xref: /openssl/NOTES-PERL.md (revision 3e3ad3c5)
1Notes on Perl
2=============
3
4 - [General Notes](#general-notes)
5 - [Perl on Windows](#perl-on-windows)
6 - [Perl on VMS](#perl-on-vms)
7 - [Perl on NonStop](#perl-on-nonstop)
8 - [Required Perl modules](#required-perl-modules)
9 - [Notes on installing a Perl module](#notes-on-installing-a-perl-module])
10
11General Notes
12-------------
13
14For our scripts, we rely quite a bit on Perl, and increasingly on
15some core Perl modules.  These Perl modules are part of the Perl
16source, so if you build Perl on your own, you should be set.
17
18However, if you install Perl as binary packages, the outcome might
19differ, and you may have to check that you do get the core modules
20installed properly.  We do not claim to know them all, but experience
21has told us the following:
22
23 - on Linux distributions based on Debian, the package `perl` will
24   install the core Perl modules as well, so you will be fine.
25 - on Linux distributions based on RPMs, you will need to install
26   `perl-core` rather than just `perl`.
27
28You MUST have at least Perl version 5.10.0 installed.  This minimum
29requirement is due to our use of regexp backslash sequence \R among
30other features that didn't exist in core Perl before that version.
31
32Perl on Windows
33---------------
34
35There are a number of build targets that can be viewed as "Windows".
36Indeed, there are `VC-*` configs targeting VisualStudio C, as well as
37MinGW and Cygwin. The key recommendation is to use a Perl installation
38that matches the build environment. For example, if you will build
39on Cygwin be sure to use the Cygwin package manager to install Perl.
40For MSYS builds use the MSYS provided Perl.
41For VC-* builds we recommend Strawberry Perl, from <http://strawberryperl.com>.
42An alternative is ActiveState Perl, from <http://www.activestate.com/ActivePerl>
43for which you may need to explicitly select the Perl module Win32/Console.pm
44available via <https://platform.activestate.com/ActiveState>.
45
46Perl on VMS
47-----------
48
49You will need to install Perl separately.  One way to do so is to
50download the source from <http://perl.org/>, unpacking it, reading
51`README-VMS.md` and follow the instructions.  Another way is to download a
52`.PCSI` file from <http://www.vmsperl.com/> and install it using the
53POLYCENTER install tool.
54
55Perl on NonStop
56---------------
57
58Perl is installed on HPE NonStop platforms as part of the Scripting Languages
59package T1203PAX file. The package is shipped as part of a NonStop RVU
60(Release Version Updates) package. Individual SPRs (Software Product Release)
61representing fixes can be obtained from the Scout website at
62<https://h22204.www2.hpe.com/NEP>. Follow the appropriate set of installation
63instructions for your operating system release as described in the
64Script Language User Guide available from the NonStop Technical Library.
65
66Required Perl modules
67---------------------
68
69We do our best to limit ourselves to core Perl modules to keep the
70requirements down. There are just a few exceptions.
71
72 * Text::Template this is required *for building*
73
74   To avoid unnecessary initial hurdles, we include a copy of this module
75   in the source. It will work as a fallback if the module isn't already
76   installed.
77
78 * `Test::More` this is required *for testing*
79
80   We require the minimum version to be 0.96, which appeared in Perl 5.13.4,
81   because that version was the first to have all the features we're using.
82   This module is required for testing only!  If you don't plan on running
83   the tests, you don't need to bother with this one.
84
85Notes on installing a Perl module
86---------------------------------
87
88There are a number of ways to install a perl module.  In all
89descriptions below, `Text::Template` will serve as an example.
90
911. for Linux users, the easiest is to install with the use of your
92   favorite package manager.  Usually, all you need to do is search
93   for the module name and to install the package that comes up.
94
95   On Debian based Linux distributions, it would go like this:
96
97       $ apt-cache search Text::Template
98       ...
99       libtext-template-perl - perl module to process text templates
100       $ sudo apt-get install libtext-template-perl
101
102   Perl modules in Debian based distributions use package names like
103   the name of the module in question, with "lib" prepended and
104   "-perl" appended.
105
1062. Install using CPAN.  This is very easy, but usually requires root
107   access:
108
109       $ cpan -i Text::Template
110
111   Note that this runs all the tests that the module to be installed
112   comes with.  This is usually a smooth operation, but there are
113   platforms where a failure is indicated even though the actual tests
114   were successful.  Should that happen, you can force an
115   installation regardless (that should be safe since you've already
116   seen the tests succeed!):
117
118       $ cpan -f -i Text::Template
119
120   Note: on VMS, you must quote any argument that contains upper case
121   characters, so the lines above would be:
122
123       $ cpan -i "Text::Template"
124
125   and:
126
127       $ cpan -f -i "Text::Template"
128