At 12:46 AM +0200 9/4/03, Dr. Martin P.J. Zinser wrote: >Hello, > >I am in contact with Hoff about submitting a few entries for the upcoming >freeware CD. While discussing the feasability of getting some Perl Modules >on it, we finally came to the conclusion that it would be best to have a >full Perl Build on the CD. Given the fact that the deadline for submissions >is looming I tend to do a 5.8.0 build with a number of integrated modules.
I'd recommend the latest 5.8.1 release candidate. 5.8.1 is now quite stable and certainly better than 5.8.0. If it goes anything like 5.6.1, the final version will come out the day after the VMS freeware CD is mastered :-(. >This opens two questions I hope you can help me with: > >1.) The list of modules I work with can be found at > http://zinser.no-ip.info:8080/www/vms/sw/perl_mod.htmlx > Are there any essentials/must-haves/really cool ones missing that > I still should try to get up and running? It's a good list, though I agree with Alan that DBI is essential. If you have a structure that's working, though, you can always drop in one more module later. I would focus on making a structure that's easy for the Perl novice to build and only add modules when you've got a robust build environment in place. Please use, borrow from, or assimilate my perlbuild kit for 5.6.1 as needed. >2.) hp requires someone to sign a release form for each piece of software > on the CD (check http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/ for details). > Now I might be preparing the kit for the CD, but I am certainly not > one of the VMS Perl core developers. Ah, you missed the clause that says, "He who signs the release form becomes a VMS Perl core developer" ;-). Seriously, the rights to use Perl itself are dictated by the Artistic license <http://www.perldoc.com/perl5.8.0/Artistic.html> or the GPL; no form any of us can sign has the power to change that, and that includes the VMS-specific bits as well. The way I see it, the only "owner or developer" roles the release form has the right to say anything about are your own activities adding command procedures, readme files, or other supplementary materials in preparation for the freeware CD itself, and you can certainly sign your own name to those activities. Basically the language of the release form is too pessimistic about open source software working on VMS without additional porting work, and it also does not account for porting work that has already been released as part of the package under the same open source license that governs the package. This is not too surprising since with the exception of Mozilla, OVMS Engineering has not been very nimble about getting their changes back into the authoritative versions of the open source packages they support. So that turned into a bit of a rant, but I think you're fine signing the form yourself. It's certainly a welcome courtesy to discuss the contents of the freeware submission here, but if you assemble the package, it's yours to submit as you see fit. I very much appreciate your working on this at a time when I'm too swamped to even remember all the things I've forgotten. -- ________________________________________ Craig A. Berry mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] "... getting out of a sonnet is much more difficult than getting in." Brad Leithauser
