Advice for installing on Win32

[nysus]

I'd like to install Perl on my Win98 system but I'm a little confused as to where I should get it from and what I need to install it.

As to the first question: should I go with ActiveState or should I go to CPAN. Is there any difference, really? Second, what do I need to install it? I don't have any compilers so I need to download the binary, right?

Any other advice/guidance on installing Perl on Windoze would be much appreciated.

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[cLive ;-)]

ActiveState's version is a seamless install, and includes the Perl Package Manager (ppm) to make installing modules simple. The installer is simple to use.

This is probably your best route.

cLive ;-)

[mexnix]

Go to ActiveState. When you go to Perl.org, they actually direct you ActiveState, at least the last time I was there...It's really easy right out of the box. I use the latest MSI version (as opposed to the perl in package format) from ActiveState on my Win98 box at work.

The only problem I have with ActiveState is ppm (perl package manager) isn't up to date with CPAN. Some obscure modules, and some not, you have to download from CPAN and do it by hand. Also, if you interested in doing CGI, I would suggest using the Win32 port of Apache. That my two cents...

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[nysus]

I didn't know there was a Win32 port of Apache. Very good to know. Thanks. And thanks to both of you...I just needed to be sure I was on the right track.

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[voyager]

You might look this node

[tye]

Don't forget http://www.indigostar.com/ whose Perl comes with some nice extras (including Apache!), it is easier to install (than ActivePerl), and doesn't have nearly as restrictive of a license and yet still works with ActiveState PPM modules.

Note: Change the two Apache config files after you install as Apache comes with typical lame "demo" pages and the config files give access to the world so running Apache without some reconfig could open your box up to security problems.

        - tye (but my friends call me "Tye")

[Graham]

There's also the SiePerl distribution from Siemens that has no licence restrictions at all and lots of included modules.

[Anonymous Monk]

<flame>
Is this really a question from someone with 1500+ XP? Reads like an attempt at XP whoring to me...
</flame>

[nysus]

You obviously didn't look at my sig. It's really no joke. :-)

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$MCF = "Most Clueless Friar Abbot";
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Click here if you love Perl Monks

[RhetTbull]

I've had good luck with ActiveState (already mentioned above). However, I would also take a look at the cygwin environment. It's a unix/posix like environment that runs under windows. It comes with perl but the big advantage is that it comes with all the other standard unix tools (ls, grep, awk, sed, gcc, make, flex, yacc, vim, cat, tac, just to name a few) so it gives you a much more powerful environment than just perl and windows. If you are doing data munging, etc. and comfortable with the unix environment (or want to learn more about it) I highly recommend cygwin. On the other hand, if you want to use perl to do Win32 scripting and administration, you're probably better off with one of the solutions mentioned above since the Win32 modules don't necessarily play well with cygwin.

[stuffy]

I tried both activestate and indigoperl. I found indigo perl was easier to install, but activestate works better for installing modules from behind a proxy, but then as mentioned above, doesn't have a very updated list of modules

update crazyinsominac wrote a good post here on indigo perl

Stuffy
That's my story, and I'm sticking to it, unless I'm wrong in which case I will probably change it ;~)