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.
+install. Also please note other changes in the current release by having
+a look at L<perldelta/VMS>.
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.
+If you are stuck without Compaq (formerly DEC) C consider trying Gnu C
+instead, though there have been no recent reports of builds using Gnu C.
+There is minimal support for Compaq C++ but this support is not complete;
+if you get it working please write to the vmsperl list (for info see
+L</"Mailing Lists">).
-=head2 Introduction
+=head2 Introduction to Perl on VMS
The VMS port of Perl is as functionally complete as any other Perl port
(and as complete as the ports on some Unix systems). The Perl binaries
relatively modern version, check the "DEC C issues" section later on in this
document.
-=head2 Other required software
+=head2 Other required software for Compiling Perl on VMS
In addition to VMS and DCL you will need two things:
=back
-=head2 Additional software that is optional
+=head2 Additional software that is optional for Perl on VMS
You may also want to have on hand:
from Compaq.
http://www.fsf.org/order/ftp.html
- http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/GZIP/
- ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/VMS/
+ http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/
http://www.crinoid.com/utils/
=item 2 VMS TAR
Freeware CD-ROM from Compaq.
ftp://ftp.lp.se/vms/
- http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/VMSTAR/
- ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/VMS/
+ http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/
+
+Recent versions of VMS tar on ODS-5 volumes may extract tape archive
+files with ^. escaped periods in them. See below for further workarounds.
=item 3 UNZIP.EXE for VMS
A combination decompressor and archive reader/writer for *.zip files.
Unzip is available from a number of web/ftp sites.
- http://www.cdrom.com/pub/infozip/UnZip.html
- http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/INFO-ZIP/
- ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/VMS/
+ 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.wku.edu/vms/
+ ftp://ftp.process.com/vms-freeware/
=item 4 MOST
library on VMS. Most and slang are available from:
ftp://space.mit.edu/pub/davis/
- ftp://ftp.wku.edu/vms/narnia/most.zip
+ ftp://ftp.process.com/vms-freeware/narnia/
=item 5 GNU PATCH and DIFFUTILS for VMS
available here:
http://www.crinoid.com/utils/
+ http://www.openvms.compaq.com/freeware/
=back
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.
+
+If you unpack a perl source kit with a name containing multiple periods on
+an ODS-5 volume using recent versions of vmstar (e.g. V3.4 or later) you may
+need to be especially careful in unpacking the tape archive file. Try to use
+the ODS-2 compatability qualifiers such as:
+
+ vmstar /extract/verbose/ods2 perl-V^.VIII^.III.tar
+
+or:
+
+ vmstar -xvof perl-5^.8^.3.tar
+
+If you neglected to use the /ODS2 qualifier or the -o switch then you
+could rename the source directory:
+
+ set security/protection=(o:rwed) perl-5^.8^.3.dir
+ rename perl-5^.8^.3.dir perl-5_8_3.dir
+
+Perl on VMS as of 5.8.3 does not completely handle extended file
+parse styles such as are encountered on ODS-5. While it can be built,
+installed, and run on ODS-5 filesystems; it may encounter
+trouble with characters that are otherwise illegal on ODS-2
+volumes (notably the ^. escaped period sequence).
+
=head1 Configuring the Perl build
To configure perl (a necessary first step), issue the command
otherwise simply deassign the dangerous logical names. The potentially
troublesome logicals and symbols are:
- TMP "LOGICAL"
- LIB "LOGICAL"
- T "LOGICAL"
- FOO "LOGICAL"
- EXT "LOGICAL"
- TEST "SYMBOL"
+ 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 "-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...]
+
+Then the PERL_SETUP.COM that gets written out by CONFIGURE.COM will
+try to DEFINE your installation PERL_ROOT to be:
+
+ DKA200:[PERL-5_10_2_ROOT.]
+
More help with configure.com is available from:
@ Configure "-h"
fresh (optional)" and the checklist of items in the "CAVEATS" sections
below.
-=head2 Changing compile-time options (optional)
+=head2 Changing compile-time options (optional) for Perl on VMS
Most of the user definable features of Perl are enabled or disabled in
-[.VMS]CONFIG.VMS. 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 CONFIG.VMS can render perl
-unbuildable.
-
-Odds are that there's nothing here to change, unless you're on a version of
-VMS later than 6.2 and DEC C later than 5.6. Even if you are, the correct
-values will still be chosen, most likely. Poking around here should be
-unnecessary.
+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.
-=head2 Socket Support (optional)
+=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
At the end of all the tests, a summary of the tests, the number passed and
failed, and the time taken will be displayed.
+The test driver invoked via MMS 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. 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
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
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
+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:
MMK you are running try "MMS/ident" or "MMK /ident". The GNU make version
can be identified with "make --version".
-=head2 Cleaning up and starting fresh (optional)
+=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
See also the "INSTALLing images (optional)" section.
-=head2 Installing Perl into DCLTABLES (optional)
+=head2 Installing Perl into DCLTABLES (optional) on VMS
Execute the following command file to define PERL as a DCL command.
You'll need CMKRNL privilege to install the new dcltables.exe.
$ install replace sys$common:[syslib]dcltables.exe
$ exit
-=head2 INSTALLing images (optional)
+=head2 INSTALLing Perl images (optional) on VMS
On systems that are using perl quite a bit, and particularly those with
minimal RAM, you can boost the performance of perl by INSTALLing it as
-a known image. PERLSHR.EXE is typically larger than 2500 blocks
+a known image. PERLSHR.EXE is typically larger than 3000 blocks
and that is a reasonably large amount of IO to load each time perl is
invoked.
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)
While there is code in perl to remove privileges as it runs you are advised
to NOT INSTALL 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:
+
+ SYS$LIBRARY:DECC$RTLDEF.TLB
+ SYS$LIBRARY:SYS$LIB_C.TLB
+ SYS$LIBRARY:SYS$STARLET_C.TLB
+
+etcetera.
+
+If using GNU cc then also check your GNU_CC:[000000...] tree for the locations
+of the GNU cc headers.
+
=head1 Reporting Bugs
If you come across what you think might be a bug in Perl, please report
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 versions of VMS prior
-to V7.2 and even with V7.2 on the VAX). It is best to do
+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]
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.
+As noted above ODS-5 escape sequences such as ^. can break the perl
+build. Solutions include renaming files and directories as needed or
+being careful to use the -o switch or /ODS2 qualifier with latter
+versions of the vmstar utility when unpacking perl or CPAN modules
+on ODS-5 volumes.
+
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
+=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
Perl exited. This is fixed by DEC CSC patch ALPACRT04_061 or later.
See also:
- http://ftp.service.compaq.com/patches/.new/openvms.html
+ 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
+=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
http://slacvx.slac.stanford.edu/HELP/GCC
http://www.progis.de/
- http://vms.gnu.org/
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. The available non-default options are G_FLOAT on VAX
+and D_FLOAT or G_FLOAT on Alpha.
+
+The use of IEEE on Alpha 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", $foo)")> will create a D_FLOAT,
+G_FLOAT, or T_FLOAT depending on what your Perl was configured with. When
+written to disk, the value can only be retrieved later by a Perl configured
+with the same floating point option that was in effect when it was created.
+
+To obtain a non-IEEE build on Alpha, simply answer no to the "Use IEEE math?"
+question during the configuration. To obtain an option different from the C
+compiler default on either VAX or Alpha, put in the option that you want in
+answer to the "Any additional cc flags?" question. For example, to obtain a
+G_FLOAT build on VAX, put in C</FLOAT=G_FLOAT>.
+
+=head2 Multinet issues with Perl on VMS
+
+Prior to the release of Perl 5.8.0 it was noted that the regression
+test for lib/Net/hostent (in file [.lib.Net]hostent.t) will fail owing
+to problems with the hostent structure returned by C calls to either
+gethostbyname() or gethostbyaddr() using DEC or Compaq C with a
+Multinet TCP/IP stack. The problem was noted in Multinet 4.3A
+using either Compaq C 6.5 or DEC C 6.0, and with Multinet 4.2A
+using DEC C 5.2, but could easily affect other versions of Multinet.
+Process Software Inc. has acknowledged a bug in the Multinet version
+of UCX$IPC_SHR and has provided an ECO for it. The ECO is called
+UCX_LIBRARY_EMULATION-010_A044 and is available from:
+
+ http://www.multinet.process.com/eco.html
+
+As of this writing, the ECO is only available for Multinet versions
+4.3A and later. You may determine the version of Multinet that you
+are running using the command:
+
+ multinet show /version
+
+from the DCL command prompt.
+
+If the ECO is unavailable for your version of Multinet and you are
+unable to upgrade, you might try using Perl programming constructs
+such as:
+
+ $address = substr($gethostbyname_addr,0,4);
+
+to temporarily work around the problem, or if you are brave
+and do not mind the possibility of breaking IPv6 addresses,
+you might modify the pp_sys.c file to add an ad-hoc correction
+like so:
+
+
+ --- pp_sys.c;1 Thu May 30 14:42:17 2002
+ +++ pp_sys.c Thu May 30 12:54:02 2002
+ @@ -4684,6 +4684,10 @@
+ }
+ #endif
+
+ + if (hent) {
+ + hent->h_length = 4;
+ + }
+ +
+ if (GIMME != G_ARRAY) {
+ PUSHs(sv = sv_newmortal());
+ if (hent) {
+
+then re-compile and re-test your perl. After the installation
+of the Multinet ECO you ought to back out any such changes though.
+
=head1 Mailing Lists
There are several mailing lists available to the Perl porter. For VMS
on the web at:
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.
-=head2 Web sites
+=head2 Web sites for Perl on VMS
Vmsperl pages on the web include:
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://nucwww.chem.sunysb.edu/htbin/software_list.cgi
http://www.best.com/~pvhp/vms/
- http://bkfug.kfunigraz.ac.at/~binder/perl.html
+ 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
=head1 SEE ALSO
=head1 AUTHORS
-Revised 5-April-2001 by Craig Berry craigberry@mac.com.
+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.
https://perl5.git.perl.org / perl5.git / blobdiff