Mark Murray:
# > This list has been started in reaction to an often heard complaint
# > that Perl is becoming bigger and bigger, and its size is keeping
# > people and companies from installing, and using, it. To
# overcome this
# > problem, the current standard Perl distribution needs to be
# split into
# > a small core part, and additional modules. The core part
# needs to be a
# > useful subset capable of real life work, like adding the additional
# > modules. (Although we may want to use industry standard
# installation
# > tools as well.)
#
# I am strongly in agreement with this.
#
# The FreeBSD core OS needs not much more than the basic
# language, so miniperl's functionality comes vaguely close.
#
# For folks who need the latest/greatest Perl, there is always
# the Perl port, which is distributed with FreeBSD on DVD or CD
# in binary installable format.
Do you not upgrade base Perl because there's something wrong with it,
because it works and you don't want to break it, or because it's too
much of a hassle?
# > An additional problem is that many of Perl's run-time defaults are
# > actually established at build time. This makes it hard to produce a
# > prebuilt Perl distribution that can be installed flexibly, and
# > additional prebuilt modules that can be added to an arbitrary Perl
# > installation.
#
# Yes. FreeBSD needs to be able to cross-build. There are
# different kinds of cross-builds, as Perl would see it;
#
# 1) Different CPU architectures
# 2) OS upgrades (like FreeBSD-STABLE --> FreeBSD-CURRENT)
# 3) Buildworlds after Perl upgrades (when miniperl has a
# risk of failing).
#
# > I see three problems that must be solved:
# >
# > 1: A perl distribution must be able to be (re)located anywhere and
# > use itself as a starting point to find its additional libraries
# > and modules.
# > The way ActiveState's rpm handles it (by patching the
# binaries and
# > scripts) works, but defeats the rpm functionality to verify an
# > installation.
#
# Yes. And the core language must have no circular dependancies
# (need X to build X+1). Miniperl is a problem here. Dynaloader
# needs to be buildable using ordinary makefiles.
#
# All other modules can be built using something similar to
# what Perl now has, with no significant FreeBSD issues. Builds
# need to be cross- buildable, and all aspects of the build
# (PATHs, *FLAGS, which tools to use) need to be fully
# specifiable (or overridable) at build time. Build choices and
# runtime defaults need to be separately specifiable.
#
# > 2: Add-on modules (base-perl and site-perl) must be able to fit
# > themselves into an existing perl installation so they can be
# > distributed in prebuilt form.
#
# Yes. FreeBSD's ports system can accomodate this very well.
#
# > 3: The Perl distribution must be split into a core part, and
# > additional modules.
#
# If "core" is just the basic language+Dynaloader, libperl and
# some documentation, then I am strongly in agreement.
I would imagine that we'd also want CPAN.pm (or CPANPLUS.pm), at least.
That way we could stick perlbase-(version) and perllib-(version) on the
CPAN and pull down perllib once we have perlbase built (for a normal
install--there'd probably be a Configure question asking if you'd like
to get the standard lib).
Starting with Perl 5.10.0, the Perl distribution is split into
two parts, perlbase and perllib. You have downloaded perlbase.
perllib contains most of the standard library. If you'd like,
Perl can automatically download and install perllib from the
CPAN
once Perl has finished installing. It can also automatically
install it if it's already been downloaded, or it can run
without
perllib.
Do you want to download perllib from the CPAN? [yes] no
Have you downloaded it already? [yes] no
Perl will not download or install perllib. You can always
download and install it yourself using CPAN.pm--just use
the command 'install perllib-5.10.0'.
I would expect that perl -v would let you know if the library wasn't
installed:
>perl -v
This is perl, v5.10.0 built for MSWin32-x86-multi-thread
(without the Perl standard library)
Copyright 1987-2003, Larry Wall
Perl may be copied only under the terms of either the Artistic
License or the
GNU General Public License, which may be found in the Perl 5
source kit.
Complete documentation for Perl, including FAQ lists, should be
found on
this system using `man perl' or `perldoc perl'. If you have
access to the
Internet, point your browser at http://www.perl.com/, the Perl
Home Page.
This installation does not include the Perl standard library.
If you'd like
to install it, type `perl -MCPAN -eshell' at a command prompt
(or the
appropriate equivalent for your operating system), and then type
`install perllib-5.10.0' at the `cpan>' prompt. You will
probably need to have
root or administrator access to do this.
(Of course, the parenthesized line and the last paragraph would
disappear once perllib was installed.)
--Brent Dax <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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