| ActivePerl User Guide |

# Installing ActivePerl

- ActivePerl 5.8.0.806 - Installation Guide

- Installing ActivePerl on Linux (x86)

- Linux Prerequisites
- Linux Installers
- Linux Configuration
- Uninstalling ActivePerl on Linux

- Installing ActivePerl on Solaris (sparc)

- Solaris Prerequisites
- Solaris Installers
- Solaris Configuration
- Uninstalling ActivePerl on Solaris

- Installing ActivePerl on Windows (x86)

- Windows Prerequisites
- Windows Installers
- Windows Configuration
- Uninstalling ActivePerl on Windows

Welcome, and thanks for downloading ActivePerl. This release corresponds to Perl version 5.8.0.

Please note that ActivePerl 800 series builds are NOT binary-compatible with the older 600 and 500 series builds. In particular, do not attempt to use extensions or PPM packages built for the 500 and 600 series builds with ActivePerl 800 series builds and vice versa.

Binaries for the following platforms are available:

- Linux x86 for Red Hat 6.2 or later

- Linux x86 for Debian 2.2 or later

- Solaris sparc for Solaris 2.6 or later

- Windows x86 for Windows 9x, NT, Me and 2000

## Installing ActivePerl on Linux (x86)

### Linux Prerequisites

- Hardware: 55 MB hard disk space for typical install

- Operating System: Minimum 2.0 kernel

- Online Help: Web browser

- Perl Environment Variables: if you have set Perl environment variables such as `PERLLIB`, `PERL5LIB` or `PERL5OPT`, you should unset them before installing ActivePerl. Otherwise, these variables may cause incompatible versions of Perl modules to be used during the installation process.

### Linux Installers

RPM Package for Red Hat 6.2 or later
  The Red Hat compatible package is in RPM format. This should be installed as root, using the following command:

          % rpm -i ActivePerl-5.8.0.806-i686-linux.rpm

  This will install ActivePerl into /usr/local/ActivePerl-5.8. If you wish to change the default install location, use the `--prefix` option as follows:

          % rpm -i --prefix /opt/ActivePerl-5.8 ActivePerl-5.8.0.806-i686-linux.rpm

  To uninstall Activeperl, run:

          % rpm -e ActivePerl

  The RPM package has only been tested with Red Hat 6.2, but is expected to be compatible with other Red Hat 6.2 compatible installations as well.

DPKG Package for Debian 2.2 or later
  The Debian-compatible package is in dpkg format. This should be installed as root, using the following command:

          % dpkg -i ActivePerl-5.8.0.806-i686-linux.deb

  This will install ActivePerl into /usr/local/ActivePerl-5.8. The dpkg installation package has no mechanism to change the default installation location. Consider installing ActivePerl using the ActivePerl Generic Installer or the RPM package if you need this.

  To uninstall ActivePerl, run:

          % dpkg -r ActivePerl

  The Debian package has only been tested with Debian 2.2, but is expected to be compatible with other Debian 2.2 compatible installations as well.

Generic AS Package for Linux
  The generic installer allows installation as an unprivileged user into a user-specified path. GNU tar is required for extracting the files. See ``Known Issues'' in the ActivePerl Release Notes for details.

  Download the distribution to a temporary directory, extract the files, chdir to the ActivePerl directory and then run the script ``install.sh''. The installation script will prompt you for the target installation directory.

          % tar zxf ActivePerl-5.8.0.806-i686-linux.tar.gz
          % cd ActivePerl-5.8.0.806
          % ./install.sh

### Linux Configuration

The Red Hat and Debian packages are installed into the /usr/local/ActivePerl-5.8 directory. Add the /usr/local/ActivePerl-5.8/bin directory to your PATH environment variable to conveniently access it. For example, in the C shell:

        % setenv PATH /usr/local/ActivePerl-5.8/bin:$PATH

The ActivePerl Generic installer allows you to install the package anywhere that the user has write permission. Add the bin directory to your PATH environment variable to conveniently access it. For example, in the C shell (assuming you installed into /home/larry/ActivePerl-5.8):

        % setenv PATH /home/larry/ActivePerl-5.8/bin:$PATH

### Uninstalling ActivePerl on Linux

Debian Package
  If you installed ActivePerl using the DPKG format installer, uninstall as follows:

          dpkg -r ActivePerl

RPM Package
  If you installed ActivePerl using the RPM format installer, uninstall as follows:

          rpm -e ActivePerl

AS Package
  If you installed ActivePerl using the AS format installer, remove the directory into which ActivePerl was installed. For example:

          /bin/rm -rf /usr/local/ActivePerl-5.8

## Installing ActivePerl on Solaris (sparc)

### Solaris Prerequisites

- Hardware: 55 MB hard disk space for typical install

- Operating System: Solaris 2.6

- Online Help: Web browser

- Perl Environment Variables: if you have set Perl environment variables such as `PERLLIB`, `PERL5LIB` or `PERL5OPT`, you should unset them before installing ActivePerl. Otherwise, these variables may cause incompatible versions of Perl modules to be used during the installation process.

### Solaris Installers

PKGADD Package
  The Solaris package is in pkgadd format. This should be installed as root, using the following commands:

          % gunzip ActivePerl-5.8.0.806-sun4-solaris.gz
          % pkgadd -d ActivePerl-5.8.0.806-sun4-solaris

  pkgadd will query you for the installation location, which can be changed from the default of /usr/local/ActivePerl-5.8.

  To uninstall ActivePerl, run:

          % pkgrm ASperl

  This package has only been tested with Solaris 2.6, but is expected to be compatible with other Solaris 2.6 compatible installations as well, including Solaris 2.7 and Solaris 2.8.

Generic AS Package for Solaris
  The Generic Installer allows installation as an unprivileged user, and into a user-specified path. GNU tar is required for extracting the files. See ``Known Issues'' in the ActivePerl Release Notes for details.

  Download the distribution to a temporary directory, extract the files, chdir to the ActivePerl directory and then run the script ``install.sh''. The installation script will prompt you for the target installation directory.

          % tar zxf ActivePerl-5.8.0.806-sun4-solaris.tar.gz
          % cd ActivePerl-5.8.0.806
          % ./install.sh

### Solaris Configuration

The Solaris package is installed into the /usr/local/ActivePerl-5.8 directory. Add the /usr/local/ActivePerl-5.8/bin directory to your PATH environment variable to conveniently access it. For example, in the C shell:

        % setenv PATH /usr/local/ActivePerl-5.8/bin:$PATH

The ActivePerl Generic installer allows you to install the package anywhere that the user has write permission. Add the bin directory to your PATH environment variable to conveniently access it. For example, in the C shell (assuming you installed into /home/larry/ActivePerl-5.8):

        % setenv PATH /home/larry/ActivePerl-5.8/bin:$PATH

### Uninstalling ActivePerl on Solaris

PKGADD Package
  If you installed ActivePerl using the PKGADD format installer, uninstall as follows:

          pkgrm -d ASperl

AS Package
  If you installed ActivePerl using the AS format installer, remove the directory into which ActivePerl was installed. For example:

          /bin/rm -rf /usr/local/ActivePerl-5.8

## Installing ActivePerl on Windows (x86)

### Windows Prerequisites

- Hardware: 55 MB hard disk space for typical install

- Perl for ISAPI: requires an ISAPI-compatible web server, such as IIS 4.0 or greater, or PWS 4.0 or greater

- PerlScript: requires an ActiveX scripting host such as Internet Explorer 4.0 or greater or Windows Scripting Host

- Perl Environment Variables: if Perl environment variables such as `PERLLIB`, `PERL5LIB` or `PERL5OPT` have been set on your system, you should unset them before installing ActivePerl. Otherwise, these variables may cause incompatible versions of Perl modules to be used during the installation process.

- System Account: (MSI Installer only) Do not launch the installation package from a directory for which the ``System'' account does not have read permission. If you do, the Windows Installer Service will not be able to access the MSI file in order to perform the installation. You may get an error message to this effect, or it may fail mysteriously.

- Administrative Rights: If you are installing Perl on behalf of other users, we recommend running the installer while logged in with an account that has administrative privileges (Windows NT/2000/XP). Running without administrative privileges results in the following limitations:
  - The PerlScript feature will be unavailable.

  - ActivePerl applications will not write messages to the event log.

  - Environment variables are set only for the current user.

  - The option to create a file association for Perl files is disabled.

  - Registry entries are created under HKEY_CURRENT_USER and not under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

- Windows XP: no additional requirements

- Windows 2000
  - (MSI Installer only) Microsoft Windows Installer 2.0 or greater, available from: http://downloads.ActiveState.com/contrib/Microsoft/MSI2.0/NT/InstMsiW.exe

- Windows Me
  - (MSI Installer only) Microsoft Windows Installer 2.0 or greater, available from: http://downloads.ActiveState.com/contrib/Microsoft/MSI2.0/9x/InstMsiA.exe

- Windows NT
  - Service Pack 5 or greater

  - (MSI Installer only) Microsoft Windows Installer 2.0 or greater, available from: http://downloads.ActiveState.com/contrib/Microsoft/MSI2.0/NT/InstMsiW.exe

  - (for the ActiveX Scripting Engine) Internet Explorer 5 or greater, available from: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

- Windows 9x
  - (MSI Installer only) Microsoft Windows Installer 2.0 or greater, available from: http://downloads.ActiveState.com/contrib/Microsoft/MSI2.0/9x/InstMsiA.exe

  - (for the ActiveX Scripting Engine) Internet Explorer 5 or greater available from: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

  - (for the ActiveX Scripting Engine) DCOM for Windows 9x, available from: http://www.microsoft.com/com/resources/downloads.asp

  - MSVCRT (Windows 95 only), available from: ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/softlib/mslfiles/mxvcrt.exe

### Windows Installers

MSI Installer Package
  To install the MSI package double-click on the MSI file in Windows Explorer.

  Do not install over a 500 series build of ActivePerl. This package must be installed into a separate directory.

  MSI Package Installation from the Command Line
    You can install ActivePerl from the command line using the 'msiexec' program. For example:

            msiexec /i msi_file.msi

    The ADDLOCAL command line property is used to specify which features should be installed. (If ADDLOCAL is not specified, all features are installed.) For example:

            msiexec /i msi_file.msi ADDLOCAL="PERL_FEATURE,PERLIS"

    The following features may be specified with the ADDLOCAL switch:

    - PERL_FEATURE (the Perl core)

    - PPM (the Programmer's Package Manager)

    - PERLIS (the Perl for ISAPI interpreter)

    - PERLSE (the Perl ActiveX Scripting Engine)

    - EXAMPLES (some simple examples)

    - DOCUMENTATION (the ActivePerl documentation)

    A set of command-line properties can be used to configure the installation. For example:

            msiexec /i msi_file.msi TARGETDIR="c:\perl" PERL_PATH="Yes"

    - TARGETDIR: Used to specify the absolute path where ActivePerl will be installed. If not specified, ActivePerl will be installed in a default location determined by the Windows Installer Service, usually the root of the drive with the most available space. If this option is used, a value is required.

    - PL_IISMAP: If this option is set to 'Yes', the installer will create a global IIS script mapping for '.pl' and Perl. By default, the installation does not create the script mapping.

    - PLX_IISMAP: If this option is set to 'Yes', the installer will create a global IIS script mapping for '.plx' and PerlIS. By default, the installation does not create the script mapping.

    - PERL_PATH: If this option is set to 'Yes', the Perl/bin directory will be added to the system PATH environment variable. By default, the directory is not added to the path.

    The following command-line switches can be used:

    Silent Mode
      To run in silent mode, specify the '/q' command line option. The installer will run with no UI.

    Logging
      To log the installation process, specify the '/l' command line option and the name of the log file. For example:

              msiexec /i msi_file.msi /l log.txt

      To enable verbose logging, use the '*v' modifier with the '/l' command line option. For example:

              msiexec /i msi_file.msi /l*v log.txt

AS Installer Package
  The AS package is a generic installation package that can be used on systems where the MSI package is not supported. The AS package provides no uninstall functionality. To install using the AS package, double-click the the installer file and follow the prompts.

### Windows Configuration

If you run Perl at the command prompt, the script will be executed by the first Perl.exe it encounters in the list of paths in the PATH environment variable. To ensure the script is executed by the Perl interpeter you want it to be executed by, you can specify the complete path to the Perl.exe you want to use. (typing perl -v at the command prompt will tell you which version of Perl is currently first in your PATH)

Installing ActivePerl will change your Path environment variable and may change registry settings, such as file associations, which may affect your Web server. If you want to use a previously installed copy of Perl, you will need to modify these settings.

### Uninstalling ActivePerl on Windows

MSI Package
  If you installed ActivePerl using the MSI installer, uninstall using the Windows Add / Remove Programs applet.

AS Package
  If you installed ActivePerl using the AS installer, uninstall by deleting the directory in which ActivePerl was installed.