NAME
Perl::Dist::Strawberry - Strawberry Perl for Win32
DESCRIPTION
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 5.10.0 or 5.10.1
* MingW GCC C/C++ compiler
* Dmake "make" tool
* Every bundled and dual-life module upgraded to the latest version.
* Bundle::CPAN, Bundle::LWP and CPAN::SQLite to enhance the
functionality of the CPAN client.
* Additional Perl modules that enhance the stability of core Perl for
the Win32 platform
* Modules that enhance the ability to install non-CPAN packages such
as PAR::Dist, PPM and pip.
* Prebuilt and known-good C libraries for math, crypto and XML
support.
* Additions that provide Portable support.
The Perl::Dist::Strawberry module available on CPAN contains the modules
and perldist_strawberry script that are used to generate the Strawberry
Perl installers.
Please note that Perl::Dist::Strawberry does not include the resulting
Strawberry Perl installer. See the Strawberry Perl website at
http://strawberryperl.com/ to download the Strawberry Perl installer.
See Perl::Dist::WiX for details on how the underlying distribution
construction toolkit works.
CHANGES FROM CORE PERL
Strawberry Perl is and will continue to be based on the latest "stable"
releases of Perl, currently 5.10.1, and 5.12.3.
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 or updated 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.
Additionally, a stub CPAN Config.pm file is added. This provides a
complete zero-conf preconfiguration for CPAN, using a stable
http://cpan.strawberryperl.com/ redirector to bounce to a known-reliable
mirror.
A more-thorough network-aware zero-conf capability is currently being
developed and will be included at a later time.
Strawberry has never patched the Perl source code or modified the
perl.exe binary.
CONFIGURATION
At present, Strawberry Perl 5.10.1 must be installed in C:\strawberry.
5.12.3 is relocatable, and can be installed anywhere.
The executable installer adds the following environment variable
changes:
* Adds directories to PATH
- C:\strawberry\perl\bin
- C:\strawberry\perl\site\bin
- C:\strawberry\c\bin
Users installing Strawberry Perl without the installer will need to add
the environment entries manually, or using the provided script.
METHODS
In addition to extending various underlying Perl::Dist::WiX methods,
Strawberry Perl adds some additional methods that provide installation
support for miscellaneous tools that have not yet been promoted to the
core.
default_machine
Perl::Dist::Strawberry->default_machine(...)->run();
The `default_machine' class method is used to setup the most common
'machine' for building Strawberry Perl.
The machine provided creates a standard 5.8.9 distribution (.zip and
.msi), a standard 5.10.1 distribution (.zip and .msi) and a
Portable-enabled 5.10.1 distribution (.zip only).
Returns a Perl::Dist::WiX::Util::Machine object.
SUPPORT
Bugs should be reported via the CPAN bug tracker at
http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/ReportBug.html?Queue=Perl-Dist-Strawberry
Please note that only bugs in the distribution itself or the CPAN
configuration should be reported to RT. Bugs in individual modules
should be reported to their respective distributions.
For more support information and places for discussion, see the
Strawberry Perl Support page http://strawberryperl.com/support.html.
AUTHOR
Adam Kennedy <adamk@cpan.org>
Curtis Jewell <csjewell@cpan.org>
COPYRIGHT
Copyright 2007 - 2009 Adam Kennedy.
Copyright 2009 - 2011 Curtis Jewell.
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
under the same terms as Perl itself.
The full text of the license can be found in the LICENSE file included
with this module.