X-Git-Url: https://perl5.git.perl.org/perl5.git/blobdiff_plain/02b1e60408c5543387fd5ef57f131e9ef0480a95..c1c1a1b299ba6939da0476f4be1fff1333edcc5f:/README.win32 diff --git a/README.win32 b/README.win32 index 135924e..d66ff74 100644 --- a/README.win32 +++ b/README.win32 @@ -1,716 +1,902 @@ -If you read this file _as_is_, just ignore the funny characters you -see. It is written in the POD format (see pod/perlpod.pod) which is -specially designed to be readable as is. - -=head1 NAME - -perlwin32 - Perl under Win32 - -=head1 SYNOPSIS - -These are instructions for building Perl under Windows (9x, NT and -2000). - -=head1 DESCRIPTION - -Before you start, you should glance through the README file -found in the top-level directory to which the Perl distribution -was extracted. Make sure you read and understand the terms under -which this software is being distributed. - -Also make sure you read L below for the -known limitations of this port. - -The INSTALL file in the perl top-level has much information that is -only relevant to people building Perl on Unix-like systems. In -particular, you can safely ignore any information that talks about -"Configure". - -You may also want to look at two other options for building -a perl that will work on Windows NT: the README.cygwin and -README.os2 files, each of which give a different set of rules to -build a Perl that will work on Win32 platforms. Those two methods -will probably enable you to build a more Unix-compatible perl, but -you will also need to download and use various other build-time and -run-time support software described in those files. - -This set of instructions is meant to describe a so-called "native" -port of Perl to Win32 platforms. The resulting Perl requires no -additional software to run (other than what came with your operating -system). Currently, this port is capable of using one of the -following compilers: - - Borland C++ version 5.02 or later - Microsoft Visual C++ version 4.2 or later - Mingw32 with GCC version 2.95.2 or better - -The last of these is a high quality freeware compiler. Support -for it is still experimental. (Older versions of GCC are known -not to work.) - -This port currently supports MakeMaker (the set of modules that -is used to build extensions to perl). Therefore, you should be -able to build and install most extensions found in the CPAN sites. -See L below for general hints about this. - -=head2 Setting Up Perl on Win32 - -=over 4 - -=item Make - -You need a "make" program to build the sources. If you are using -Visual C++ under Windows NT or 2000, nmake will work. All other -builds need dmake. - -dmake is a freely available make that has very nice macro features -and parallelability. - -A port of dmake for Windows is available from: - - http://www.cpan.org/authors/id/GSAR/dmake-4.1pl1-win32.zip - -(This is a fixed version of the original dmake sources obtained from -http://www.wticorp.com/dmake/. As of version 4.1PL1, the original -sources did not build as shipped and had various other problems. -A patch is included in the above fixed version.) - -Fetch and install dmake somewhere on your path (follow the instructions -in the README.NOW file). - -There exists a minor coexistence problem with dmake and Borland C++ -compilers. Namely, if a distribution has C files named with mixed -case letters, they will be compiled into appropriate .obj-files named -with all lowercase letters, and every time dmake is invoked -to bring files up to date, it will try to recompile such files again. -For example, Tk distribution has a lot of such files, resulting in -needless recompiles everytime dmake is invoked. To avoid this, you -may use the script "sync_ext.pl" after a successful build. It is -available in the win32 subdirectory of the Perl source distribution. - -=item Command Shell - -Use the default "cmd" shell that comes with NT. Some versions of the -popular 4DOS/NT shell have incompatibilities that may cause you trouble. -If the build fails under that shell, try building again with the cmd -shell. - -The nmake Makefile also has known incompatibilities with the -"command.com" shell that comes with Windows 9x. You will need to -use dmake and makefile.mk to build under Windows 9x. - -The surest way to build it is on Windows NT, using the cmd shell. - -Make sure the path to the build directory does not contain spaces. The -build usually works in this circumstance, but some tests will fail. - -=item Borland C++ - -If you are using the Borland compiler, you will need dmake. -(The make that Borland supplies is seriously crippled and will not -work for MakeMaker builds.) - -See L above. - -=item Microsoft Visual C++ - -The nmake that comes with Visual C++ will suffice for building. -You will need to run the VCVARS32.BAT file, usually found somewhere -like C:\MSDEV4.2\BIN. This will set your build environment. - -You can also use dmake to build using Visual C++; provided, however, -you set OSRELEASE to "microsft" (or whatever the directory name -under which the Visual C dmake configuration lives) in your environment -and edit win32/config.vc to change "make=nmake" into "make=dmake". The -latter step is only essential if you want to use dmake as your default -make for building extensions using MakeMaker. - -=item Mingw32 with GCC - -GCC-2.95.2 binaries can be downloaded from: - - ftp://ftp.xraylith.wisc.edu/pub/khan/gnu-win32/mingw32/ - -You also need dmake. See L above on how to get it. - -The GCC-2.95.2 bundle comes with Mingw32 libraries and headers. - -Make sure you install the binaries that work with MSVCRT.DLL as indicated -in the README for the GCC bundle. You may need to set up a few environment -variables (usually ran from a batch file). - -There are a couple of problems with the version of gcc-2.95.2-msvcrt.exe -released 7 November 1999: - -=over - -=item * - -It left out a fix for certain command line quotes. To fix this, be sure -to download and install the file fixes/quote-fix-msvcrt.exe from the above -ftp location. - -=item * - -The definition of the fpos_t type in stdio.h may be wrong. If your -stdio.h has this problem, you will see an exception when running the -test t/lib/io_xs.t. To fix this, change the typedef for fpos_t from -"long" to "long long" in the file i386-mingw32msvc/include/stdio.h, -and rebuild. - -=back - -A potentially simpler to install (but probably soon-to-be-outdated) bundle -of the above package with the mentioned fixes already applied is available -here: - - http://downloads.ActiveState.com/pub/staff/gsar/gcc-2.95.2-msvcrt.zip - ftp://ftp.ActiveState.com/pub/staff/gsar/gcc-2.95.2-msvcrt.zip - -=back - -=head2 Building - -=over 4 - -=item * - -Make sure you are in the "win32" subdirectory under the perl toplevel. -This directory contains a "Makefile" that will work with -versions of nmake that come with Visual C++, and a dmake "makefile.mk" -that will work for all supported compilers. The defaults in the dmake -makefile are setup to build using the GCC compiler. - -=item * - -Edit the makefile.mk (or Makefile, if you're using nmake) and change -the values of INST_DRV and INST_TOP. You can also enable various -build flags. These are explained in the makefiles. - -You will have to make sure that CCTYPE is set correctly and that -CCHOME points to wherever you installed your compiler. - -The default value for CCHOME in the makefiles for Visual C++ -may not be correct for some versions. Make sure the default exists -and is valid. - -If you have either the source or a library that contains des_fcrypt(), -enable the appropriate option in the makefile. des_fcrypt() is not -bundled with the distribution due to US Government restrictions -on the export of cryptographic software. Nevertheless, this routine -is part of the "libdes" library (written by Eric Young) which is widely -available worldwide, usually along with SSLeay (for example, -"ftp://fractal.mta.ca/pub/crypto/SSLeay/DES/"). Set CRYPT_SRC to the -name of the file that implements des_fcrypt(). Alternatively, if -you have built a library that contains des_fcrypt(), you can set -CRYPT_LIB to point to the library name. The location above contains -many versions of the "libdes" library, all with slightly different -implementations of des_fcrypt(). Older versions have a single, -self-contained file (fcrypt.c) that implements crypt(), so they may be -easier to use. A patch against the fcrypt.c found in libdes-3.06 is -in des_fcrypt.patch. - -Perl will also build without des_fcrypt(), but the crypt() builtin will -fail at run time. - -Be sure to read the instructions near the top of the makefiles carefully. - -=item * - -Type "dmake" (or "nmake" if you are using that make). - -This should build everything. Specifically, it will create perl.exe, -perl56.dll at the perl toplevel, and various other extension dll's -under the lib\auto directory. If the build fails for any reason, make -sure you have done the previous steps correctly. - -=back - -=head2 Testing Perl on Win32 - -Type "dmake test" (or "nmake test"). This will run most of the tests from -the testsuite (many tests will be skipped). - -There should be no test failures when running under Windows NT 4.0 or -Windows 2000. Many tests I fail under Windows 9x due to the inferior -command shell. - -Some test failures may occur if you use a command shell other than the -native "cmd.exe", or if you are building from a path that contains -spaces. So don't do that. - -If you are running the tests from a emacs shell window, you may see -failures in op/stat.t. Run "dmake test-notty" in that case. - -If you're using the Borland compiler, you may see a failure in op/taint.t -arising from the inability to find the Borland Runtime DLLs on the system -default path. You will need to copy the DLLs reported by the messages -from where Borland chose to install it, into the Windows system directory -(usually somewhere like C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32) and rerun the test. - -If you're using Borland compiler versions 5.2 and below, you may run into -problems finding the correct header files when building extensions. For -example, building the "Tk" extension may fail because both perl and Tk -contain a header file called "patchlevel.h". The latest Borland compiler -(v5.5) is free of this misbehaviour, and it even supports an -option -VI- for backward (bugward) compatibility for using the old Borland -search algorithm to locate header files. - -Please report any other failures as described under L. - -=head2 Installation of Perl on Win32 - -Type "dmake install" (or "nmake install"). This will put the newly -built perl and the libraries under whatever C points to in the -Makefile. It will also install the pod documentation under -C<$INST_TOP\$VERSION\lib\pod> and HTML versions of the same under -C<$INST_TOP\$VERSION\lib\pod\html>. To use the Perl you just installed, -you will need to add two components to your PATH environment variable, -C<$INST_TOP\$VERSION\bin> and C<$INST_TOP\$VERSION\bin\$ARCHNAME>. -For example: - - set PATH c:\perl\5.6.0\bin;c:\perl\5.6.0\bin\MSWin32-x86;%PATH% - -If you opt to comment out INST_VER and INST_ARCH in the makefiles, the -installation structure is much simpler. In that case, it will be -sufficient to add a single entry to the path, for instance: - - set PATH c:\perl\bin;%PATH% - -=head2 Usage Hints for Perl on Win32 - -=over 4 - -=item Environment Variables - -The installation paths that you set during the build get compiled -into perl, so you don't have to do anything additional to start -using that perl (except add its location to your PATH variable). - -If you put extensions in unusual places, you can set PERL5LIB -to a list of paths separated by semicolons where you want perl -to look for libraries. Look for descriptions of other environment -variables you can set in L. - -You can also control the shell that perl uses to run system() and -backtick commands via PERL5SHELL. See L. - -Perl does not depend on the registry, but it can look up certain default -values if you choose to put them there. Perl attempts to read entries from -C and C. -Entries in the former override entries in the latter. One or more of the -following entries (of type REG_SZ or REG_EXPAND_SZ) may be set: - - lib-$] version-specific standard library path to add to @INC - lib standard library path to add to @INC - sitelib-$] version-specific site library path to add to @INC - sitelib site library path to add to @INC - vendorlib-$] version-specific vendor library path to add to @INC - vendorlib vendor library path to add to @INC - PERL* fallback for all %ENV lookups that begin with "PERL" - -Note the C<$]> in the above is not literal. Substitute whatever version -of perl you want to honor that entry, e.g. C<5.6.0>. Paths must be -separated with semicolons, as usual on win32. - -=item File Globbing - -By default, perl handles file globbing using the File::Glob extension, -which provides portable globbing. - -If you want perl to use globbing that emulates the quirks of DOS -filename conventions, you might want to consider using File::DosGlob -to override the internal glob() implementation. See L for -details. - -=item Using perl from the command line - -If you are accustomed to using perl from various command-line -shells found in UNIX environments, you will be less than pleased -with what Windows offers by way of a command shell. - -The crucial thing to understand about the Windows environment is that -the command line you type in is processed twice before Perl sees it. -First, your command shell (usually CMD.EXE on Windows NT, and -COMMAND.COM on Windows 9x) preprocesses the command line, to handle -redirection, environment variable expansion, and location of the -executable to run. Then, the perl executable splits the remaining -command line into individual arguments, using the C runtime library -upon which Perl was built. - -It is particularly important to note that neither the shell nor the C -runtime do any wildcard expansions of command-line arguments (so -wildcards need not be quoted). Also, the quoting behaviours of the -shell and the C runtime are rudimentary at best (and may, if you are -using a non-standard shell, be inconsistent). The only (useful) quote -character is the double quote ("). It can be used to protect spaces -and other special characters in arguments. - -The Windows NT documentation has almost no description of how the -quoting rules are implemented, but here are some general observations -based on experiments: The C runtime breaks arguments at spaces and -passes them to programs in argc/argv. Double quotes can be used to -prevent arguments with spaces in them from being split up. You can -put a double quote in an argument by escaping it with a backslash and -enclosing the whole argument within double quotes. The backslash and -the pair of double quotes surrounding the argument will be stripped by -the C runtime. - -The file redirection characters "<", ">", and "|" can be quoted by -double quotes (although there are suggestions that this may not always -be true). Single quotes are not treated as quotes by the shell or -the C runtime, they don't get stripped by the shell (just to make -this type of quoting completely useless). The caret "^" has also -been observed to behave as a quoting character, but this appears -to be a shell feature, and the caret is not stripped from the command -line, so Perl still sees it (and the C runtime phase does not treat -the caret as a quote character). - -Here are some examples of usage of the "cmd" shell: - -This prints two doublequotes: - - perl -e "print '\"\"' " - -This does the same: - - perl -e "print \"\\\"\\\"\" " - -This prints "bar" and writes "foo" to the file "blurch": - - perl -e "print 'foo'; print STDERR 'bar'" > blurch - -This prints "foo" ("bar" disappears into nowhereland): - - perl -e "print 'foo'; print STDERR 'bar'" 2> nul - -This prints "bar" and writes "foo" into the file "blurch": - - perl -e "print 'foo'; print STDERR 'bar'" 1> blurch - -This pipes "foo" to the "less" pager and prints "bar" on the console: - - perl -e "print 'foo'; print STDERR 'bar'" | less - -This pipes "foo\nbar\n" to the less pager: - - perl -le "print 'foo'; print STDERR 'bar'" 2>&1 | less - -This pipes "foo" to the pager and writes "bar" in the file "blurch": - - perl -e "print 'foo'; print STDERR 'bar'" 2> blurch | less - - -Discovering the usefulness of the "command.com" shell on Windows 9x -is left as an exercise to the reader :) - -One particularly pernicious problem with the 4NT command shell for -Windows NT is that it (nearly) always treats a % character as indicating -that environment variable expansion is needed. Under this shell, it is -therefore important to always double any % characters which you want -Perl to see (for example, for hash variables), even when they are -quoted. - -=item Building Extensions - -The Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (CPAN) offers a wealth -of extensions, some of which require a C compiler to build. -Look in http://www.cpan.org/ for more information on CPAN. - -Note that not all of the extensions available from CPAN may work -in the Win32 environment; you should check the information at -http://testers.cpan.org/ before investing too much effort into -porting modules that don't readily build. - -Most extensions (whether they require a C compiler or not) can -be built, tested and installed with the standard mantra: - - perl Makefile.PL - $MAKE - $MAKE test - $MAKE install - -where $MAKE is whatever 'make' program you have configured perl to -use. Use "perl -V:make" to find out what this is. Some extensions -may not provide a testsuite (so "$MAKE test" may not do anything or -fail), but most serious ones do. - -It is important that you use a supported 'make' program, and -ensure Config.pm knows about it. If you don't have nmake, you can -either get dmake from the location mentioned earlier or get an -old version of nmake reportedly available from: - - ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/Softlib/MSLFILES/nmake15.exe - -Another option is to use the make written in Perl, available from -CPAN: - - http://www.cpan.org/authors/id/NI-S/Make-0.03.tar.gz - -You may also use dmake. See L above on how to get it. - -Note that MakeMaker actually emits makefiles with different syntax -depending on what 'make' it thinks you are using. Therefore, it is -important that one of the following values appears in Config.pm: - - make='nmake' # MakeMaker emits nmake syntax - make='dmake' # MakeMaker emits dmake syntax - any other value # MakeMaker emits generic make syntax - (e.g GNU make, or Perl make) - -If the value doesn't match the 'make' program you want to use, -edit Config.pm to fix it. - -If a module implements XSUBs, you will need one of the supported -C compilers. You must make sure you have set up the environment for -the compiler for command-line compilation. - -If a module does not build for some reason, look carefully for -why it failed, and report problems to the module author. If -it looks like the extension building support is at fault, report -that with full details of how the build failed using the perlbug -utility. - -=item Command-line Wildcard Expansion - -The default command shells on DOS descendant operating systems (such -as they are) usually do not expand wildcard arguments supplied to -programs. They consider it the application's job to handle that. -This is commonly achieved by linking the application (in our case, -perl) with startup code that the C runtime libraries usually provide. -However, doing that results in incompatible perl versions (since the -behavior of the argv expansion code differs depending on the -compiler, and it is even buggy on some compilers). Besides, it may -be a source of frustration if you use such a perl binary with an -alternate shell that *does* expand wildcards. - -Instead, the following solution works rather well. The nice things -about it are 1) you can start using it right away; 2) it is more -powerful, because it will do the right thing with a pattern like -*/*/*.c; 3) you can decide whether you do/don't want to use it; and -4) you can extend the method to add any customizations (or even -entirely different kinds of wildcard expansion). - - C:\> copy con c:\perl\lib\Wild.pm - # Wild.pm - emulate shell @ARGV expansion on shells that don't - use File::DosGlob; - @ARGV = map { - my @g = File::DosGlob::glob($_) if /[*?]/; - @g ? @g : $_; - } @ARGV; - 1; - ^Z - C:\> set PERL5OPT=-MWild - C:\> perl -le "for (@ARGV) { print }" */*/perl*.c - p4view/perl/perl.c - p4view/perl/perlio.c - p4view/perl/perly.c - perl5.005/win32/perlglob.c - perl5.005/win32/perllib.c - perl5.005/win32/perlglob.c - perl5.005/win32/perllib.c - perl5.005/win32/perlglob.c - perl5.005/win32/perllib.c - -Note there are two distinct steps there: 1) You'll have to create -Wild.pm and put it in your perl lib directory. 2) You'll need to -set the PERL5OPT environment variable. If you want argv expansion -to be the default, just set PERL5OPT in your default startup -environment. - -If you are using the Visual C compiler, you can get the C runtime's -command line wildcard expansion built into perl binary. The resulting -binary will always expand unquoted command lines, which may not be -what you want if you use a shell that does that for you. The expansion -done is also somewhat less powerful than the approach suggested above. - -=item Win32 Specific Extensions - -A number of extensions specific to the Win32 platform are available -from CPAN. You may find that many of these extensions are meant to -be used under the Activeware port of Perl, which used to be the only -native port for the Win32 platform. Since the Activeware port does not -have adequate support for Perl's extension building tools, these -extensions typically do not support those tools either and, therefore, -cannot be built using the generic steps shown in the previous section. - -To ensure smooth transitioning of existing code that uses the -ActiveState port, there is a bundle of Win32 extensions that contains -all of the ActiveState extensions and most other Win32 extensions from -CPAN in source form, along with many added bugfixes, and with MakeMaker -support. This bundle is available at: - - http://www.cpan.org/authors/id/GSAR/libwin32-0.151.zip - -See the README in that distribution for building and installation -instructions. Look for later versions that may be available at the -same location. - -=item Running Perl Scripts - -Perl scripts on UNIX use the "#!" (a.k.a "shebang") line to -indicate to the OS that it should execute the file using perl. -Win32 has no comparable means to indicate arbitrary files are -executables. - -Instead, all available methods to execute plain text files on -Win32 rely on the file "extension". There are three methods -to use this to execute perl scripts: - -=over 8 - -=item 1 - -There is a facility called "file extension associations" that will -work in Windows NT 4.0. This can be manipulated via the two -commands "assoc" and "ftype" that come standard with Windows NT -4.0. Type "ftype /?" for a complete example of how to set this -up for perl scripts (Say what? You thought Windows NT wasn't -perl-ready? :). - -=item 2 - -Since file associations don't work everywhere, and there are -reportedly bugs with file associations where it does work, the -old method of wrapping the perl script to make it look like a -regular batch file to the OS, may be used. The install process -makes available the "pl2bat.bat" script which can be used to wrap -perl scripts into batch files. For example: - - pl2bat foo.pl - -will create the file "FOO.BAT". Note "pl2bat" strips any -.pl suffix and adds a .bat suffix to the generated file. - -If you use the 4DOS/NT or similar command shell, note that -"pl2bat" uses the "%*" variable in the generated batch file to -refer to all the command line arguments, so you may need to make -sure that construct works in batch files. As of this writing, -4DOS/NT users will need a "ParameterChar = *" statement in their -4NT.INI file or will need to execute "setdos /p*" in the 4DOS/NT -startup file to enable this to work. - -=item 3 - -Using "pl2bat" has a few problems: the file name gets changed, -so scripts that rely on C<$0> to find what they must do may not -run properly; running "pl2bat" replicates the contents of the -original script, and so this process can be maintenance intensive -if the originals get updated often. A different approach that -avoids both problems is possible. - -A script called "runperl.bat" is available that can be copied -to any filename (along with the .bat suffix). For example, -if you call it "foo.bat", it will run the file "foo" when it is -executed. Since you can run batch files on Win32 platforms simply -by typing the name (without the extension), this effectively -runs the file "foo", when you type either "foo" or "foo.bat". -With this method, "foo.bat" can even be in a different location -than the file "foo", as long as "foo" is available somewhere on -the PATH. If your scripts are on a filesystem that allows symbolic -links, you can even avoid copying "runperl.bat". - -Here's a diversion: copy "runperl.bat" to "runperl", and type -"runperl". Explain the observed behavior, or lack thereof. :) -Hint: .gnidnats llits er'uoy fi ,"lrepnur" eteled :tniH - -=back - -=item Miscellaneous Things - -A full set of HTML documentation is installed, so you should be -able to use it if you have a web browser installed on your -system. - -C is also a useful tool for browsing information contained -in the documentation, especially in conjunction with a pager -like C (recent versions of which have Win32 support). You may -have to set the PAGER environment variable to use a specific pager. -"perldoc -f foo" will print information about the perl operator -"foo". - -If you find bugs in perl, you can run C to create a -bug report (you may have to send it manually if C cannot -find a mailer on your system). - -=back - -=head1 BUGS AND CAVEATS - -Norton AntiVirus interferes with the build process, particularly if -set to "AutoProtect, All Files, when Opened". Unlike large applications -the perl build process opens and modifies a lot of files. Having the -the AntiVirus scan each and every one slows build the process significantly. -Worse, with PERLIO=stdio the build process fails with peculiar messages -as the virus checker interacts badly with miniperl.exe writing configure -files (it seems to either catch file part written and treat it as suspicious, -or virus checker may have it "locked" in a way which inhibits miniperl -updating it). The build does complete with - - set PERLIO=perlio - -but that may be just luck. Other AntiVirus software may have similar issues. - -Some of the built-in functions do not act exactly as documented in -L, and a few are not implemented at all. To avoid -surprises, particularly if you have had prior exposure to Perl -in other operating environments or if you intend to write code -that will be portable to other environments. See L -for a reasonably definitive list of these differences. - -Not all extensions available from CPAN may build or work properly -in the Win32 environment. See L. - -Most C related calls are supported, but they may not -behave as on Unix platforms. See L for the full list. - -Signal handling may not behave as on Unix platforms (where it -doesn't exactly "behave", either :). For instance, calling C -or C from signal handlers will cause an exception, since most -implementations of C on Win32 are severely crippled. -Thus, signals may work only for simple things like setting a flag -variable in the handler. Using signals under this port should -currently be considered unsupported. - -Please send detailed descriptions of any problems and solutions that -you may find to >, along with the output produced -by C. - -=head1 AUTHORS - -=over 4 - -=item Gary Ng E71564.1743@CompuServe.COME - -=item Gurusamy Sarathy Egsar@activestate.comE - -=item Nick Ing-Simmons Enick@ing-simmons.netE - -=back - -This document is maintained by Gurusamy Sarathy. - -=head1 SEE ALSO - -L - -=head1 HISTORY - -This port was originally contributed by Gary Ng around 5.003_24, -and borrowed from the Hip Communications port that was available -at the time. Various people have made numerous and sundry hacks -since then. - -Borland support was added in 5.004_01 (Gurusamy Sarathy). - -GCC/mingw32 support was added in 5.005 (Nick Ing-Simmons). - -Support for PERL_OBJECT was added in 5.005 (ActiveState Tool Corp). - -Support for fork() emulation was added in 5.6 (ActiveState Tool Corp). - -Win9x support was added in 5.6 (Benjamin Stuhl). - -Last updated: 1 April 2001 - -=cut +If you read this file _as_is_, just ignore the funny characters you +see. It is written in the POD format (see pod/perlpod.pod) which is +specially designed to be readable as is. + +=head1 NAME + +perlwin32 - Perl under Windows + +=head1 SYNOPSIS + +These are instructions for building Perl under Windows 2000 and later. + +=head1 DESCRIPTION + +Before you start, you should glance through the README file +found in the top-level directory to which the Perl distribution +was extracted. Make sure you read and understand the terms under +which this software is being distributed. + +Also make sure you read L below for the +known limitations of this port. + +The INSTALL file in the perl top-level has much information that is +only relevant to people building Perl on Unix-like systems. In +particular, you can safely ignore any information that talks about +"Configure". + +You may also want to look at one other option for building a perl that +will work on Windows: the README.cygwin file, which give a different +set of rules to build a perl for Windows. This method will probably +enable you to build a more Unix-compatible perl, but you will also +need to download and use various other build-time and run-time support +software described in that file. + +This set of instructions is meant to describe a so-called "native" +port of Perl to the Windows platform. This includes both 32-bit and +64-bit Windows operating systems. The resulting Perl requires no +additional software to run (other than what came with your operating +system). Currently, this port is capable of using one of the +following compilers on the Intel x86 architecture: + + Microsoft Visual C++ version 6.0 or later + Gcc by mingw.org gcc version 3.2 or later + Gcc by mingw-w64.sf.net gcc version 4.4.3 or later + +Note that the last two of these are actually competing projects both +delivering complete gcc toolchain for MS Windows: + +=over 4 + +=item L + +Delivers gcc toolchain targeting 32-bit Windows platform. + +=item L + +Delivers gcc toolchain targeting both 64-bit Windows and 32-bit Windows +platforms (despite the project name "mingw-w64" they are not only 64-bit +oriented). They deliver the native gcc compilers and cross-compilers +that are also supported by perl's makefile. + +=back + +The Microsoft Visual C++ compilers are also now being given away free. They are +available as "Visual C++ Toolkit 2003" or "Visual C++ 2005-2013 Express +Edition" (and also as part of the ".NET Framework SDK") and are the same +compilers that ship with "Visual C++ .NET 2003 Professional" or "Visual C++ +2005-2013 Professional" respectively. + +This port can also be built on IA64/AMD64 using: + + Microsoft Platform SDK Nov 2001 (64-bit compiler and tools) + MinGW64 compiler (gcc version 4.4.3 or later) + +The Windows SDK can be downloaded from L. +The MinGW64 compiler is available at L. +The latter is actually a cross-compiler targeting Win64. There's also a trimmed +down compiler (no java, or gfortran) suitable for building perl available at: +L + +NOTE: If you're using a 32-bit compiler to build perl on a 64-bit Windows +operating system, then you should set the WIN64 environment variable to "undef". +Also, the trimmed down compiler only passes tests when USE_ITHREADS *= define +(as opposed to undef) and when the CFG *= Debug line is commented out. + +This port fully supports MakeMaker (the set of modules that +is used to build extensions to perl). Therefore, you should be +able to build and install most extensions found in the CPAN sites. +See L below for general hints about this. + +=head2 Setting Up Perl on Windows + +=over 4 + +=item Make + +You need a "make" program to build the sources. If you are using +Visual C++ or the Windows SDK tools, nmake will work. Builds using +the gcc need dmake. + +dmake is a freely available make that has very nice macro features +and parallelability. + +A port of dmake for Windows is available from: + +L + +Fetch and install dmake somewhere on your path. + +=item Command Shell + +Use the default "cmd" shell that comes with Windows. Some versions of the +popular 4DOS/NT shell have incompatibilities that may cause you trouble. +If the build fails under that shell, try building again with the cmd +shell. + +Make sure the path to the build directory does not contain spaces. The +build usually works in this circumstance, but some tests will fail. + +=item Microsoft Visual C++ + +The nmake that comes with Visual C++ will suffice for building. +You will need to run the VCVARS32.BAT file, usually found somewhere +like C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\VC98\Bin. +This will set your build environment. + +You can also use dmake to build using Visual C++; provided, however, +you set OSRELEASE to "microsft" (or whatever the directory name +under which the Visual C dmake configuration lives) in your environment +and edit win32/config.vc to change "make=nmake" into "make=dmake". The +latter step is only essential if you want to use dmake as your default +make for building extensions using MakeMaker. + +=item Microsoft Visual C++ 2008-2013 Express Edition + +These free versions of Visual C++ 2008-2013 Professional contain the same +compilers and linkers that ship with the full versions, and also contain +everything necessary to build Perl, rather than requiring a separate download +of the Windows SDK like previous versions did. + +These packages can be downloaded by searching in the Download Center at +L. (Providing exact +links to these packages has proven a pointless task because the links keep on +changing so often.) + +Install Visual C++ 2008-2013 Express, then setup your environment using, e.g. + + C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 12.0\Common7\Tools\vsvars32.bat + +(assuming the default installation location was chosen). + +Perl should now build using the win32/Makefile. You will need to edit that +file to set CCTYPE to one of MSVC90FREE-MSVC120FREE first. + +=item Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition + +This free version of Visual C++ 2005 Professional contains the same compiler +and linker that ship with the full version, but doesn't contain everything +necessary to build Perl. + +You will also need to download the "Windows SDK" (the "Core SDK" and "MDAC +SDK" components are required) for more header files and libraries. + +These packages can both be downloaded by searching in the Download Center at +L. (Providing exact +links to these packages has proven a pointless task because the links keep on +changing so often.) + +Try to obtain the latest version of the Windows SDK. Sometimes these packages +contain a particular Windows OS version in their name, but actually work on +other OS versions too. For example, the "Windows Server 2003 R2 Platform SDK" +also runs on Windows XP SP2 and Windows 2000. + +Install Visual C++ 2005 first, then the Platform SDK. Setup your environment +as follows (assuming default installation locations were chosen): + + SET PlatformSDKDir=C:\Program Files\Microsoft Platform SDK + + SET PATH=%SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\Common7\IDE;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\VC\BIN;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\Common7\Tools;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\SDK\v2.0\bin;C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\VC\VCPackages;%PlatformSDKDir%\Bin + + SET INCLUDE=C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\VC\INCLUDE;%PlatformSDKDir%\include + + SET LIB=C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\VC\LIB;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\SDK\v2.0\lib;%PlatformSDKDir%\lib + + SET LIBPATH=C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727 + +(The PlatformSDKDir might need to be set differently depending on which version +you are using. Earlier versions installed into "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDK", +while the latest versions install into version-specific locations such as +"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Platform SDK for Windows Server 2003 R2".) + +Perl should now build using the win32/Makefile. You will need to edit that +file to set + + CCTYPE = MSVC80FREE + +and to set CCHOME, CCINCDIR and CCLIBDIR as per the environment setup above. + +=item Microsoft Visual C++ Toolkit 2003 + +This free toolkit contains the same compiler and linker that ship with +Visual C++ .NET 2003 Professional, but doesn't contain everything +necessary to build Perl. + +You will also need to download the "Platform SDK" (the "Core SDK" and "MDAC +SDK" components are required) for header files, libraries and rc.exe, and +".NET Framework SDK" for more libraries and nmake.exe. Note that the latter +(which also includes the free compiler and linker) requires the ".NET +Framework Redistributable" to be installed first. This can be downloaded and +installed separately, but is included in the "Visual C++ Toolkit 2003" anyway. + +These packages can all be downloaded by searching in the Download Center at +L. (Providing exact +links to these packages has proven a pointless task because the links keep on +changing so often.) + +Try to obtain the latest version of the Windows SDK. Sometimes these packages +contain a particular Windows OS version in their name, but actually work on +other OS versions too. For example, the "Windows Server 2003 R2 Platform SDK" +also runs on Windows XP SP2 and Windows 2000. + +Install the Toolkit first, then the Platform SDK, then the .NET Framework SDK. +Setup your environment as follows (assuming default installation locations +were chosen): + + SET PlatformSDKDir=C:\Program Files\Microsoft Platform SDK + + SET PATH=%SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual C++ Toolkit 2003\bin;%PlatformSDKDir%\Bin;C:\Program Files\Microsoft.NET\SDK\v1.1\Bin + + SET INCLUDE=C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual C++ Toolkit 2003\include;%PlatformSDKDir%\include;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003\Vc7\include + + SET LIB=C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual C++ Toolkit 2003\lib;%PlatformSDKDir%\lib;C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003\Vc7\lib + +(The PlatformSDKDir might need to be set differently depending on which version +you are using. Earlier versions installed into "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDK", +while the latest versions install into version-specific locations such as +"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Platform SDK for Windows Server 2003 R2".) + +Several required files will still be missing: + +=over 4 + +=item * + +cvtres.exe is required by link.exe when using a .res file. It is actually +installed by the .NET Framework SDK, but into a location such as the +following: + + C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v1.1.4322 + +Copy it from there to %PlatformSDKDir%\Bin + +=item * + +lib.exe is normally used to build libraries, but link.exe with the /lib +option also works, so change win32/config.vc to use it instead: + +Change the line reading: + + ar='lib' + +to: + + ar='link /lib' + +It may also be useful to create a batch file called lib.bat in +C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual C++ Toolkit 2003\bin containing: + + @echo off + link /lib %* + +for the benefit of any naughty C extension modules that you might want to build +later which explicitly reference "lib" rather than taking their value from +$Config{ar}. + +=item * + +setargv.obj is required to build perlglob.exe (and perl.exe if the USE_SETARGV +option is enabled). The Platform SDK supplies this object file in source form +in %PlatformSDKDir%\src\crt. Copy setargv.c, cruntime.h and +internal.h from there to some temporary location and build setargv.obj using + + cl.exe /c /I. /D_CRTBLD setargv.c + +Then copy setargv.obj to %PlatformSDKDir%\lib + +Alternatively, if you don't need perlglob.exe and don't need to enable the +USE_SETARGV option then you can safely just remove all mention of $(GLOBEXE) +from win32/Makefile and setargv.obj won't be required anyway. + +=back + +Perl should now build using the win32/Makefile. You will need to edit that +file to set + + CCTYPE = MSVC70FREE + +and to set CCHOME, CCINCDIR and CCLIBDIR as per the environment setup above. + +=item Microsoft Platform SDK 64-bit Compiler + +The nmake that comes with the Platform SDK will suffice for building +Perl. Make sure you are building within one of the "Build Environment" +shells available after you install the Platform SDK from the Start Menu. + +=item MinGW release 3 with gcc + +Perl can be compiled with gcc from MinGW release 3 and later (using gcc 3.2.x +and later). It can be downloaded here: + +L + +You also need dmake. See L above on how to get it. + +=back + +=head2 Building + +=over 4 + +=item * + +Make sure you are in the "win32" subdirectory under the perl toplevel. +This directory contains a "Makefile" that will work with +versions of nmake that come with Visual C++ or the Windows SDK, and +a dmake "makefile.mk" that will work for all supported compilers. The +defaults in the dmake makefile are setup to build using MinGW/gcc. + +=item * + +Edit the makefile.mk (or Makefile, if you're using nmake) and change +the values of INST_DRV and INST_TOP. You can also enable various +build flags. These are explained in the makefiles. + +Note that it is generally not a good idea to try to build a perl with +INST_DRV and INST_TOP set to a path that already exists from a previous +build. In particular, this may cause problems with the +lib/ExtUtils/t/Embed.t test, which attempts to build a test program and +may end up building against the installed perl's lib/CORE directory rather +than the one being tested. + +You will have to make sure that CCTYPE is set correctly and that +CCHOME points to wherever you installed your compiler. + +If building with the cross-compiler provided by +mingw-w64.sourceforge.net you'll need to uncomment the line that sets +GCCCROSS in the makefile.mk. Do this only if it's the cross-compiler - ie +only if the bin folder doesn't contain a gcc.exe. (The cross-compiler +does not provide a gcc.exe, g++.exe, ar.exe, etc. Instead, all of these +executables are prefixed with 'x86_64-w64-mingw32-'.) + +The default value for CCHOME in the makefiles for Visual C++ +may not be correct for some versions. Make sure the default exists +and is valid. + +You may also need to comment out the C line in the +Makefile if you're using VC++ 6.0 without the latest service pack and +the linker reports an internal error. + +If you want build some core extensions statically into perl's dll, specify +them in the STATIC_EXT macro. + +NOTE: The USE_64_BIT_INT build option is not supported with the 32-bit +Visual C++ 6.0 compiler. + +Be sure to read the instructions near the top of the makefiles carefully. + +=item * + +Type "dmake" (or "nmake" if you are using that make). + +This should build everything. Specifically, it will create perl.exe, +perl519.dll at the perl toplevel, and various other extension dll's +under the lib\auto directory. If the build fails for any reason, make +sure you have done the previous steps correctly. + +=back + +=head2 Testing Perl on Windows + +Type "dmake test" (or "nmake test"). This will run most of the tests from +the testsuite (many tests will be skipped). + +There should be no test failures. + +If you build with Visual C++ 2013 then two tests currently may fail with +Daylight Saving Time related problems: F and +F. + +Some test failures may occur if you use a command shell other than the +native "cmd.exe", or if you are building from a path that contains +spaces. So don't do that. + +If you are running the tests from a emacs shell window, you may see +failures in op/stat.t. Run "dmake test-notty" in that case. + +If you run the tests on a FAT partition, you may see some failures for +C related tests (I, I ...). Testing on +NTFS avoids these errors. + +Furthermore, you should make sure that during C you do not +have any GNU tool packages in your path: some toolkits like Unixutils +include some tools (C for instance) which override the Windows +ones and makes tests fail. Remove them from your path while testing to +avoid these errors. + +Please report any other failures as described under L. + +=head2 Installation of Perl on Windows + +Type "dmake install" (or "nmake install"). This will put the newly +built perl and the libraries under whatever C points to in the +Makefile. It will also install the pod documentation under +C<$INST_TOP\$INST_VER\lib\pod> and HTML versions of the same under +C<$INST_TOP\$INST_VER\lib\pod\html>. + +To use the Perl you just installed you will need to add a new entry to +your PATH environment variable: C<$INST_TOP\bin>, e.g. + + set PATH=c:\perl\bin;%PATH% + +If you opted to uncomment C and C in the makefile +then the installation structure is a little more complicated and you will +need to add two new PATH components instead: C<$INST_TOP\$INST_VER\bin> and +C<$INST_TOP\$INST_VER\bin\$ARCHNAME>, e.g. + + set PATH=c:\perl\5.6.0\bin;c:\perl\5.6.0\bin\MSWin32-x86;%PATH% + +=head2 Usage Hints for Perl on Windows + +=over 4 + +=item Environment Variables + +The installation paths that you set during the build get compiled +into perl, so you don't have to do anything additional to start +using that perl (except add its location to your PATH variable). + +If you put extensions in unusual places, you can set PERL5LIB +to a list of paths separated by semicolons where you want perl +to look for libraries. Look for descriptions of other environment +variables you can set in L. + +You can also control the shell that perl uses to run system() and +backtick commands via PERL5SHELL. See L. + +Perl does not depend on the registry, but it can look up certain default +values if you choose to put them there. Perl attempts to read entries from +C and C. +Entries in the former override entries in the latter. One or more of the +following entries (of type REG_SZ or REG_EXPAND_SZ) may be set: + + lib-$] version-specific standard library path to add to @INC + lib standard library path to add to @INC + sitelib-$] version-specific site library path to add to @INC + sitelib site library path to add to @INC + vendorlib-$] version-specific vendor library path to add to @INC + vendorlib vendor library path to add to @INC + PERL* fallback for all %ENV lookups that begin with "PERL" + +Note the C<$]> in the above is not literal. Substitute whatever version +of perl you want to honor that entry, e.g. C<5.6.0>. Paths must be +separated with semicolons, as usual on Windows. + +=item File Globbing + +By default, perl handles file globbing using the File::Glob extension, +which provides portable globbing. + +If you want perl to use globbing that emulates the quirks of DOS +filename conventions, you might want to consider using File::DosGlob +to override the internal glob() implementation. See L for +details. + +=item Using perl from the command line + +If you are accustomed to using perl from various command-line +shells found in UNIX environments, you will be less than pleased +with what Windows offers by way of a command shell. + +The crucial thing to understand about the Windows environment is that +the command line you type in is processed twice before Perl sees it. +First, your command shell (usually CMD.EXE) preprocesses the command +line, to handle redirection, environment variable expansion, and +location of the executable to run. Then, the perl executable splits +the remaining command line into individual arguments, using the +C runtime library upon which Perl was built. + +It is particularly important to note that neither the shell nor the C +runtime do any wildcard expansions of command-line arguments (so +wildcards need not be quoted). Also, the quoting behaviours of the +shell and the C runtime are rudimentary at best (and may, if you are +using a non-standard shell, be inconsistent). The only (useful) quote +character is the double quote ("). It can be used to protect spaces +and other special characters in arguments. + +The Windows documentation describes the shell parsing rules here: +L +and the C runtime parsing rules here: +L. + +Here are some further observations based on experiments: The C runtime +breaks arguments at spaces and passes them to programs in argc/argv. +Double quotes can be used to prevent arguments with spaces in them from +being split up. You can put a double quote in an argument by escaping +it with a backslash and enclosing the whole argument within double quotes. +The backslash and the pair of double quotes surrounding the argument will +be stripped by the C runtime. + +The file redirection characters "E", "E", and "|" can be quoted by +double quotes (although there are suggestions that this may not always +be true). Single quotes are not treated as quotes by the shell or +the C runtime, they don't get stripped by the shell (just to make +this type of quoting completely useless). The caret "^" has also +been observed to behave as a quoting character, but this appears +to be a shell feature, and the caret is not stripped from the command +line, so Perl still sees it (and the C runtime phase does not treat +the caret as a quote character). + +Here are some examples of usage of the "cmd" shell: + +This prints two doublequotes: + + perl -e "print '\"\"' " + +This does the same: + + perl -e "print \"\\\"\\\"\" " + +This prints "bar" and writes "foo" to the file "blurch": + + perl -e "print 'foo'; print STDERR 'bar'" > blurch + +This prints "foo" ("bar" disappears into nowhereland): + + perl -e "print 'foo'; print STDERR 'bar'" 2> nul + +This prints "bar" and writes "foo" into the file "blurch": + + perl -e "print 'foo'; print STDERR 'bar'" 1> blurch + +This pipes "foo" to the "less" pager and prints "bar" on the console: + + perl -e "print 'foo'; print STDERR 'bar'" | less + +This pipes "foo\nbar\n" to the less pager: + + perl -le "print 'foo'; print STDERR 'bar'" 2>&1 | less + +This pipes "foo" to the pager and writes "bar" in the file "blurch": + + perl -e "print 'foo'; print STDERR 'bar'" 2> blurch | less + + +Discovering the usefulness of the "command.com" shell on Windows 9x +is left as an exercise to the reader :) + +One particularly pernicious problem with the 4NT command shell for +Windows is that it (nearly) always treats a % character as indicating +that environment variable expansion is needed. Under this shell, it is +therefore important to always double any % characters which you want +Perl to see (for example, for hash variables), even when they are +quoted. + +=item Building Extensions + +The Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (CPAN) offers a wealth +of extensions, some of which require a C compiler to build. +Look in L for more information on CPAN. + +Note that not all of the extensions available from CPAN may work +in the Windows environment; you should check the information at +L before investing too much effort into +porting modules that don't readily build. + +Most extensions (whether they require a C compiler or not) can +be built, tested and installed with the standard mantra: + + perl Makefile.PL + $MAKE + $MAKE test + $MAKE install + +where $MAKE is whatever 'make' program you have configured perl to +use. Use "perl -V:make" to find out what this is. Some extensions +may not provide a testsuite (so "$MAKE test" may not do anything or +fail), but most serious ones do. + +It is important that you use a supported 'make' program, and +ensure Config.pm knows about it. If you don't have nmake, you can +either get dmake from the location mentioned earlier or get an +old version of nmake reportedly available from: + +L + +Another option is to use the make written in Perl, available from +CPAN. + +L + +You may also use dmake. See L above on how to get it. + +Note that MakeMaker actually emits makefiles with different syntax +depending on what 'make' it thinks you are using. Therefore, it is +important that one of the following values appears in Config.pm: + + make='nmake' # MakeMaker emits nmake syntax + make='dmake' # MakeMaker emits dmake syntax + any other value # MakeMaker emits generic make syntax + (e.g GNU make, or Perl make) + +If the value doesn't match the 'make' program you want to use, +edit Config.pm to fix it. + +If a module implements XSUBs, you will need one of the supported +C compilers. You must make sure you have set up the environment for +the compiler for command-line compilation. + +If a module does not build for some reason, look carefully for +why it failed, and report problems to the module author. If +it looks like the extension building support is at fault, report +that with full details of how the build failed using the perlbug +utility. + +=item Command-line Wildcard Expansion + +The default command shells on DOS descendant operating systems (such +as they are) usually do not expand wildcard arguments supplied to +programs. They consider it the application's job to handle that. +This is commonly achieved by linking the application (in our case, +perl) with startup code that the C runtime libraries usually provide. +However, doing that results in incompatible perl versions (since the +behavior of the argv expansion code differs depending on the +compiler, and it is even buggy on some compilers). Besides, it may +be a source of frustration if you use such a perl binary with an +alternate shell that *does* expand wildcards. + +Instead, the following solution works rather well. The nice things +about it are 1) you can start using it right away; 2) it is more +powerful, because it will do the right thing with a pattern like +*/*/*.c; 3) you can decide whether you do/don't want to use it; and +4) you can extend the method to add any customizations (or even +entirely different kinds of wildcard expansion). + + C:\> copy con c:\perl\lib\Wild.pm + # Wild.pm - emulate shell @ARGV expansion on shells that don't + use File::DosGlob; + @ARGV = map { + my @g = File::DosGlob::glob($_) if /[*?]/; + @g ? @g : $_; + } @ARGV; + 1; + ^Z + C:\> set PERL5OPT=-MWild + C:\> perl -le "for (@ARGV) { print }" */*/perl*.c + p4view/perl/perl.c + p4view/perl/perlio.c + p4view/perl/perly.c + perl5.005/win32/perlglob.c + perl5.005/win32/perllib.c + perl5.005/win32/perlglob.c + perl5.005/win32/perllib.c + perl5.005/win32/perlglob.c + perl5.005/win32/perllib.c + +Note there are two distinct steps there: 1) You'll have to create +Wild.pm and put it in your perl lib directory. 2) You'll need to +set the PERL5OPT environment variable. If you want argv expansion +to be the default, just set PERL5OPT in your default startup +environment. + +If you are using the Visual C compiler, you can get the C runtime's +command line wildcard expansion built into perl binary. The resulting +binary will always expand unquoted command lines, which may not be +what you want if you use a shell that does that for you. The expansion +done is also somewhat less powerful than the approach suggested above. + +=item Notes on 64-bit Windows + +Windows .NET Server supports the LLP64 data model on the Intel Itanium +architecture. + +The LLP64 data model is different from the LP64 data model that is the +norm on 64-bit Unix platforms. In the former, C and C are +both 32-bit data types, while pointers are 64 bits wide. In addition, +there is a separate 64-bit wide integral type, C<__int64>. In contrast, +the LP64 data model that is pervasive on Unix platforms provides C +as the 32-bit type, while both the C type and pointers are of +64-bit precision. Note that both models provide for 64-bits of +addressability. + +64-bit Windows running on Itanium is capable of running 32-bit x86 +binaries transparently. This means that you could use a 32-bit build +of Perl on a 64-bit system. Given this, why would one want to build +a 64-bit build of Perl? Here are some reasons why you would bother: + +=over + +=item * + +A 64-bit native application will run much more efficiently on +Itanium hardware. + +=item * + +There is no 2GB limit on process size. + +=item * + +Perl automatically provides large file support when built under +64-bit Windows. + +=item * + +Embedding Perl inside a 64-bit application. + +=back + +=back + +=head2 Running Perl Scripts + +Perl scripts on UNIX use the "#!" (a.k.a "shebang") line to +indicate to the OS that it should execute the file using perl. +Windows has no comparable means to indicate arbitrary files are +executables. + +Instead, all available methods to execute plain text files on +Windows rely on the file "extension". There are three methods +to use this to execute perl scripts: + +=over 8 + +=item 1 + +There is a facility called "file extension associations". This can be +manipulated via the two commands "assoc" and "ftype" that come +standard with Windows. Type "ftype /?" for a complete example of how +to set this up for perl scripts (Say what? You thought Windows +wasn't perl-ready? :). + +=item 2 + +Since file associations don't work everywhere, and there are +reportedly bugs with file associations where it does work, the +old method of wrapping the perl script to make it look like a +regular batch file to the OS, may be used. The install process +makes available the "pl2bat.bat" script which can be used to wrap +perl scripts into batch files. For example: + + pl2bat foo.pl + +will create the file "FOO.BAT". Note "pl2bat" strips any +.pl suffix and adds a .bat suffix to the generated file. + +If you use the 4DOS/NT or similar command shell, note that +"pl2bat" uses the "%*" variable in the generated batch file to +refer to all the command line arguments, so you may need to make +sure that construct works in batch files. As of this writing, +4DOS/NT users will need a "ParameterChar = *" statement in their +4NT.INI file or will need to execute "setdos /p*" in the 4DOS/NT +startup file to enable this to work. + +=item 3 + +Using "pl2bat" has a few problems: the file name gets changed, +so scripts that rely on C<$0> to find what they must do may not +run properly; running "pl2bat" replicates the contents of the +original script, and so this process can be maintenance intensive +if the originals get updated often. A different approach that +avoids both problems is possible. + +A script called "runperl.bat" is available that can be copied +to any filename (along with the .bat suffix). For example, +if you call it "foo.bat", it will run the file "foo" when it is +executed. Since you can run batch files on Windows platforms simply +by typing the name (without the extension), this effectively +runs the file "foo", when you type either "foo" or "foo.bat". +With this method, "foo.bat" can even be in a different location +than the file "foo", as long as "foo" is available somewhere on +the PATH. If your scripts are on a filesystem that allows symbolic +links, you can even avoid copying "runperl.bat". + +Here's a diversion: copy "runperl.bat" to "runperl", and type +"runperl". Explain the observed behavior, or lack thereof. :) +Hint: .gnidnats llits er'uoy fi ,"lrepnur" eteled :tniH + +=back + +=head2 Miscellaneous Things + +A full set of HTML documentation is installed, so you should be +able to use it if you have a web browser installed on your +system. + +C is also a useful tool for browsing information contained +in the documentation, especially in conjunction with a pager +like C (recent versions of which have Windows support). You may +have to set the PAGER environment variable to use a specific pager. +"perldoc -f foo" will print information about the perl operator +"foo". + +One common mistake when using this port with a GUI library like C +is assuming that Perl's normal behavior of opening a command-line +window will go away. This isn't the case. If you want to start a copy +of C without opening a command-line window, use the C +executable built during the installation process. Usage is exactly +the same as normal C on Windows, except that options like C<-h> +don't work (since they need a command-line window to print to). + +If you find bugs in perl, you can run C to create a +bug report (you may have to send it manually if C cannot +find a mailer on your system). + +=head1 BUGS AND CAVEATS + +Norton AntiVirus interferes with the build process, particularly if +set to "AutoProtect, All Files, when Opened". Unlike large applications +the perl build process opens and modifies a lot of files. Having the +the AntiVirus scan each and every one slows build the process significantly. +Worse, with PERLIO=stdio the build process fails with peculiar messages +as the virus checker interacts badly with miniperl.exe writing configure +files (it seems to either catch file part written and treat it as suspicious, +or virus checker may have it "locked" in a way which inhibits miniperl +updating it). The build does complete with + + set PERLIO=perlio + +but that may be just luck. Other AntiVirus software may have similar issues. + +Some of the built-in functions do not act exactly as documented in +L, and a few are not implemented at all. To avoid +surprises, particularly if you have had prior exposure to Perl +in other operating environments or if you intend to write code +that will be portable to other environments, see L +for a reasonably definitive list of these differences. + +Not all extensions available from CPAN may build or work properly +in the Windows environment. See L. + +Most C related calls are supported, but they may not +behave as on Unix platforms. See L for the full list. + +Signal handling may not behave as on Unix platforms (where it +doesn't exactly "behave", either :). For instance, calling C +or C from signal handlers will cause an exception, since most +implementations of C on Windows are severely crippled. +Thus, signals may work only for simple things like setting a flag +variable in the handler. Using signals under this port should +currently be considered unsupported. + +Please send detailed descriptions of any problems and solutions that +you may find to EFE, along with the output +produced by C. + +=head1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS + +The use of a camel with the topic of Perl is a trademark +of O'Reilly and Associates, Inc. Used with permission. + +=head1 AUTHORS + +=over 4 + +=item Gary Ng E71564.1743@CompuServe.COME + +=item Gurusamy Sarathy Egsar@activestate.comE + +=item Nick Ing-Simmons Enick@ing-simmons.netE + +=item Jan Dubois Ejand@activestate.comE + +=item Steve Hay Esteve.m.hay@googlemail.comE + +=back + +This document is maintained by Jan Dubois. + +=head1 SEE ALSO + +L + +=head1 HISTORY + +This port was originally contributed by Gary Ng around 5.003_24, +and borrowed from the Hip Communications port that was available +at the time. Various people have made numerous and sundry hacks +since then. + +GCC/mingw32 support was added in 5.005 (Nick Ing-Simmons). + +Support for PERL_OBJECT was added in 5.005 (ActiveState Tool Corp). + +Support for fork() emulation was added in 5.6 (ActiveState Tool Corp). + +Win9x support was added in 5.6 (Benjamin Stuhl). + +Support for 64-bit Windows added in 5.8 (ActiveState Corp). + +Last updated: 22 October 2013 + +=cut