The build and install procedures have changed significantly from the 5.004
releases! Make sure you read the "Building Perl" and "Installing Perl"
-sections before you build or install.
+sections of this document before you build or install.
Also note that, as of 5.005, an ANSI C compliant compiler is required to
build Perl. Vax C is *not* ANSI compliant, as it died a natural death some
To configure perl (a necessary first step), issue the command
-@CONFIGURE
+ @CONFIGURE
from the top of an unpacked perl directory. You'll be asked a series of
questions, and the answers to them (along with the capabilities of your C
The configuration script will print out, at the very end, the MMS or MMK
command you need to compile perl. Issue it (exactly as printed) to start
-the build.
+the build. 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 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) otherwise simply deasign
+the dangerous logical names. The potentially troublesome logicals and
+symbols are:
+
+ TMP "LOGICAL"
+ LIB "LOGICAL"
+ T "LOGICAL"
+ FOO "LOGICAL"
+ EXT "LOGICAL"
+ TEST "SYMBOL"
Once you issue your MMS command, sit back and wait. Perl should build and
link without a problem. If it doesn't, check the Gotchas to watch out for
As a handy shortcut, the command:
-@CONFIGURE "-des"
+ @CONFIGURE "-des"
(note the quotation marks and case) will choose reasonable defaults. (It
takes Dec C over Gnu C, Dec C sockets over SOCKETSHR sockets, and either
Execute the following command file to define PERL as a DCL command.
You'll need CMKRNL priv to install the new dcltables.exe.
-$ create perl.cld
-!
-! modify to reflect location of your perl.exe
-!
-define verb perl
- image perl_root:[000000]perl.exe
- cliflags (foreign)
-$!
-$ set command perl /table=sys$common:[syslib]dcltables.exe -
- /output=sys$common:[syslib]dcltables.exe
-$ install replace sys$common:[syslib]dcltables.exe
-$ exit
+ $ create perl.cld
+ !
+ ! modify to reflect location of your perl.exe
+ !
+ define verb perl
+ image perl_root:[000000]perl.exe
+ cliflags (foreign)
+ $!
+ $ set command perl /table=sys$common:[syslib]dcltables.exe -
+ /output=sys$common:[syslib]dcltables.exe
+ $ install replace sys$common:[syslib]dcltables.exe
+ $ exit
* Changing compile-time things
for the getredirection() code
Rich Salz <rsalz@bbn.com>
for readdir() and related routines
- Peter Prymmer <pvhp@forte.com> or <pvhp@lns62.lns.cornell.edu>
+ Peter Prymmer <pvhp@forte.com>
for extensive testing, as well as development work on
configuration and documentation for VMS Perl,
Dan Sugalski <dan@sidhe.org>