ActivePerl User Guide

• Requirements
• Installing ActivePerl
• Further Information

Requirements

Hardware

• recommended 35MB hard disk space for typical install

Operating System

Windows 2000

• no extra requirements

Windows NT

• service pack 5+
• Microsoft Windows Installer 1.1+ (available from http://download.microsoft.com/download/platformsdk/wininst/1.1/NT4/EN-US/InstMsi.exe)
• Internet Explorer 5+ (available from http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com)

Windows Me

• no extra requirements

Windows 98

• Microsoft Windows Installer 1.1+ (available from http://download.microsoft.com/download/platformsdk/wininst/1.1/W9X/EN-US/InstMsi.exe)
• Internet Explorer 5+ (available from http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com)
• DCOM for Windows 98 (available from http://www.microsoft.com/com/resources/downloads.asp)

Windows 95

• Microsoft Windows Installer 1.1+ (available from http://download.microsoft.com/download/platformsdk/wininst/1.1/W9X/EN-US/InstMsi.exe)
• Internet Explorer 5 (available from http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com)
• DCOM for Windows 95 (available from http://www.microsoft.com/com/resources/downloads.asp)
• MSVCRT (available from ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/softlib/mslfiles/msvcrt.exe

Perl for ISAPI

• ISAPI compatible Web server such as IIS 4.0+ or PWS 4.0+

PerlScript

• ActiveX scripting host such as IE 4.0+, or Windows Scripting Host

Installing ActivePerl

Run the ActivePerl-5.6.1.6xx.msi installation package to start the installation wizard, which will guide you through the setup, and give you options on what and where to install stuff.

What happens during install?

Perl is installed by default in C:\Perl. The default drive "C" selected will be the same drive that the operating system is installed on, or the drive that has the largest amount of space available. This can be modified by selecting the Browse button and picking the appropriate drive and directory to install into.

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 build 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.

Running Perl scripts on your Web server

Perl, PerlScript and Perl for ISAPI are all useful additions to your Web server. However, they do have specific requirements, (System Requirements) and may require some additional configuration to work properly. For more information on compatibility, installation, configuration and other useful information, have a look at the Web server configuration section of the ActivePerl FAQ.

Installing ActivePerl from the Command Line

Introduction

You can install ActivePerl from the command line using the 'msiexec' program. For example:

    c:\> msiexec /i <msi_file>

Selecting ActivePerl Features

You can also control which ActivePerl features are installed using the 'ADDLOCAL' command line property. This property may be set to a comma (,) delimited list of features to be installed locally. For instance:

    c:\> msiexec /i <msi_file> ADDLOCAL="Perl,PerlIS"

ActivePerl has the following features:

• PERL_FEATURE - The Perl core
• PPM - Programmer's Package Manager
• PERLIS - Perl for ISAPI interpreter
• PERLSE - Perl ActiveX Scripting Engine
• EXAMPLES - Some simple examples
• DOCUMENTATION - ActivePerl documentation

By default all features of ActivePerl are installed on Windows 2000.

Configuring ActivePerl

Command line properties may be specified to configure ActivePerl installation options. For example:

    c:\> msiexec /i <msi_file> TARGETDIR="c:\perl" PERL_PATH="Yes"

The ActivePerl MSI installer recognizes the following command line properties:

• TARGETDIR - Using this property you can specify absolute path to where ActivePerl will be installed. This property is optional. 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. The value of this option is required and should be the absolute path to the directory in which ActivePerl will be installed.
• PL_IISMAP - Setting this property to 'Yes' causes the installer to create a global IIS script mapping for '.pl' and Perl. This property is optional. The default is to not create the script mapping.
• PLX_IISMAP - Setting this property to 'Yes' causes the installer to create a global IIS script mapping for '.plx' and PerlIS. This property is optional. The default is to not create the script mapping.
• PERL_PATH - Setting this property to 'Yes' causes the Perl/bin directory to be added to the system PATH environment variable. This property is optional. The default is to not add the Perl/bin directory to the path.

Running ActivePerl Installer in Silent Mode

To run ActivePerl installer in silent mode you need to specify the '/q' command line option. This causes the installer to run with no UI. For example:

    c:\> msiexec /i <msi_file> /q

Turning on Logging During ActivePerl Installation

To turn on logging during ActivePerl installation you need to specify the '/l' command line option. This option requires you to provide the name of the log file as an argument. For instance:

    c:\> msiexec /i <msi_file> /l <log_file>

You can turn on verbose logging by using the '*v' modifier with the '/l' command line option. For instance:

    c:\> msiexec /i <msi_file> /l*v <log_file>

Further Information

See the ActivePerl Readme for more information.