NAME Perl::Dist::Strawberry - Strawberry Perl for win32 DESCRIPTION *Strawberry Perl is currently an alpha release and is not recommended for production purposes.* Strawberry Perl is a binary distribution of Perl for the Windows operating system. It includes a bundled compiler and pre-installed modules that offer the ability to install XS CPAN modules directly from CPAN. The purpose of the Strawberry Perl series is to provide a practical Win32 Perl environment for experienced Perl developers to experiment with and test the installation of various CPAN modules under Win32 conditions, and to provide a useful platform for doing real work. Strawberry Perl includes: * Perl 5.8.8 * Mingw GCC C/C++ compiler * Dmake "make" tool * ExtUtils::CBuilder and ExtUtils::ParseXS * Bundle::CPAN (including Perl modules that largely eliminate the need for external helper programs like "gzip" and "tar") * Bundle::LWP (providing more reliable http CPAN repository support) * Additional Perl modules that enhance the stability of core Perl for the Win32 platform The Perl::Dist::Strawberry distribution on CPAN contains scripts and instructions for downloading component sources and assembling them into the executable installer for Strawberry Perl. It does not include the resulting Strawberry Perl installer itself. See "DOWNLOADING THE INSTALLER" for instructions on where to download and how to install Strawberry Perl. See Perl::Dist::Build at for details on the builder used to create Strawberry Perl from source. CHANGES FROM CORE PERL Strawberry Perl is and will continue to be based on the latest "stable" release of Perl, currently version 5.8.8. Some additional modifications are included that improve general compatibility with the Win32 platform or improve "turnkey" operation on Win32. Whenever possible, these modifications will be made only by preinstalling additional CPAN modules within Strawberry Perl, particularly modules that have been newly included as core Perl modules in the "development" branch of perl to address Win32 compatibility issues. Modules or distributions currently included are: * Win32API::File -- to allow for deletion of in-use files at next reboot; required for CPAN.pm to be able to upgrade itself * IO -- to address Win32 Socket bugs * Compress::Zlib, IO::Zlib and Archive::Tar -- to eliminate the CPAN.pm dependency on external, binary programs to handle .tar.gz files * Archive::Zip (and its dependency, Time::Local) -- to eliminate the CPAN.pm dependency on external, binary programs to handle .zip files * mock Module::Signature -- a dummy version of Module::Signature to avoid it if Bundle::CPAN is upgraded. Takes no action, always returns success. * libnet -- provides Net::FTP to eliminate the CPAN.pm dependency on an external, binary ftp program; installed configured for FTP passive mode Additionally, a stub CPAN Config.pm file is installed. It provides defaults to the path for dmake, to automatically follow dependencies and to use the Windows temporary directory for the CPAN working directory. DOWNLOADING THE INSTALLER Strawberry Perl is available from . CONFIGURATION At present, Strawberry Perl must be installed in C:\strawberry-perl. The executable installer adds the following environment variable changes: * adds directories to PATH - C:\strawberry-perl\perl\bin - C:\strawberry-perl\dmake\bin - C:\strawberry-perl\mingw - C:\strawberry-perl\mingw\bin * adds directories to LIB - C:\strawberry-perl\mingw\lib - C:\strawberry-perl\perl\bin * adds directories to INCLUDE - C:\strawberry-perl\mingw\include - C:\strawberry-perl\perl\lib\CORE - C:\strawberry-perl\perl\lib\encode LIB and INCLUDE changes are likely more than are necessary, but attempt to head off potential problems compiling external programs for use with Perl. Users installing Strawberry Perl manually without the installer will need to change their environment variables manually. The first time that the "cpan" program is run, users will be prompted for configuration settings. With the defaults provided in Strawberry Perl, users may answer "no" to manual configuration and the installation should still work. Manual CPAN configuration may be repeated by running the following command: perl -MCPAN::FirstTime -e "CPAN::FirstTime::init" CONTACTS AND BUGS REPORTING Currently, Strawberry Perl discussion is centered at win32.perl.org. New venues for discussion may be listed there. Please report bugs or feature requests using the CPAN Request Tracker. Bugs can be sent by email to "bug-Perl-Dist-Strawberry@rt.cpan.org" or submitted using the web interface at LICENSE AND COPYRIGHT Strawberry Perl is open source and may be licensed under the same terms as Perl. Open source software included with Strawberry Perl installations are governed by their respective licenses. See LICENSE.txt for details. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY BECAUSE THIS SOFTWARE IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE SOFTWARE, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE SOFTWARE "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE SOFTWARE PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR, OR CORRECTION. IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND/OR REDISTRIBUTE THE SOFTWARE AS PERMITTED BY THE ABOVE LICENCE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE SOFTWARE TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER SOFTWARE), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.