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Re: [MacPerl] FW: [CGI] Multi-platform Perl Code Interchangeablity
Terence Jordan writes:
>Are you sure it returns "MacOS" even under System 7.5 or 7.1?
Yes.
>As I recall "MacOS" didn't become MacOS until System 7.6/8.0/8.1
>From Apple's point of view, yes, but regarding the content of the perl variable
$^O, you will always get MacOS.
>And is there a Perl for Mac that runs under 8.x yet?
Yes. See below.
>I've even been hard pressed to find one that works on 7.5!
Really? I'm not aware that any MacPerl releases had difficulties with 7.5.
Matthias
-----
Matthias Neeracher <neeri@iis.ee.ethz.ch> http://www.iis.ee.ethz.ch/~neeri
"A system without PERL is like a hockey game without a fight."
-- Mitch Wright
Questions and Answers about MacPerl
Table of contents
General questions
1) How can I get this document?
2) Where can I get real information about MacPerl?
3) What is MacPerl and where can I get it?
4) Why are there so many different distributions?
5) How do I subscribe/unsubscribe from the MacPerl mailing lists
6) How do I send an article to the MacPerl mailing lists
7) Is there a searchable archive of the MacPerl mailing list?
8) How many people are using MacPerl?
Working with MacPerl
9) Why don't my droplets work?
10) Is there a collection of MacPerl scripts anywhere?
11) Is it possible to develop CGI scripts for WWW servers using MacPerl?
Further Development
12) When will there be a multithreaded/OSA Perl?
13) Why doesn't MacPerl make more rapid progress?
Questions
1) How can I get this document?
Well, you have it, don't you? You could always ask me for a copy by
email. The cool new way to get an updated version is by WWW in
"http://www.iis.ee.ethz.ch/~neeri/macintosh/perl-qa.html". Should
further information (e.g., the manual), become available online in the
future, you'll find it on
"http://www.iis.ee.ethz.ch/~neeri/macintosh/perl.html".
2) Where can I get real information about MacPerl?
Luckily, a few brave MacPerl users have started filling the huge gaps
in the MacPerl documentation.
Sandra Silcot publishes a MacPerl primer at
http://www.unimelb.edu.au/~ssilcot/macperl-primer/home.html,
and also by ftp at
ftp://www.unimelb.edu.au/pub/cwis/tools/macintosh/MacPerl-PRIMER-1.1.sea.hqx
Bob Dalgleish and Bob Wilkinson have taken over the MacPerl FAQ from
Hal Wine. It can be retrieved at
http://www.perl.com/CPAN/doc/FAQs/mac/MacPerlFAQ.html.
3) What is MacPerl and where can I get it?
MacPerl is a port of Larry Wall's Perl (Practical Extraction and
Report Language) to the Apple Macintosh.
The most recent versions of MacPerl are always available in
sunsite.cnlab-switch.ch software/platform/macos/perl
This site is mirrored on a huge number of mirror sites connected in CPAN,
the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network. To get MacPerl from your closest
CPAN mirror, point your web browser to
http://www.perl.com/CPAN/ports/mac/.
4) Why are there so many different distributions?
MacPerl is arranged into a number of distributions, named according to
the following scheme:
Mac_Perl_519r4_appl.bin
^ ^ ^ ^ ^
MacPerl | | | MacBinary Suffix
| | Distribution Component
| Perl Patchlevel
MacPerl Release
Currently the following components are available:
appl The MacPerl application (Dynamic PowerPC/Small 68K), all
libraries and documentation.
tool The Perl MPW Tool (Dynamic PowerPC/Small 68K) and
scripts.
bigappl The MacPerl application (Dynamic PowerPC/Big 68K).
bigtool The Perl MPW Tool (Dynamic PowerPC/Big 68K).
appl_cfm68K The MacPerl application (Dynamic PowerPC/Dynamic 68K).
src The MacPerl source code.
appl_only Only the MacPerl application (Dynamic PowerPC/Small 68K)
without libraries and documentation.
"Small" means that the application doesn't have the Mac Toolbox modules or
the GD module compiled in (but it still will be a fully functional Perl
otherwise).
"Big" means that the application has those modules compiled in.
"Dynamic" means that the application doesn't have those modules compiled
in,
but is able to load them (and arbitrary other modules) as dynamic
libraries
and thus behaves as if they were compiled in.
You should install distributions as suggested in the figure below, from
bottom
to top (i.e., to get the big MPW tool, install appl, then tool, then
bigtool).
+---------+-----+
| bigtool | src |
+---------+-------------+---------+-----+
| bigappl | appl_cfm68K | tool |
+---------+-------------+---------------+
| appl |
+---------------------------------------+
5) How do I subscribe/unsubscribe from MacPerl mailing lists?
There are now two mailing lists dedicated to MacPerl. The mac-perl
mailing list is an open discussion list with maybe a dozen articles a
day. The mac-perl-announce list is a very low volume moderated mailin
list with only 1-2 messages a month.
To subscribe to the mac-perl list, send mail to
mac-perl-request@iis.ee.ethz.ch whose BODY (the Subject is
ignored) is the word "subscribe" or "unsubscribe". To subscribe to the
mac-perl-announce list, send this mail to
mac-perl-announce-request@iis.ee.ethz.ch instead. All traffic to
the announce mailing list automatically appears on the regular mailing
list, too, so there is no need to subscribe to both of them.
6) How do I send an article to the MacPerl mailing lists?
Articles sent to mac-perl@iis.ee.ethz.ch are automatically sent to the
list. If you have an article that you have severe doubts whether it should
be distributed, send it to mac-perl-approval@iis.ee.ethz.ch. I will
read your article, and will send it to the list unless I think I can
answer it exhaustively and neither the question nor the answer are of
general interest. Note that I'm severely backlogged in my mail and sending
articles to -approval adds to my work load.
Please help to keep the mailing list an useful resource for as many people
as possible. Don't post an article unless it is
specific for the Macintosh. General Perl questions belong
in comp.infosystems.www.authoring.cgi, if they are CGI programming
related, and in comp.lang.perl.misc otherwise.
Despite my best efforts, occasionally a spam message slips through to
the mailing list. Complain about it to the originators, NOT to me, NOT
to the mailing list, and DEFINITELY not to my system
administrators.
If you feel that your message belongs on the -announce mailing list,
send it to mac-perl-announce-approval@iis.ee.ethz.ch. I will send it
to the list if I agree that it's appropriate.
7) Is there a searchable archive of the MacPerl mailing list?
Yes! Sandra Silcot has dedicated the time and resources to build one at
http://www.its.unimelb.edu.au:801/hma/pub/macperl/.
8) How many people are using MacPerl ?
As with most free software, this is hard to say. There are now around
800 subscribers to the mailing list, and version 4.1.8 has been
downloaded thousands of times from ftp.switch.ch alone (in August
1995, I counted close to 800 downloads).
9) Why won't my droplets work?
Due to a bug in MacPerl 4.1.8, droplets only work if you have
AppleScript installed. This bug was fixed in MacPerl 5.
10) Is there a collection of MacPerl scripts anywhere?
I'm building one in ftp://ftp.switch.ch/software/mac/perl/scripts/, but I
don't have much
time to invest. If you have any interesting scripts to offer, send me
(neeri@iis.ee.ethz.ch) a
mail. If you have a whole collection of scripts on your own ftp site,
tell me and I'll set up a mirror.
11) Is it possible to develop CGI scripts for WWW servers using MacPerl?
Yes. You'll need the CGI Script extension included in your MacPerl
distribution/
12) When will there be a multithreaded/OSA Perl?
There is a Perl OSA component, but it doesn't seem to be very stable
yet. I don't know when/if there will be a multithreaded Perl.
13) Why doesn't MacPerl make more rapid progress?
Right now, until Spring of 1998, I'm writing my PhD dissertation (on
Distributed Scheduling in Workstation Clusters). Even after that work
is concluded, I expect that there will always be a day job that has
precedence over all MacPerl work.
Last changed: 23Jan98
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