===================================================================== Perl 5 README file for the EPOC operating system. ===================================================================== Olaf Flebbe http://www.linuxstart.com/~oflebbe/perl/perl5.html 2000-02-20 ===================================================================== Introduction ===================================================================== EPOC is a OS for palmtops and mobile phones. For more informations look at: http://www.symbian.com/ This is a port of Perl version 5.5.650 to EPOC. It runs on the Perl Series 5, Series 5mx and the Psion Revo. I have no reports for other EPOC devices. Features are left out, because of restrictions of the POSIX support. ===================================================================== Installation/Usage ===================================================================== You will need ~4MB free space in order to install and run perl. Install perl.sis on the EPOC machine (most likely a PSION Series 5, 5mx). If you do not know how to do that, you are on your own. Perl itself and its standard library are using 2.5 MB disk space. I left out unicode support modules and modules which will not work with this version. (For details look into epoc/createpkg.pl). If you like to use them, you are free to copy them from a current perl release. Copy eshell.exe from the same page you got perl to your EPOC device. Start eshell.exe with a double tap. Now you can enter: perl -de 0 in order to run the perl debugger. If you are leaving perl, you get into the system screen. You have to switch back manually to eshell.exe When perl is running, you will see a task with the name STDOUT in the task list. ====================================================================== IO Redirection ====================================================================== You can redirect the output with the UNIX bourne shell syntax (this is built into perl rather then eshell) For instance the following command line will run the script test.pl with the output redirected to stdout_file, the errors to stderr_file and input from stdin_file. perl test.pl >stdout_file stderr_file Alternativly you can use 2>&1 in order to add the standard error output to stdout. ====================================================================== PATH Names ====================================================================== Pathnames to executables in eshell.exe have to be written with backslashes '\', file arguments to perl with slashes '/'. The default drive of perl is the same as the drive perl.exe is located on, the default path seems to be '/'. i.e. command lines look a little bit funny: D:\perl.exe C:/test.pl >C:/output.txt You can automatically search for file on all EPOC drives with a ? as the driver letter. For instance ?:\a.txt seraches for C:\a.txt, D:\b.txt (and Z:\a.txt). ====================================================================== Editors ====================================================================== You may have a problem to create perl scripts. A cumbersome workaround is to use the OPL Editor and exporting to text. The OPL+ Editor is quite good. (Shareware: http://www.twiddlebit.com) There is a port of vim around: http://www.starship.freeserve.co.uk/index.html ====================================================================== Restrictions ====================================================================== The following things are left out of this perl port: + backquoting, pipes etc. + system() does not inherit ressources like: file descriptors, environment etc. + signal, kill, alarm. Do not try to use them. This may be impossible to implement on EPOC. + select is missing. + binmode does not exist. (No CR LF to LF translation for text files) + EPOC does not handle the notion of current drive and current directory very well (i.e. not at all, but it tries hard to emulate one) See PATH. + You need the shell eshell.exe in order to run perl.exe and supply it with arguments. + Heap is limited to 4MB. =================================================================== Compiling Perl 5 on the EPOC cross compiling envionment. =================================================================== Sorry, this is far too short. You will need the C++ SDK from http://developer.epocworld.com/. You will need to set up the cross SDK from http://www.linuxstart.com/~oflebbe You may have to adjust config.sh (cc, cppflags) for your epoc install location. You may have to adjust config.sh for your cross SDK location Get the Perl sources from your nearest CPAN site. Unpack the sources. Build a native perl from this sources... cp epoc/* . ./Configure -S make perl cp miniperl.native miniperl make perl perl link.pl perlmain.o lib/auto/DynaLoader/DynaLoader.a \ lib/auto/Data/Dumper.a \ lib/auto/File/Glob/Glob.a lib/auto/IO/IO.a \ lib/auto/Socket/Socket.a perl.a `cat ext.libs` perl createpkg.pl wine "G:/bin/makesis perl.pkg perl.sis" ==================================================================== Wish List ==================================================================== - Threads ? - Acess to the GUI? ==================================================================== Support Status ==================================================================== I'm offering this port "as is". You can ask me questions, but I can't guarantee I'll be able to answer them; I don't know much about Perl internals myself;