=head1 NAME
-README.vms - Configuring, building, testing, and installing perl on VMS
+perlvms - Configuring, building, testing, and installing perl on VMS
=head1 SYNOPSIS
To configure, build, test, and install perl on VMS:
- @ Configure
- mms
- mms test
- mms install
-
-mmk may be used in place of mms in the last three steps.
+ @configure
+ mmk
+ mmk test
+ mmk install
=head1 DESCRIPTION
=head2 Important safety tip
-The build and install procedures have changed significantly from the 5.004
-releases! Make sure you read the "Configuring the Perl Build", "Building
-Perl", and "Installing Perl" sections of this document before you build or
-install.
-
-Also note that, as of Perl version 5.005 and later, an ANSI C compliant
-compiler is required to build Perl. VAX C is *not* ANSI compliant, as it
-died a natural death some time before the standard was set. Therefore
-VAX C will not compile Perl 5.005 or later. We are sorry about that.
-
-If you are stuck without DEC C (the VAX C license should be good for DEC C,
-but the media charges might prohibit an upgrade), consider getting Gnu C
-instead.
-
+For best results, make sure you read the "Configuring the Perl Build",
+"Building Perl", and "Installing Perl" sections of this document before
+you build or install. Also please note other changes in the current
+release by having a look at L<perldelta/VMS>.
=head2 Introduction to Perl on VMS
could use modules implementing useful VMS system services, so if you'd like
to lend a hand we'd love to have you. Join the Perl Porting Team Now!
-The current sources and build procedures have been tested on a VAX using
-DEC C, and on an AXP using DEC C. If you run into problems with
-other compilers, please let us know. (Note: DEC C was renamed to Compaq C
-around version 6.2).
-
-There are issues with various versions of DEC C, so if you're not running a
-relatively modern version, check the "DEC C issues" section later on in this
-document.
-
=head2 Other required software for Compiling Perl on VMS
-In addition to VMS and DCL you will need two things:
+In addition to VMS and DCL you will need three things:
=over 4
=item 1 A C compiler.
-DEC (now Compaq) C or gcc for VMS (AXP or VAX).
+HP (formerly Compaq, more formerly DEC) C for VMS (VAX, Alpha, or Itanium).
+Various ancient versions of DEC C had some caveats, so if you're using a
+version older than 7.x on Alpha or Itanium or 6.x on VAX, you may need to
+upgrade to get a successful build.
+
+There have been no recent reports of builds using Gnu C, but latent
+(and most likely outdated) support for it is still present in various
+parts of the sources.
+
+There is rudimentary but not quite complete support for HP C++; to try it out,
+configure with C<-"Dusecxx" -"Duser_c_flags=/WARN=INFORMATIONAL=NOCTOBUTCONREFM">.
=item 2 A make tool.
-DEC's MMS (v2.6 or later), or MadGoat's free MMS
-analog MMK (available from ftp.madgoat.com/madgoat) both work
-just fine. Gnu Make might work, but it's been so long since
-anyone's tested it that we're not sure. MMK is free though, so
-go ahead and use that.
+You will need the free MMS analog MMK (available from
+L<http://ftp.endlesssoftware.com.au/mmk/kits/> or
+L<https://github.com/endlesssoftware/mmk>). HP's MMS has not been known to work for
+some time as Perl's automatically-generated description files are too complex for it,
+but MMS support may return in the future. Gnu Make might work, but it's been so long
+since anyone's tested it that we're not sure.
+
+=item 3 ODS-5 and Extended Parse
+
+All development and testing of Perl on VMS takes place on ODS-5 volumes with
+extended parse enabled in the environment via the command C<SET PROCESS/PARSE=EXTENDED>.
+Latent support for ODS-2 volumes (including on VAX) is still present, but the number
+of components that require ODS-5 features is steadily growing and ODS-2 support may be
+completely removed in a future release.
+
=back
=over 4
-=item 1 GUNZIP/GZIP.EXE for VMS
+=item 1 gunzip/gzip for VMS
A de-compressor for *.gz and *.tgz files available from a number
-of web/ftp sites and is distributed on the OpenVMS Freeware CD-ROM
-from Compaq.
-
- http://www.fsf.org/order/ftp.html
- http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/
- http://www.crinoid.com/utils/
+of web/ftp sites such as:
-=item 2 VMS TAR
+ L<http://www.antinode.info/dec/sw/gzip.html>
+ L<http://vms.process.com/scripts/fileserv/fileserv.com?GZIP>
-For reading and writing unix tape archives (*.tar files). Vmstar is also
-available from a number of web/ftp sites and is distributed on the OpenVMS
-Freeware CD-ROM from Compaq.
+=item 2 VMS tar
- ftp://ftp.lp.se/vms/
- http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/
+For reading and writing Unix tape archives (*.tar files). Vmstar is also
+available from a number of sites such as:
-=item 3 UNZIP.EXE for VMS
+ L<http://www.antinode.info/dec/sw/vmstar.html>
+ L<http://vms.process.com/scripts/fileserv/fileserv.com?VMSTAR>
-A combination decompressor and archive reader/writer for *.zip files.
-Unzip is available from a number of web/ftp sites.
+A port of GNU tar is also available as part of the GNV package:
- http://www.info-zip.org/UnZip.html
- http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/
- ftp://ftp.openvms.compaq.com/
- ftp://ftp.madgoat.com/madgoat/
- ftp://ftp.process.com/vms-freeware/
+ L<http://h71000.www7.hp.com/opensource/gnv.html>
-=item 4 MOST
+=item 3 unzip for VMS
-Most is an optional pager that is convenient to use with perldoc (unlike
-TYPE/PAGE, MOST can go forward and backwards in a document and supports
-regular expression searching). Most builds with the slang
-library on VMS. Most and slang are available from:
+A combination decompressor and archive reader/writer for *.zip files.
+Unzip is available from a number of web/ftp sites.
- ftp://space.mit.edu/pub/davis/
- ftp://ftp.process.com/vms-freeware/narnia/
+ L<http://www.info-zip.org/UnZip.html>
+ L<http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/>
+ L<http://vms.process.com/fileserv-software.html>
-=item 5 GNU PATCH and DIFFUTILS for VMS
+=item 5 GNU patch and diffutils for VMS
Patches to Perl are usually distributed as GNU unified or contextual diffs.
Such patches are created by the GNU diff program (part of the diffutils
distribution) and applied with GNU patch. VMS ports of these utilities are
available here:
- http://www.crinoid.com/utils/
- http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/
+ L<http://www.antinode.info/dec/sw/diffutils.html>
+ L<http://vms.pdv-systeme.de/users/martinv/gnupatch.zip>
=back
-Please note that UNZIP and GUNZIP are not the same thing (they work with
+Please note that unzip and gunzip are not the same thing (they work with
different formats). Many of the useful files from CPAN (the Comprehensive
Perl Archive Network) are in *.tar.gz or *.tgz format (this includes copies
of the source code for perl as well as modules and scripts that you may
DEC C, or socket libraries. See the "Socket Support (optional)" topic
for more details.
+=head1 Unpacking the Perl source code
+
+You may need to set up a foreign symbol for the unpacking utility of
+choice. Once you have done so, use a command like the following to
+unpack the archive:
+
+ vmstar -xvf perl-5^.21^.2.tar
+
+Then set default to the top-level source directory like so:
+
+ set default [.perl-5^.21^.2]
+
+and proceed with configuration as described in the next section.
+
+
=head1 Configuring the Perl build
To configure perl (a necessary first step), issue the command
- @ Configure
+ @configure.com
from the top of an unpacked perl source directory. You will be asked a
series of questions, and the answers to them (along with the capabilities
-of your C compiler and network stack) will determine how perl is custom
+of your C compiler and network stack) will determine how perl is custom-
built for your machine.
-If you have multiple C compilers installed, you'll have your choice of
-which one to use. Various older versions of DEC C had some caveats, so if
-you're using a version older than 5.2, check the "DEC C Issues" section.
-
If you have any symbols or logical names in your environment that may
-interfere with the build or regression testing of perl then configure.com
+interfere with the build or regression testing of perl then F<configure.com>
will try to warn you about them. If a logical name is causing
you trouble but is in an LNM table that you do not have write access to
then try defining your own to a harmless equivalence string in a table
such that it is resolved before the other (e.g. if TMP is defined in the
SYSTEM table then try DEFINE TMP "NL:" or somesuch in your process table)
otherwise simply deassign the dangerous logical names. The potentially
-troublesome logicals and symbols are:
-
- TMP "LOGICAL"
- LIB "LOGICAL"
- T "LOGICAL"
- FOO "LOGICAL"
- EXT "LOGICAL"
- SOME_LOGICAL_NAME_NOT_LIKELY "LOGICAL"
- DOWN_LOGICAL_NAME_NOT_LIKELY "LOGICAL"
- TEST "SYMBOL"
+troublesome logicals and symbols include:
+
+ COMP "LOGICAL"
+ EXT "LOGICAL"
+ FOO "LOGICAL"
+ LIB "LOGICAL"
+ LIST "LOGICAL"
+ MIME "LOGICAL"
+ POSIX "LOGICAL"
+ SYS "LOGICAL"
+ T "LOGICAL"
+ THREAD "LOGICAL"
+ THREADS "LOGICAL"
+ TIME "LOGICAL"
+ TMP "LOGICAL"
+ UNICODE "LOGICAL"
+ UTIL "LOGICAL"
+ TEST "SYMBOL"
As a handy shortcut, the command:
- @ Configure "-des"
+ @configure "-des"
(note the quotation marks and case) will choose reasonable defaults
-automatically (it takes DEC C over Gnu C, DEC C sockets over SOCKETSHR
-sockets, and either over no sockets). Some options can be given
-explicitly on the command line; the following example specifies a
-non-default location for where Perl will be installed:
+automatically. Some options can be given explicitly on the command line;
+the following example specifies a non-default location for where Perl
+will be installed:
- @ Configure "-d" "-Dprefix=dka100:[utils.perl5.]"
+ @configure "-d" "-Dprefix=dka100:[utils.perl5.]"
Note that the installation location would be by default where you unpacked
the source with a "_ROOT." appended. For example if you unpacked the perl
source into:
- DKA200:[PERL-5_10_2...]
+ F<DKA200:[PERL-5^.18^.0...]>
-Then the PERL_SETUP.COM that gets written out by CONFIGURE.COM will
+Then the F<PERL_SETUP.COM> that gets written out by F<configure.com> will
try to DEFINE your installation PERL_ROOT to be:
- DKA200:[PERL-5_10_2_ROOT.]
+ F<DKA200:[PERL-5^.18^.0_ROOT.]>
More help with configure.com is available from:
- @ Configure "-h"
+ @configure "-h"
-See the "Changing compile-time options (optional)" section below to learn
-even more details about how to influence the outcome of the important
-configuration step. If you find yourself reconfiguring and rebuilding
-then be sure to also follow the advice in the "Cleaning up and starting
-fresh (optional)" and the checklist of items in the "CAVEATS" sections
-below.
+If you find yourself reconfiguring and rebuilding then be sure to also follow
+the advice in the "Cleaning up and starting fresh (optional)" and the checklist
+of items in the "CAVEATS" sections below.
=head2 Changing compile-time options (optional) for Perl on VMS
-Most of the user definable features of Perl are enabled or disabled in
+Most of the user-definable features of Perl are enabled or disabled in
configure.com, which processes the hints file config_h.SH. There is
code in there to Do The Right Thing, but that may end up being the
wrong thing for you. Make sure you understand what you are doing since
inappropriate changes to configure.com or config_h.SH can render perl
unbuildable; odds are that there's nothing in there you'll need to
-change.
-
-The one exception is the various *DIR install locations. Changing those
-requires changes in genconfig.pl as well. Be really careful if you need to
-change these, as they can cause some fairly subtle problems.
+change. Note also that non-default options are tested less than default
+options, so you may end up being more of a pioneer than you intend to be.
=head2 Socket Support (optional) for Perl on VMS
Perl includes a number of functions for IP sockets, which are available if
-you choose to compile Perl with socket support. Since IP networking is an
-optional addition to VMS, there are several different IP stacks available.
-How well integrated they are into the system depends on the stack, your
-version of VMS, and the version of your C compiler.
-
-The most portable solution uses the SOCKETSHR library. In combination with
-either UCX or NetLib, this supports all the major TCP stacks (Multinet,
-Pathways, TCPWare, UCX, and CMU) on all versions of VMS Perl runs on, with
-all the compilers on both VAX and Alpha. The socket interface is also
-consistent across versions of VMS and C compilers. It has a problem with
-UDP sockets when used with Multinet, though, so you should be aware of
-that.
-
-The other solution available is to use the socket routines built into DEC
-C. Which routines are available depend on the version of VMS you're
-running, and require proper UCX emulation by your TCP/IP vendor.
-Relatively current versions of Multinet, TCPWare, Pathway, and UCX all
-provide the required libraries--check your manuals or release notes to see
-if your version is new enough.
+you choose to compile Perl with socket support. It does this via the socket
+routines built into the CRTL regarless of which TCP/IP stack your system
+has.
=head1 Building Perl
Once you issue your MMS or MMK command, sit back and wait. Perl should
compile and link without a problem. If a problem does occur check the
"CAVEATS" section of this document. If that does not help send some
-mail to the VMSPERL mailing list. Instructions are in the "Mailing Lists"
+mail to the VMSPERL mailing list. Instructions are in the L<"Mailing Lists">
section of this document.
=head1 Testing Perl
somehow and yield a dysfunctional Perl for you.
Testing is very easy, though, as there's a full test suite in the perl
-distribution. To run the tests, enter the *exact* MMS line you used to
+distribution. To run the tests, enter the I<exact> MMS line you used to
compile Perl and add the word "test" to the end, like this:
If the compile command was:
- MMS
+ MMK
then the test command ought to be:
- MMS test
+ MMK test
-MMS (or MMK) will run all the tests. This may take some time, as there are
+MMK (or MMS) will run all the tests. This may take some time, as there are
a lot of tests. If any tests fail, there will be a note made on-screen.
At the end of all the tests, a summary of the tests, the number passed and
failed, and the time taken will be displayed.
-If any tests fail, it means something is wrong with Perl. If the test suite
+The test driver invoked via MMK TEST has a DCL wrapper ([.VMS]TEST.COM) that
+downgrades privileges to NETMBX, TMPMBX for the duration of the test run,
+and then restores them to their prior state upon completion of testing.
+This is done to ensure that the tests run in a private sandbox and can do no
+harm to your system even in the unlikely event something goes badly wrong in
+one of the test scripts while running the tests from a privileged account.
+A side effect of this safety precaution is that the account used to run the
+test suite must be the owner of the directory tree in which Perl has been
+built; otherwise the manipulations of temporary files and directories
+attempted by some of the tests will fail.
+
+If any tests fail, it means something is wrong with Perl, or at least
+with the particular module or feature that reported failure. If the test suite
hangs (some tests can take upwards of two or three minutes, or more if
you're on an especially slow machine, depending on your machine speed, so
-don't be hasty), then the test *after* the last one displayed failed. Don't
+don't be hasty), then the test I<after> the last one displayed failed. Don't
install Perl unless you're confident that you're OK. Regardless of how
confident you are, make a bug report to the VMSPerl mailing list.
If one or more tests fail, you can get more information on the failure by
issuing this command sequence:
- @ [.VMS]TEST .typ "" "-v" [.subdir]test.T
+ @[.vms]test .typ "" "-v" [.subdir]test.t
where ".typ" is the file type of the Perl images you just built (if you
-didn't do anything special, use .EXE), and "[.subdir]test.T" is the test
+didn't do anything special, use .EXE), and "[.subdir]test.t" is the test
that failed. For example, with a normal Perl build, if the test indicated
-that [.op]time failed, then you'd do this:
+that t/op/time failed, then you'd do this:
- @ [.VMS]TEST .EXE "" "-v" [.OP]TIME.T
+ @ .vms]test .EXE "" "-v" [.OP]TIME.t
+
+Note that test names are reported in UNIX syntax and relative to the
+top-level build directory. When supplying them individually to the test
+driver, you can use either UNIX or VMS syntax, but you must give the path
+relative to the [.t] directory and you must also add the .t extension to the
+filename. So, for example if the test lib/Math/Trig fails, you would run:
+
+ @[.vms]test .EXE "" -"v" [-.lib.math]trig.t
When you send in a bug report for failed tests, please include the output
from this command, which is run from the main source directory:
- MCR []MINIPERL "-V"
+ MCR []MINIPERL "-Ilib" "-V"
Note that -"V" really is a capital V in double quotes. This will dump out a
couple of screens worth of configuration information, and can help us
diagnose the problem. If (and only if) that did not work then try enclosing
the output of:
- MMS printconfig
+ MMK printconfig
If (and only if) that did not work then try enclosing the output of:
- @ [.vms]myconfig
+ @[.vms]myconfig
You may also be asked to provide your C compiler version ("CC/VERSION NL:"
with DEC C, "gcc --version" with GNU CC). To obtain the version of MMS or
=head2 Cleaning up and starting fresh (optional) installing Perl on VMS
If you need to recompile from scratch, you have to make sure you clean up
-first. There is a procedure to do it--enter the *exact* MMS line you used
+first. There is a procedure to do it--enter the I<exact> MMK line you used
to compile and add "realclean" at the end, like this:
if the compile command was:
- MMS
+ MMK
then the cleanup command ought to be:
- MMS realclean
+ MMK realclean
If you do not do this things may behave erratically during the subsequent
rebuild attempt. They might not, too, so it is best to be sure and do it.
SHOW PROTECTION /DEFAULT
-and adjust if necessary with SET PROTECTION=(code)/DEFAULT.
+and adjust if necessary with C<SET PROTECTION=(code)/DEFAULT>.
=item 2
by using the "prefix" configuration parameter -- see the example in the
"Configuring the Perl build" section).
-The DCL script PERL_SETUP.COM that is written by CONFIGURE.COM will help you
+The DCL script PERL_SETUP.COM that is written by configure.com will help you
with the definition of the PERL_ROOT and PERLSHR logical names and the PERL
foreign command symbol. Take a look at PERL_SETUP.COM and modify it if you
want to. The installation process will execute PERL_SETUP.COM and copy
Run the install script via:
- MMS install
-
-or
-
MMK install
If for some reason it complains about target INSTALL being up to date,
=back
-Copy PERL_SETUP.COM to a place accessible to your perl users.
-
-For example:
-
- COPY PERL_SETUP.COM SYS$LIBRARY:
-
-If you want to have everyone on the system have access to perl
-then add a line that reads
+Installation will copy F<PERL_SETUP.COM> to the root of your installation
+tree. If you want to give everyone on the system access to Perl (and you
+have, for example, installed to F<dsa0:[utils.perl_root]>) then add a line
+that reads:
- $ @sys$library:perl_setup
+ $ @dsa0:[utils.perl_root]perl_setup
-to SYS$MANAGER:SYLOGIN.COM.
+to F<SYS$MANAGER:SYLOGIN.COM>. Or for your own use only, simply place
+that line in F<SYS$LOGIN:LOGIN.COM>.
Two alternatives to the foreign symbol would be to install PERL into
DCLTABLES.EXE (Check out the section "Installing Perl into DCLTABLES
(optional)" for more information), or put the image in a
-directory that's in your DCL$PATH (if you're using VMS V6.2 or higher).
-
-An alternative to having PERL_SETUP.COM define the PERLSHR logical name
-is to simply copy it into the system shareable library directory with:
-
- copy perl_root:[000000]perlshr.exe sys$share:
+directory that's in your DCL$PATH.
See also the "INSTALLing images (optional)" section.
INSTALL ADD PERLSHR/SHARE
INSTALL ADD PERL/HEADER
-should be enough for PERLSHR.EXE (/share implies /header and /open),
-while /HEADER should do for PERL.EXE (perl.exe is not a shared image).
+should be enough for F<PERLSHR.EXE> (/share implies /header and /open),
+while /HEADER should do for FPERL.EXE> (perl.exe is not a shared image).
If your code 'use's modules, check to see if there is a shareable image for
them, too. In the base perl build, POSIX, IO, Fcntl, Opcode, SDBM_File,
-DCLsym, and Stdio all have shared images that can be installed /SHARE.
+DCLsym, and Stdio, and other extensions all have shared images that can be
+installed /SHARE.
How much of a win depends on your memory situation, but if you are firing
off perl with any regularity (like more than once every 20 seconds or so)
it is probably beneficial to INSTALL at least portions of perl.
While there is code in perl to remove privileges as it runs you are advised
-to NOT INSTALL PERL.EXE with PRIVs!
+to NOT INSTALL F<PERL.EXE> with PRIVs!
=head2 Running h2ph to create perl header files (optional) on VMS
-If using DEC C or Compaq C ensure that you have extracted loose versions
-of your compiler's header or *.H files. Be sure to check the contents of:
+If using HP C, ensure that you have extracted loose versions of your
+compiler's header or *.H files. Be sure to check the contents of:
SYS$LIBRARY:DECC$RTLDEF.TLB
SYS$LIBRARY:SYS$LIB_C.TLB
=head1 CAVEATS
Probably the single biggest gotcha in compiling Perl is giving the wrong
-switches to MMS/MMK when you build. Use *exactly* what the configure.com
+switches to MMS/MMK when you build. Use I<exactly> what the configure.com
script prints!
-The next big gotcha is directory depth. Perl can create directories four,
-five, or even six levels deep during the build, so you don't have to be
-too deep to start to hit the RMS 8 level limit (for ODS 2 volumes which were
-common on versions of VMS prior to V7.2 and even with V7.2 on the VAX).
-It is best to do:
-
- DEFINE/TRANS=(CONC,TERM) PERLSRC "disk:[dir.dir.dir.perldir.]"
- SET DEFAULT PERLSRC:[000000]
-
-before building in cases where you have to unpack the distribution so deep
-(note the trailing period in the definition of PERLSRC). Perl modules
-from CPAN can be just as bad (or worse), so watch out for them, too. Perl's
-configuration script will warn if it thinks you are too deep (at least on
-a VAX or on Alpha versions of VMS prior to 7.2). But MakeMaker will not
-warn you if you start out building a module too deep in a directory.
-
Be sure that the process that you use to build perl has a PGFLQ greater
than 100000. Be sure to have a correct local time zone to UTC offset
defined (in seconds) in the logical name SYS$TIMEZONE_DIFFERENTIAL before
build. If things go wrong make sure you do a "(MMK|MMS|make) realclean"
before you rebuild.
-=head2 DEC C issues with Perl on VMS
-
-Note to DEC C users: Some early versions (pre-5.2, some pre-4. If you're DEC
-C 5.x or higher, with current patches if any, you're fine) of the DECCRTL
-contained a few bugs which affect Perl performance:
-
-=over 4
-
-=item - pipes
-
-Newlines are lost on I/O through pipes, causing lines to run together.
-This shows up as RMS RTB errors when reading from a pipe. You can
-work around this by having one process write data to a file, and
-then having the other read the file, instead of the pipe. This is
-fixed in version 4 of DEC C.
-
-=item - modf()
-
-The modf() routine returns a non-integral value for some values above
-INT_MAX; the Perl "int" operator will return a non-integral value in
-these cases. This is fixed in version 4 of DEC C.
-
-=item - ALPACRT ECO
-
-On the AXP, if SYSNAM privilege is enabled, the CRTL chdir() routine
-changes the process default device and directory permanently, even
-though the call specified that the change should not persist after
-Perl exited. This is fixed by DEC CSC patch ALPACRT04_061 or later.
-See also:
-
- http://ftp.support.compaq.com/patches/.new/openvms.shtml
-
-=back
-
-Please note that in later versions "DEC C" may also be known as
-"Compaq C".
-
=head2 GNU issues with Perl on VMS
It has been a while since the GNU utilities such as GCC or GNU make
were used to build perl on VMS. Hence they may require a great deal
of source code modification to work again.
- http://slacvx.slac.stanford.edu/HELP/GCC
- http://www.progis.de/
- http://www.lp.se/products/gnu.html
+=head2 Floating Point Considerations
+
+Prior to 5.8.0, Perl simply accepted the default floating point options of the
+C compiler, namely representing doubles with D_FLOAT on VAX and G_FLOAT on
+Alpha. Single precision floating point values are represented in F_FLOAT
+format when either D_FLOAT or G_FLOAT is in use for doubles. Beginning with
+5.8.0, Alpha builds now use IEEE floating point formats by default, which in
+VMS parlance are S_FLOAT for singles and T_FLOAT for doubles. IEEE is not
+available on VAX, so F_FLOAT and D_FLOAT remain the defaults for singles and
+doubles respectively. Itanium builds have always used IEEE by default. The
+available non-default options are G_FLOAT on VAX and D_FLOAT or G_FLOAT on
+Alpha or Itanium.
+
+The use of IEEE on Alpha or Itanium introduces NaN, infinity, and denormalization
+capabilities not available with D_FLOAT and G_FLOAT. When using one of those
+non-IEEE formats, silent underflow and overflow are emulated in the conversion
+of strings to numbers, but it is preferable to get the real thing by using
+IEEE where possible.
+
+Regardless of what floating point format you consider preferable, be aware
+that the choice may have an impact on compatibility with external libraries,
+such as database interfaces, and with existing data, such as data created with
+the C<pack> function and written to disk, or data stored via the Storable
+extension. For example, a C<pack("d", $foo)")> will create a D_FLOAT,
+G_FLOAT, or T_FLOAT depending on what your Perl was configured with. When
+written to disk, the value can only be retrieved later by a Perl configured
+with the same floating point option that was in effect when it was created.
+
+To obtain a non-IEEE build on Alpha or Itanium, simply answer no to the
+"Use IEEE math?" question during the configuration. To obtain an option
+different from the C compiler default on any platform, put in the option that
+you want in answer to the "Any additional cc flags?" question. For example, to
+obtain a G_FLOAT build on VAX, put in C</FLOAT=G_FLOAT>.
=head1 Mailing Lists
to all subscribers of the list. There is a searchable archive of the list
on the web at:
- http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/vmsperl/
+ L<http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/vmsperl/>
To unsubscribe from VMSPERL send a message to VMSPERL-UNSUBSCRIBE@PERL.ORG.
Be sure to do so from the subscribed account that you are canceling.
Vmsperl pages on the web include:
- http://www.sidhe.org/vmsperl/index.html
- http://www.crinoid.com/
- http://duphy4.physics.drexel.edu/pub/cgi_info.htmlx
- http://www.cpan.org/modules/by-module/VMS/
- http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/vmsperl/
- http://www.best.com/~pvhp/vms/
- http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~binder/perl.html
- http://lists.perl.org/showlist.cgi?name=vmsperl
- http://archive.develooper.com/vmsperl@perl.org/
- http://www.openvms.compaq.com/openvms/products/ips/apache/csws_modperl.html
+ L<http://www.sidhe.org/vmsperl/index.html>
+ L<http://www.cpan.org/modules/by-module/VMS/>
+ L<http://www.xray.mpe.mpg.de/mailing-lists/vmsperl/>
+ L<http://archive.develooper.com/vmsperl@perl.org/>
+ L<http://h71000.www7.hp.com/openvms/products/ips/apache/csws_modperl.html>
=head1 SEE ALSO
Perl information for users and programmers about the port of perl to VMS is
-available from the [.
VMS]PERLVMS.POD file that gets installed as L<perlvms>.
+available from the [.
POD]PERLVMS.POD file that gets installed as L<perlvms>.
For administrators the perlvms document also includes a detailed discussion
of extending vmsperl with CPAN modules after Perl has been installed.
=head1 AUTHORS
-Revised 10-October-2001 by Craig Berry craigberry@mac.com.
-Revised 25-February-2000 by Peter Prymmer pvhp@best.com.
-Revised 27-October-1999 by Craig Berry craigberry@mac.com.
-Revised 01-March-1999 by Dan Sugalski dan@sidhe.org.
-Originally by Charles Bailey bailey@newman.upenn.edu.
+Originally by Charles Bailey bailey@newman.upenn.edu. See the git repository
+for history.
=head1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
the opportunity to test and develop for the AXP,
John Hasstedt John.Hasstedt@sunysb.edu
for VAX VMS V7.2 support
+ John Malmberg wb8tyw@qsl.net
+ for ODS-5 filename handling and other modernizations
and to the entire VMSperl group for useful advice and suggestions. In
addition the perl5-porters deserve credit for their creativity and
https://perl5.git.perl.org / perl5.git / blobdiff