X-Git-Url: https://perl5.git.perl.org/perl5.git/blobdiff_plain/8e07c86ebc651fe92eb7e3b25f801f57cfb8dd6f..fc09a9a0cfd399ade7b09bd087384df6b3d742dc:/README diff --git a/README b/README index 0f92ea5..3c614d0 100644 --- a/README +++ b/README @@ -1,95 +1,74 @@ +Perl is Copyright (C) 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, +2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 by Larry Wall +and others. All rights reserved. - Perl Kit, Version 5.0 - Copyright (c) 1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994 Larry Wall - All rights reserved. - This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify - it under the terms of either: +ABOUT PERL +========== - a) the GNU General Public License as published by the Free - Software Foundation; either version 1, or (at your option) any - later version, or +Perl is a general-purpose programming language originally developed for +text manipulation and now used for a wide range of tasks including +system administration, web development, network programming, GUI +development, and more. + +The language is intended to be practical (easy to use, efficient, +complete) rather than beautiful (tiny, elegant, minimal). Its major +features are that it's easy to use, supports both procedural and +object-oriented (OO) programming, has powerful built-in support for text +processing, and has one of the world's most impressive collections of +third-party modules. + +For an introduction to the language's features, see pod/perlintro.pod. + +For a discussion of the important changes in this release, see +pod/perldelta.pod. + +There are also many Perl books available, covering a wide variety of topics, +from various publishers. See pod/perlbook.pod for more information. + + +INSTALLATION +============ + +If you're using a relatively modern operating system and want to +install this version of Perl locally, run the following commands: + + ./Configure -des -Dprefix=$HOME/localperl + make test + make install + +This will configure and compile perl for your platform, run the regression +tests, and install perl in a subdirectory "localperl" of your home directory. + +If you run into any trouble whatsoever or you need to install a customized +version of Perl, you should read the detailed instructions in the "INSTALL" +file that came with this distribution. Additionally, there are a number of +"README" files with hints and tips about building and using Perl on a wide +variety of platforms, some more common than others. + +Once you have Perl installed, a wealth of documentation is available to you +through the 'perldoc' tool. To get started, run this command: + + perldoc perl - b) the "Artistic License" which comes with this Kit. - This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, - but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of - MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See either - the GNU General Public License or the Artistic License for more details. - - You should have received a copy of the Artistic License with this - Kit, in the file named "Artistic". If not, I'll be glad to provide one. - - You should also have received a copy of the GNU General Public License - along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software - Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. - - For those of you that choose to use the GNU General Public License, - my interpretation of the GNU General Public License is that no Perl - script falls under the terms of the GPL unless you explicitly put - said script under the terms of the GPL yourself. Furthermore, any - object code linked with perl does not automatically fall under the - terms of the GPL, provided such object code only adds definitions - of subroutines and variables, and does not otherwise impair the - resulting interpreter from executing any standard Perl script. I - consider linking in C subroutines in this manner to be the moral - equivalent of defining subroutines in the Perl language itself. You - may sell such an object file as proprietary provided that you provide - or offer to provide the Perl source, as specified by the GNU General - Public License. (This is merely an alternate way of specifying input - to the program.) You may also sell a binary produced by the dumping of - a running Perl script that belongs to you, provided that you provide or - offer to provide the Perl source as specified by the GPL. (The - fact that a Perl interpreter and your code are in the same binary file - is, in this case, a form of mere aggregation.) This is my interpretation - of the GPL. If you still have concerns or difficulties understanding - my intent, feel free to contact me. Of course, the Artistic License - spells all this out for your protection, so you may prefer to use that. - --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -Perl is a language that combines some of the features of C, sed, awk -and shell. See the manual page for more hype. There are also two Nutshell -Handbooks published by O'Reilly & Assoc. See pod/perlbook.pod -for more information. - -Please read all the directions below before you proceed any further, and -then follow them carefully. - -After you have unpacked your kit, you should have all the files listed -in MANIFEST. - -Installation - -1) Detailed instructions are in the file INSTALL. In brief, the -following should work on most systems: - rm -f config.sh - sh Configure - make - make test - make install -For most systems, it should be safe to accept all the Configure -defaults. - -2) Read the manual entries before running perl. - -3) IMPORTANT! Help save the world! Communicate any problems and suggested -patches to me, lwall@netlabs.com (Larry Wall), so we can -keep the world in sync. If you have a problem, there's someone else -out there who either has had or will have the same problem. -It's usually helpful if you send the output of the "myconfig" script -in the main perl directory. - -If possible, send in patches such that the patch program will apply them. -Context diffs are the best, then normal diffs. Don't send ed scripts-- -I've probably changed my copy since the version you have. - -Watch for perl patches in comp.lang.perl.announce. Patches will generally -be in a form usable by the patch program. If you are just now bringing -up perl and aren't sure how many patches there are, write to me and I'll -send any you don't have. Your current patch level is shown in -patchlevel.h. +IF YOU RUN INTO TROUBLE +======================= + +Perl is a large and complex system that's used for everything from +knitting to rocket science. If you run into trouble, it's quite +likely that someone else has already solved the problem you're +facing. Once you've exhausted the documentation, please report bugs to us +using the 'perlbug' tool. For more information about perlbug, either type +'perldoc perlbug' or just 'perlbug' on a line by itself. + +While it was current when we made it available, Perl is constantly evolving +and there may be a more recent version that fixes bugs you've run into or +adds new features that you might find useful. + +You can always find the latest version of perl on a CPAN (Comprehensive Perl +Archive Network) site near you at http://www.cpan.org/src/ Just a personal note: I want you to know that I create nice things like this @@ -97,3 +76,54 @@ because it pleases the Author of my story. If this bothers you, then your notion of Authorship needs some revision. But you can use perl anyway. :-) The author. + + +LICENSING +========= + +This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify +it under the terms of either: + + a) the GNU General Public License as published by the Free + Software Foundation; either version 1, or (at your option) any + later version, or + + b) the "Artistic License" which comes with this Kit. + +This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, +but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of +MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See either +the GNU General Public License or the Artistic License for more details. + +You should have received a copy of the Artistic License with this +Kit, in the file named "Artistic". If not, I'll be glad to provide one. + +You should also have received a copy of the GNU General Public License +along with this program in the file named "Copying". If not, write to the +Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, +Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA or visit their web page on the internet at +http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html. + +For those of you that choose to use the GNU General Public License, +my interpretation of the GNU General Public License is that no Perl +script falls under the terms of the GPL unless you explicitly put +said script under the terms of the GPL yourself. Furthermore, any +object code linked with perl does not automatically fall under the +terms of the GPL, provided such object code only adds definitions +of subroutines and variables, and does not otherwise impair the +resulting interpreter from executing any standard Perl script. I +consider linking in C subroutines in this manner to be the moral +equivalent of defining subroutines in the Perl language itself. You +may sell such an object file as proprietary provided that you provide +or offer to provide the Perl source, as specified by the GNU General +Public License. (This is merely an alternate way of specifying input +to the program.) You may also sell a binary produced by the dumping of +a running Perl script that belongs to you, provided that you provide or +offer to provide the Perl source as specified by the GPL. (The +fact that a Perl interpreter and your code are in the same binary file +is, in this case, a form of mere aggregation.) This is my interpretation +of the GPL. If you still have concerns or difficulties understanding +my intent, feel free to contact me. Of course, the Artistic License +spells all this out for your protection, so you may prefer to use that. + +