73857a | 315 | |
b4bc034f | 316 | MMS |
fb73857a | 317 | |
b4bc034f | 318 | then the cleanup command ought to be: |
fb73857a | 319 | |
b4bc034f | 320 | MMS realclean |
fb73857a | 321 | |
b4bc034f GS |
322 | If you do not do this things may behave erratically during the subsequent |
323 | rebuild attempt. They might not, too, so it is best to be sure and do it. | |
fb73857a | 324 | |
b4bc034f | 325 | =head1 Installing Perl |
fb73857a | 326 | |
327 | There are several steps you need to take to get Perl installed and | |
3a385817 | 328 | running. |
fb73857a | 329 | |
a3ef2c6f | 330 | =over 4 |
b4bc034f | 331 | |
a3ef2c6f | 332 | =item 1 |
fb73857a | 333 | |
a3ef2c6f | 334 | Check your default file protections with |
fb73857a | 335 | |
a3ef2c6f | 336 | SHOW PROTECTION /DEFAULT |
fb73857a | 337 | |
a3ef2c6f | 338 | and adjust if necessary with SET PROTECTION=(code)/DEFAULT. |
fb73857a | 339 | |
a3ef2c6f | 340 | =item 2 |
3a385817 | 341 | |
a3ef2c6f GS |
342 | Create a directory somewhere and either run @perl_setup or |
343 | define the concealed logical PERL_ROOT to point to it by hand. | |
344 | For example, | |
3a385817 | 345 | |
a3ef2c6f GS |
346 | CREATE/DIRECTORY dka200:[perl] |
347 | @PERL_SETUP | |
348 | SHOW LOGICAL PERL_ROOT | |
9f3f8d50 | 349 | |
a3ef2c6f | 350 | or, |
b4bc034f | 351 | |
a3ef2c6f GS |
352 | CREATE/DIRECTORY dka200:[perl] |
353 | DEFINE/TRANS=(CONC,TERM) PERL_ROOT dka200:[perl.] | |
b4bc034f | 354 | |
fb73857a | 355 | |
a3ef2c6f | 356 | =item 3 |
b4bc034f | 357 | |
a3ef2c6f | 358 | Run the install script via: |
b4bc034f | 359 | |
a3ef2c6f | 360 | MMS install |
b4bc034f | 361 | |
a3ef2c6f | 362 | or |
9f3f8d50 | 363 | |
a3ef2c6f | 364 | MMK install |
b4bc034f | 365 | |
a3ef2c6f GS |
366 | If for some reason it complains about target INSTALL being up to date, |
367 | throw a /FORCE switch on the MMS or MMK command. | |
b4bc034f | 368 | |
a3ef2c6f GS |
369 | =back |
370 | ||
371 | The DCL script PERL_SETUP.COM that is written by CONFIGURE.COM | |
372 | will help you with the definition of PERL_ROOT, PERLSHR and the PERL | |
373 | Foreign symbol. Take a look at PERL_SETUP.COM and modify it if you want | |
374 | to. Then copy PERL_SETUP.COM to a place accessible to your perl users. | |
375 | For example: | |
fb73857a | 376 | |
a3ef2c6f | 377 | COPY PERL_SETUP.COM SYS$LIBRARY: |
b4bc034f | 378 | |
a3ef2c6f GS |
379 | If you want to have everyone on the system have access to perl |
380 | then add a line that reads | |
fb73857a | 381 | |
a3ef2c6f | 382 | $ @sys$library:perl_setup |
491527d0 | 383 | |
a3ef2c6f | 384 | to SYS$MANAGER:SYLOGIN.COM. |
85988417 | 385 | |
a3ef2c6f GS |
386 | Two alternatives to the foreign symbol would be to install PERL into |
387 | DCLTABLES.EXE (Check out the section "Installing Perl into DCLTABLES | |
388 | (optional)" for more information), or put the image in a | |
389 | directory that's in your DCL$PATH (if you're using VMS V6.2 or higher). | |
85988417 | 390 | |
a3ef2c6f GS |
391 | An alternative to having PERL_SETUP.COM define the PERLSHR logical name |
392 | is to simply copy it into the system shareable library directory with: | |
393 | ||
394 | copy perl_root:[000000]perlshr.exe sys$share: | |
85988417 | 395 | |
a3ef2c6f | 396 | See also the "INSTALLing images (optional)" section. |
491527d0 | 397 | |
b4bc034f | 398 | =head2 Installing Perl into DCLTABLES (optional) |
fb73857a | 399 | |
9ef4b0a6 | 400 | Execute the following command file to define PERL as a DCL command. |
b4bc034f | 401 | You'll need CMKRNL privilege to install the new dcltables.exe. |
fb73857a | 402 | |
7bb57f25 GS |
403 | $ create perl.cld |
404 | ! | |
405 | ! modify to reflect location of your perl.exe | |
406 | ! | |
407 | define verb perl | |
408 | image perl_root:[000000]perl.exe | |
409 | cliflags (foreign) | |
410 | $! | |
411 | $ set command perl /table=sys$common:[syslib]dcltables.exe - | |
412 | /output=sys$common:[syslib]dcltables.exe | |
413 | $ install replace sys$common:[syslib]dcltables.exe | |
414 | $ exit | |
fb73857a | 415 | |
b4bc034f | 416 | =head2 INSTALLing images (optional) |
9f3f8d50 PP |
417 | |
418 | On systems that are using perl quite a bit, and particularly those with | |
419 | minimal RAM, you can boost the performance of perl by INSTALLing it as | |
c54e8273 | 420 | a known image. PERLSHR.EXE is typically larger than 2000 blocks |
9f3f8d50 PP |
421 | and that is a reasonably large amount of IO to load each time perl is |
422 | invoked. | |
423 | ||
424 | INSTALL ADD PERLSHR/SHARE | |
b4bc034f | 425 | INSTALL ADD PERL/HEADER |
9f3f8d50 PP |
426 | |
427 | should be enough for PERLSHR.EXE (/share implies /header and /open), | |
428 | while /HEADER should do for PERL.EXE (perl.exe is not a shared image). | |
429 | ||
b4bc034f GS |
430 | If your code 'use's modules, check to see if there is a shareable image for |
431 | them, too. In the base perl build, POSIX, IO, Fcntl, Opcode, SDBM_File, | |
9f3f8d50 PP |
432 | DCLsym, and Stdio all have shared images that can be installed /SHARE. |
433 | ||
b4bc034f | 434 | How much of a win depends on your memory situation, but if you are firing |
9f3f8d50 | 435 | off perl with any regularity (like more than once every 20 seconds or so) |
b4bc034f | 436 | it is probably beneficial to INSTALL at least portions of perl. |
9f3f8d50 PP |
437 | |
438 | While there is code in perl to remove privileges as it runs you are advised | |
439 | to NOT INSTALL PERL.EXE with PRIVs! | |
fb73857a | 440 | |
b4bc034f | 441 | =head1 Reporting Bugs |
fb73857a | 442 | |
443 | If you come across what you think might be a bug in Perl, please report | |
444 | it. There's a script in PERL_ROOT:[UTILS], perlbug, that walks you through | |
445 | the process of creating a bug report. This script includes details of your | |
446 | installation, and is very handy. Completed bug reports should go to | |
9f3f8d50 | 447 | perlbug@perl.com. |
fb73857a | 448 | |
b4bc034f | 449 | =head1 CAVEATS |
fb73857a | 450 | |
451 | Probably the single biggest gotcha in compiling Perl is giving the wrong | |
b4bc034f GS |
452 | switches to MMS/MMK when you build. Use *exactly* what the configure.com |
453 | script prints! | |
454 | ||
455 | The next big gotcha is directory depth. Perl can create directories four, | |
456 | five, or even six levels deep during the build, so you don't have to be | |
457 | too deep to start to hit the RMS 8 level limit (for versions of VMS prior | |
458 | to V7.2 and even with V7.2 on the VAX). It is best to do | |
459 | ||
460 | DEFINE/TRANS=(CONC,TERM) PERLSRC "disk:[dir.dir.dir.perldir.]" | |
461 | SET DEFAULT PERLSRC:[000000] | |
462 | ||
463 | before building in cases where you have to unpack the distribution so deep | |
464 | (note the trailing period in the definition of PERLSRC). Perl modules | |
465 | from CPAN can be just as bad (or worse), so watch out for them, too. Perl's | |
466 | configuration script will warn if it thinks you are too deep (at least on | |
467 | a VAX or on Alpha versions of VMS prior to 7.2). But MakeMaker will not | |
468 | warn you if you start out building a module too deep in a directory. | |
469 | ||
470 | Be sure that the process that you use to build perl has a PGFLQ greater | |
471 | than 100000. Be sure to have a correct local time zone to UTC offset | |
472 | defined (in seconds) in the logical name SYS$TIMEZONE_DIFFERENTIAL before | |
473 | running the regression test suite. The SYS$MANAGER:UTC$CONFIGURE_TDF.COM | |
474 | procedure will help you set that logical for your system but may require | |
475 | system privileges. For example, a location 5 hours west of UTC (such as | |
476 | the US East coast while not on daylight savings time) would have: | |
477 | ||
478 | DEFINE SYS$TIMEZONE_DIFFERENTIAL "-18000" | |
479 | ||
480 | A final thing that causes trouble is leftover pieces from a failed | |
481 | build. If things go wrong make sure you do a "(MMK|MMS|make) realclean" | |
fb73857a | 482 | before you rebuild. |
483 | ||
b4bc034f | 484 | =head2 DEC C issues |
fb73857a | 485 | |
b4bc034f | 486 | Note to DEC C users: Some early versions (pre-5.2, some pre-4. If you're DEC |
c54e8273 | 487 | C 5.x or higher, with current patches if any, you're fine) of the DECCRTL |
fb73857a | 488 | contained a few bugs which affect Perl performance: |
b4bc034f GS |
489 | |
490 | =over 4 | |
491 | ||
492 | =item - pipes | |
493 | ||
494 | Newlines are lost on I/O through pipes, causing lines to run together. | |
495 | This shows up as RMS RTB errors when reading from a pipe. You can | |
496 | work around this by having one process write data to a file, and | |
497 | then having the other read the file, instead of the pipe. This is | |
498 | fixed in version 4 of DEC C. | |
499 | ||
500 | =item - modf() | |
501 | ||
502 | The modf() routine returns a non-integral value for some values above | |
503 | INT_MAX; the Perl "int" operator will return a non-integral value in | |
504 | these cases. This is fixed in version 4 of DEC C. | |
505 | ||
506 | =item - ALPACRT ECO | |
507 | ||
508 | On the AXP, if SYSNAM privilege is enabled, the CRTL chdir() routine | |
509 | changes the process default device and directory permanently, even | |
510 | though the call specified that the change should not persist after | |
511 | Perl exited. This is fixed by DEC CSC patch ALPACRT04_061 or later. | |
512 | See also: | |
513 | ||
514 | http://ftp.service.digital.com/patches/.new/openvms.html | |
515 | ||
516 | =back | |
517 | ||
518 | Please note that in later versions "DEC C" may also be known as | |
519 | "Compaq C". | |
520 | ||
521 | =head2 GNU issues | |
522 | ||
523 | It has been a while since the GNU utilities such as GCC or GNU make | |
524 | were used to build perl on VMS. Hence they may require a great deal | |
525 | of source code modification to work again. | |
526 | ||
527 | http://slacvx.slac.stanford.edu/HELP/GCC | |
528 | http://www.progis.de/ | |
529 | http://vms.gnu.org/ | |
530 | http://www.lp.se/products/gnu.html | |
531 | ||
532 | =head1 Mailing Lists | |
533 | ||
534 | There are several mailing lists available to the Perl porter. For VMS | |
fb73857a | 535 | specific issues (including both Perl questions and installation problems) |
b4bc034f | 536 | there is the VMSPERL mailing list. It is usually a low-volume (10-12 |
fb73857a | 537 | messages a week) mailing list. |
538 | ||
b4bc034f GS |
539 | The subscription address is MAJORDOMO@PERL.ORG. Send a mail message with |
540 | just the words SUBSCRIBE VMSPERL in the body of the message. | |
c54e8273 CB |
541 | |
542 | The VMSPERL mailing list address is VMSPERL@PERL.ORG. Any mail sent there | |
543 | gets echoed to all subscribers of the list. There is a searchable archive of | |
b4bc034f GS |
544 | the list on the web at: |
545 | ||
546 | http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/vmsperl/ | |
c54e8273 | 547 | |
9f3f8d50 | 548 | To unsubscribe from VMSPERL send the message UNSUBSCRIBE VMSPERL to |
c54e8273 | 549 | MAJORDOMO@PERL.ORG. Be sure to do so from the subscribed account that |
b4bc034f GS |
550 | you are canceling. |
551 | ||
552 | =head2 Web sites | |
553 | ||
554 | Vmsperl pages on the web include: | |
555 | ||
556 | http://www.sidhe.org/vmsperl/index.html | |
557 | http://duphy4.physics.drexel.edu/pub/cgi_info.htmlx | |
558 | http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/vmsperl/ | |
559 | http://www.cpan.org/modules/by-module/VMS/ | |
560 | http://nucwww.chem.sunysb.edu/htbin/software_list.cgi | |
561 | http://www.best.com/~pvhp/vms/ | |
562 | http://bkfug.kfunigraz.ac.at/~binder/perl.html | |
fb73857a | 563 | |
b4bc034f GS |
564 | =head1 SEE ALSO |
565 | ||
566 | Perl information for users and programmers about the port of perl to VMS is | |
567 | available from the [.VMS]PERLVMS.POD file that gets installed as L<perlvms>. | |
568 | For administrators the perlvms document also includes a detailed discussion | |
569 | of extending vmsperl with CPAN modules after Perl has been installed. | |
570 | ||
571 | =head1 AUTHORS | |
572 | ||
a3ef2c6f | 573 | Last revised 25-February-2000 by Peter Prymmer pvhp@best.com. |
b4bc034f GS |
574 | Revised 27-October-1999 by Craig Berry craig.berry@metamorgs.com. |
575 | Revised 01-March-1999 by Dan Sugalski dan@sidhe.org. | |
576 | Originally by Charles Bailey bailey@newman.upenn.edu. | |
577 | ||
578 | =head1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS | |
fb73857a | 579 | |
580 | A real big thanks needs to go to Charles Bailey | |
b4bc034f | 581 | bailey@newman.upenn.edu, who is ultimately responsible for Perl 5.004 |
fb73857a | 582 | running on VMS. Without him, nothing the rest of us have done would be at |
583 | all important. | |
584 | ||
585 | There are, of course, far too many people involved in the porting and testing | |
586 | of Perl to mention everyone who deserves it, so please forgive us if we've | |
587 | missed someone. That said, special thanks are due to the following: | |
b4bc034f GS |
588 | |
589 | Tim Adye T.J.Adye@rl.ac.uk | |
fb73857a | 590 | for the VMS emulations of getpw*() |
b4bc034f | 591 | David Denholm denholm@conmat.phys.soton.ac.uk |
fb73857a | 592 | for extensive testing and provision of pipe and SocketShr code, |
b4bc034f | 593 | Mark Pizzolato mark@infocomm.com |
fb73857a | 594 | for the getredirection() code |
b4bc034f | 595 | Rich Salz rsalz@bbn.com |
fb73857a | 596 | for readdir() and related routines |
b4bc034f | 597 | Peter Prymmer pvhp@best.com |
fb73857a | 598 | for extensive testing, as well as development work on |
599 | configuration and documentation for VMS Perl, | |
b4bc034f | 600 | Dan Sugalski dan@sidhe.org |
fb73857a | 601 | for extensive contributions to recent version support, |
602 | development of VMS-specific extensions, and dissemination | |
603 | of information about VMS Perl, | |
604 | the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory and the | |
605 | Laboratory of Nuclear Studies at Cornell University for | |
9f3f8d50 | 606 | the opportunity to test and develop for the AXP, |
a3ef2c6f GS |
607 | John Hasstedt John.Hasstedt@sunysb.edu |
608 | for VAX VMS V7.2 support | |
b4bc034f | 609 | |
fb73857a | 610 | and to the entire VMSperl group for useful advice and suggestions. In |
611 | addition the perl5-porters deserve credit for their creativity and | |
612 | willingness to work with the VMS newcomers. Finally, the greatest debt of | |
b4bc034f | 613 | gratitude is due to Larry Wall larry@wall.org, for having the ideas which |
fb73857a | 614 | have made our sleepless nights possible. |
615 | ||
616 | Thanks, | |
617 | The VMSperl group | |
b4bc034f GS |
618 | |
619 | =cut | |
620 |