Re: •Re: Re: Re: perl2exe Evaluation Message Avoider

[drewbie]

I hadn't thought about the multiple copies for each installation. That could add up in a hurry.

I agree w/ you 100% about the compiler stuff. We all know there is not a working perl "compiler". I do think we should spread the word that anyone who says they have a compiler is wrong and best, and an out & out liar at worst.

That said, I'm curious to know more about the Perl DevKit from AS. At the info page http://activestate.com/Products/Perl_Dev_Kit/more_information.plex I see two interesting snippets:

PerlApp (HP-UX, Linux, Solaris, Windows) - Turn your Perl programs into ready-to-run executables. The PerlApp command-line utility binds Perl scripts and required libraries with a binary loader that runs the script. PerlApp can be used to build dependent applications, which require an existing Perl installation on the target computer, or freestanding applications, which will run on a target computer that does not have Perl installed. The Perl Dev Kit includes versions of PerlApp for HP-UX, Linux, Solaris, and Windows.

PerlSvc (Windows) - Convert your Perl programs into Windows services. Build dependent services, which require an existing Perl installation on the target computer, or freestanding services, which will run on a target computer that does not have Perl installed. PerlSvc binds the script with a binary loader; the resultant executables run as a service under Windows NT/2000.

Has anyone used this product to validate either of these claims? I have to admit that it sounds pretty sexy, especially if they build on an AS perl build and will eliminate the duplication of code you mentioned above. And AS has done good things for the perl community in the past so I don't mind giving them my money. Thoughts or experiences anyone?

[belg4mit]

Yes for PerlApp, no for PerlSvc, but as I've said before there are plenty of free utilities to let you wrap whatever the heck you want as a service.

PerlApp and perl2exe are pretty indistinguishable in my experience save three things:

• Indy builds perl2exe on his machine with a really weird setup (think perl -V) and this can potentially bite you
• perl2exe does some nasty stuff in the name of "DWIM" (at least for those not doing complex things). For example there is no way to get a runtime use, eval "use Foo"; does not work.
• The perl2exe license gets tied to a username and must be run by that user.

--
perl -pe "s/\b;([st])/'\1/mg"

[drewbie]

• The perl2exe license gets tied to a username and must be run by that user.

  UGH! Talk about a very restrictive license! Well, needless to say I'll never use perl2exe. I'd much rather use the free tools, or pay ActiveState. I don't mind paying for commercial software that works and gives me a net benefit. But free is always good too. :-)

[gav^]

I use PerlApp on a regular basis. I need to be able to give a perl script to a client who doesn't care that they can see the source or not, they just want something to run. It means I don't have to worry about getting them to install perl.

I use it to build the smaller exe's and then include perl56.dll with my app which saves space if they have several scripts. They tend to be 100k (for a simple 5 line script) to 800k (more complex one that uses LWP and some HTML:: modules).

It works great and is well worth the money.

gav^