[thirdparty/openssl.git] / README.PERL

 TOC
 ===

 - Notes on Perl
 - Notes on Perl on Windows
 - Notes on Perl modules we use
 - Notes on installing a perl module

 Notes on Perl
 -------------

 For our scripts, we rely quite a bit on Perl, and increasingly on
 some core Perl modules.  These Perl modules are part of the Perl
 source, so if you build Perl on your own, you should be set.

 However, if you install Perl as binary packages, the outcome might
 differ, and you may have to check that you do get the core modules
 installed properly.  We do not claim to know them all, but experience
 has told us the following:

 - on Linux distributions based on Debian, the package 'perl' will
   install the core Perl modules as well, so you will be fine.
 - on Linux distributions based on RPMs, you will need to install
   'perl-core' rather than just 'perl'.

 It is highly recommended that you have at least Perl version 5.10
 installed.

 Notes on Perl on Windows
 ------------------------

 If you will build on Cygwin (and possibly some other POSIX layers),
 Perl is already part of your distribution.  Simply use the Cygwin
 package manager to make sure Perl gets installed.

 Otherwise, you will need to install Perl separately.  The Perl
 package that we know of is ActiveState Perl, available from
 http://www.activestate.com/ActivePerl.

 Notes on Perl on VMS
 --------------------

 You will need to install Perl separately.  One way to do so is to
 download the source from http://perl.org/, unpacking it, reading
 README.vms and follow instructions.  Another way is to download a
 .PCSI file from http://sourceforge.net/projects/vmsperlkit/files/
 and install it using the POLYCENTER install tool.

 Notes on Perl modules we use
 ----------------------------

 We make increasing use of Perl modules, and do our best to limit
 ourselves to core Perl modules to keep the requirements down.  There
 are just a few exceptions:

 Test::More         We require the minimum version to be 0.96, which
                    appeared in Perl 5.13.4, because that version was
                    the first to have all the features we're using.
                    This module is required for testing only!  If you
                    don't plan on running the tests, you don't need to
                    bother with this one.

 Text::Template     This module is not part of the core Perl modules.
                    As a matter of fact, the core Perl modules do not
                    include any templating module to date.
                    This module is absolutely needed, configuration
                    depends on it.

 To avoid unnecessary initial hurdles, we have bundled a copy of the
 following modules in our source.  They will work as fallbacks if
 these modules aren't already installed on the system.

    Text::Template

 Notes on installing a perl module
 ---------------------------------

 There are a number of ways to install a perl module.  In all
 descriptions below, Text::Template will server as an example.

 1. for Linux users, the easiest is to install with the use of your
    favorite package manager.  Usually, all you need to do is search
    for the module name and to install the package that comes up.

    On Debian based Linux distributions, it would go like this:

        $ apt-cache search Text::Template
        ...
        libtext-template-perl - perl module to process text templates
        $ sudo apt-get install libtext-template-perl

    Perl modules in Debian based distributions use package names like
    the name of the module in question, with "lib" prepended and
    "-perl" appended.

 2. Install using CPAN.  This is very easy, but usually requires root
    access:

        $ cpan -i Text::Template

    Note that this runs all the tests that the module to be install
    comes with.  This is usually a smooth operation, but there are
    platforms where a failure is indicate even though the actual tests
    were successful.  Should that happen, you can force an
    installation regardless (that should be safe since you've already
    seen the tests succeed!):

        $ cpan -f -i Text::Template

    Note: on VMS, you must quote any argument that contains upper case
    characters, so the lines above would be:

        $ cpan -i "Text::Template"

    and:

        $ cpan -f -i "Text::Template"
Commit	Line	Data
d36ab9ce RL	1	TOC
	2	===
	3
	4	- Notes on Perl
	5	- Notes on Perl on Windows
	6	- Notes on Perl modules we use
	7	- Notes on installing a perl module
	8
	9	Notes on Perl
	10	-------------
	11
	12	For our scripts, we rely quite a bit on Perl, and increasingly on
	13	some core Perl modules. These Perl modules are part of the Perl
	14	source, so if you build Perl on your own, you should be set.
	15
	16	However, if you install Perl as binary packages, the outcome might
	17	differ, and you may have to check that you do get the core modules
	18	installed properly. We do not claim to know them all, but experience
	19	has told us the following:
	20
	21	- on Linux distributions based on Debian, the package 'perl' will
	22	install the core Perl modules as well, so you will be fine.
	23	- on Linux distributions based on RPMs, you will need to install
	24	'perl-core' rather than just 'perl'.
	25
	26	It is highly recommended that you have at least Perl version 5.10
	27	installed.
	28
	29	Notes on Perl on Windows
	30	------------------------
	31
	32	If you will build on Cygwin (and possibly some other POSIX layers),
	33	Perl is already part of your distribution. Simply use the Cygwin
	34	package manager to make sure Perl gets installed.
	35
	36	Otherwise, you will need to install Perl separately. The Perl
	37	package that we know of is ActiveState Perl, available from
	38	http://www.activestate.com/ActivePerl.
	39
f578075a RL	40	Notes on Perl on VMS
	41	--------------------
	42
	43	You will need to install Perl separately. One way to do so is to
	44	download the source from http://perl.org/, unpacking it, reading
	45	README.vms and follow instructions. Another way is to download a
	46	.PCSI file from http://sourceforge.net/projects/vmsperlkit/files/
	47	and install it using the POLYCENTER install tool.
	48
d36ab9ce RL	49	Notes on Perl modules we use
	50	----------------------------
	51
	52	We make increasing use of Perl modules, and do our best to limit
	53	ourselves to core Perl modules to keep the requirements down. There
	54	are just a few exceptions:
	55
	56	Test::More We require the minimum version to be 0.96, which
	57	appeared in Perl 5.13.4, because that version was
	58	the first to have all the features we're using.
	59	This module is required for testing only! If you
	60	don't plan on running the tests, you don't need to
	61	bother with this one.
	62
	63	Text::Template This module is not part of the core Perl modules.
	64	As a matter of fact, the core Perl modules do not
	65	include any templating module to date.
	66	This module is absolutely needed, configuration
	67	depends on it.
	68
	69	To avoid unnecessary initial hurdles, we have bundled a copy of the
	70	following modules in our source. They will work as fallbacks if
	71	these modules aren't already installed on the system.
	72
	73	Text::Template
	74
	75	Notes on installing a perl module
	76	---------------------------------
	77
	78	There are a number of ways to install a perl module. In all
	79	descriptions below, Text::Template will server as an example.
	80
	81	1. for Linux users, the easiest is to install with the use of your
	82	favorite package manager. Usually, all you need to do is search
	83	for the module name and to install the package that comes up.
	84
	85	On Debian based Linux distributions, it would go like this:
	86
	87	$ apt-cache search Text::Template
	88	...
	89	libtext-template-perl - perl module to process text templates
	90	$ sudo apt-get install libtext-template-perl
	91
	92	Perl modules in Debian based distributions use package names like
	93	the name of the module in question, with "lib" prepended and
	94	"-perl" appended.
	95
	96	2. Install using CPAN. This is very easy, but usually requires root
	97	access:
	98
	99	$ cpan -i Text::Template
	100
	101	Note that this runs all the tests that the module to be install
	102	comes with. This is usually a smooth operation, but there are
	103	platforms where a failure is indicate even though the actual tests
	104	were successful. Should that happen, you can force an
	105	installation regardless (that should be safe since you've already
	106	seen the tests succeed!):
	107
	108	$ cpan -f -i Text::Template
f578075a RL	109
	110	Note: on VMS, you must quote any argument that contains upper case
	111	characters, so the lines above would be:
	112
	113	$ cpan -i "Text::Template"
	114
	115	and:
	116
	117	$ cpan -f -i "Text::Template"