1 If you read this file _as_is_, just ignore the funny characters you
2 see. It is written in the POD format (see pod/perlpod.pod) which is
3 specially designed to be readable as is.
7 README.cygwin - Perl for Cygwin
11 This document will help you configure, make, test and install Perl
12 on Cygwin. This document also describes features of Cygwin that will
13 affect how Perl behaves at runtime.
15 B<NOTE:> There are pre-built Perl packages available for Cygwin and a
16 version of Perl is provided on the Cygwin CD. If you do not need to
17 customize the configuration, consider using one of these packages:
19 http://cygutils.netpedia.net/
23 =head2 Cygwin = GNU+Cygnus+Windows (Don't leave UNIX without it)
25 The Cygwin tools are ports of the popular GNU development tools for Win32
26 platforms. They run thanks to the Cygwin library which provides the UNIX
27 system calls and environment these programs expect. More information
28 about this project can be found at:
30 http://sourceware.cygnus.com/cygwin/
32 A recent net or commercial release of Cygwin is required.
34 At the time this document was written, Cygwin 1.1.1 was current.
36 B<NOTE:> At this point, minimal effort has been made to provide
37 compatibility with old (beta) Cygwin releases. The focus has been to
38 provide a high quality release and not worry about working around old
39 Cygwin bugs. If you wish to use Perl with Cygwin B20.1 or earlier,
40 consider using perl5.005_03, which is available in source and binary
41 form at C<http://cygutils.netpedia.net/> or on the Cygwin CD. If there
42 is significant demand, a patch kit can be developed to port back to
43 earlier Cygwin versions.
45 =head2 Cygwin Configuration
47 While building Perl some changes may be necessary to your Cygwin setup so
48 that Perl builds cleanly. These changes are B<not> required for normal
51 B<NOTE:> The binaries that are built will run on all Win32 versions.
52 They do not depend on your host system (Win9x, WinNT) or your Cygwin
53 configuration (I<ntea>, I<ntsec>, binary/text mounts). The only
54 dependencies come from hard-coded pathnames like C</usr/local>. However,
55 your host system and Cygwin configuration will affect Perl's runtime
56 behavior (see L</"TEST">).
62 Set the C<PATH> environment variable so that Configure finds the Cygwin
63 versions of programs. Any Windows directories should be removed or
64 moved to the end of your C<PATH>.
68 If you do not have I<nroff> (which is part of the I<groff> package),
69 Configure will B<not> prompt you to install I<man> pages.
73 On WinNT with either the I<ntea> or I<ntsec> C<CYGWIN> settings, directory
74 and file permissions may not be set correctly. Since the build process
75 creates files and directories, to be safe you may want to run a `C<chmod
76 -R +w *>' on the entire Perl source tree.
78 Also, it is a well known WinNT "feature" that files created by a login
79 that is a member of the I<Administrators> group will be owned by the
80 I<Administrators> group. Depending on your umask, you may find that you
81 can not write to files that you just created (because you are no longer
82 the owner). When using the I<ntsec> C<CYGWIN> setting, this is not an
83 issue because it "corrects" the ownership to what you would expect on
90 The default options gathered by Configure with the assistance of
91 F<hints/cygwin.sh> will build a Perl that supports dynamic loading
92 (which requires a shared F<libperl.dll>).
94 This will run Configure and keep a record:
96 ./Configure 2>&1 | tee log.configure
98 If you are willing to accept all the defaults run Configure with B<-de>.
99 However, several useful customizations are available.
101 =head2 Strip Binaries
103 It is possible to strip the EXEs and DLLs created by the build process.
104 The resulting binaries will be significantly smaller. If you want the
105 binaries to be stripped, you can either add a B<-s> option when Configure
108 Any additional ld flags (NOT including libraries)? [none] -s
109 Any special flags to pass to gcc to use dynamic linking? [none] -s
110 Any special flags to pass to ld2 to create a dynamically loaded library?
113 or you can edit F<hints/cygwin.sh> and uncomment the relevant variables
114 near the end of the file.
116 =head2 Optional Libraries
118 Several Perl functions and modules depend on the existence of
119 some optional libraries. Configure will find them if they are
120 installed in one of the directories listed as being used for library
121 searches. Pre-built packages for most of these are available at
122 C<http://cygutils.netpedia.net/>.
128 The crypt libraries in GNU libc have been ported to Cygwin.
130 The DES based Ultra Fast Crypt port was done by Alexey Truhan:
132 ftp://ftp.franken.de/pub/win32/develop/gnuwin32/cygwin/porters/Okhapkin_Sergey/cw32crypt-dist-0.tgz
134 NOTE: There are various export restrictions on DES implementations,
135 see the glibc README for more details.
137 The MD5 port was done by Andy Piper:
139 ftp://ftp.franken.de/pub/win32/develop/gnuwin32/cygwin/porters/Okhapkin_Sergey/libcrypt.tgz
141 =item * C<-lgdbm> (C<use GDBM_File>)
143 GDBM is available for Cygwin. GDBM's ndbm/dbm compatibility feature
144 also makes C<NDBM_File> and C<ODBM_File> possible (although they add
147 =item * C<-ldb> (C<use DB_File>)
149 BerkeleyDB is available for Cygwin. Some details can be found in
150 F<ext/DB_File/DB_File.pm>.
152 =item * C<-lcygipc> (C<use IPC::SysV>)
154 A port of SysV IPC is available for Cygwin.
156 NOTE: This has B<not> been extensively tested. In particular,
157 C<d_semctl_semun> is undefined because it fails a Configure test
158 and on Win9x the I<shm*()> functions seem to hang. It also creates
159 a compile time dependency because F<perl.h> includes F<<sys/ipc.h>>
160 and F<<sys/sem.h>> (which will be required in the future when compiling
165 =head2 Configure-time Options
167 The F<INSTALL> document describes several Configure-time options. Some of
168 these will work with Cygwin, others are not yet possible. Also, some of
169 these are experimental. You can either select an option when Configure
170 prompts you or you can define (undefine) symbols on the command line.
176 Undefining this symbol forces Perl to be compiled statically.
178 =item * C<-Uusemymalloc>
180 By default Perl uses the malloc() included with the Perl source. If you
181 want to force Perl to build with the system malloc() undefine this symbol.
183 =item * C<-Dusemultiplicity>
185 Multiplicity is required when embedding Perl in a C program and using
186 more than one interpreter instance. This works with the Cygwin port.
188 =item * C<-Duseperlio>
190 The PerlIO abstraction works with the Cygwin port.
192 =item * C<-Duse64bitint>
194 I<gcc> supports 64-bit integers. However, several additional long long
195 functions are necessary to use them within Perl (I<{strtol,strtoul}l>).
196 These are B<not> yet available with Cygwin.
198 =item * C<-Duselongdouble>
200 I<gcc> supports long doubles (12 bytes). However, several additional
201 long double math functions are necessary to use them within Perl
202 (I<{atan2,cos,exp,floor,fmod,frexp,log,modf,pow,sin,sqrt}l,strtold>).
203 These are B<not> yet available with Cygwin.
205 =item * C<-Dusethreads>
207 POSIX threads are B<not> yet implemented in Cygwin.
209 =item * C<-Duselargefiles>
211 Although Win32 supports large files, Cygwin currently uses 32-bit integers
212 for internal size and position calculations.
216 =head2 Suspicious Warnings
218 You may see some messages during Configure that seem suspicious.
224 Cygwin does not yet implement chroot() functionality, but has a stub
225 function that returns C<ENOSYS>. You will see a message when Configure
226 detects that its guess conflicts with the hint file.
228 *** WHOA THERE!!! ***
229 The recommended value for $d_chroot on this machine was "undef"!
230 Keep the recommended value? [y]
232 You should keep the recommended value.
236 I<ld2> is needed to build dynamic libraries, but it does not exist
237 when dlsym() checking occurs (it is not created until `C<make>' runs).
238 You will see the following message:
240 Checking whether your dlsym() needs a leading underscore ...
242 I can't compile and run the test program.
243 I'm guessing that dlsym doesn't need a leading underscore.
245 Since the guess is correct, this is not a problem.
247 =item * Win9x and C<d_eofnblk>
249 Win9x does not correctly report C<EOF> with a non-blocking read on a
250 closed pipe. You will see the following messages:
252 But it also returns -1 to signal EOF, so be careful!
253 WARNING: you can't distinguish between EOF and no data!
255 *** WHOA THERE!!! ***
256 The recommended value for $d_eofnblk on this machine was "define"!
257 Keep the recommended value? [y]
259 At least for consistency with WinNT, you should keep the recommended
262 =item * Checking how std your stdio is...
266 Your stdio doesn't appear very std.
270 =item * Compiler/Preprocessor defines
272 The following error occurs because of the Cygwin C<#define> of
275 Guessing which symbols your C compiler and preprocessor define...
276 try.c:3847: parse error
278 This failure does not seem to cause any problems.
284 Simply run I<make> and wait:
286 make 2>&1 | tee log.make
290 Warnings like these are normal:
292 warning: overriding commands for target <file>
293 warning: ignoring old commands for target <file>
295 Warning: no export definition file provided
296 dllwrap will create one, but may not be what you want
300 During `C<make>', I<ld2> will be created and installed in your $installbin
301 directory (where you said to put public executables). It does not
302 wait until the `C<make install>' process to install the I<ld2> script,
303 this is because the remainder of the `C<make>' refers to I<ld2> without
304 fully specifying its path and does this from multiple subdirectories.
305 The assumption is that $installbin is in your current C<PATH>. If this
306 is not the case `C<make>' will fail at some point. If this happens,
307 just manually copy I<ld2> from the source directory to somewhere in
312 There are two steps to running the test suite:
314 make test 2>&1 | tee log.make-test
316 cd t;./perl harness 2>&1 | tee ../log.harness
318 The same tests are run both times, but more information is provided when
319 running as `C<./perl harness>'.
321 Test results vary depending on your host system and your Cygwin
322 configuration. If a test can pass in some Cygwin setup, it is always
323 attempted and explainable test failures are documented. It is possible
324 that Perl will pass all the tests, but it is more likely that some tests
325 will fail for one of these reasons.
327 =head2 File Permissions
329 UNIX file permissions are based on sets of mode bits for
330 {read,write,execute} for each {user,group,other}. By default Cygwin
331 only tracks the Win32 read-only attribute represented as the UNIX file
332 user write bit (files are always readable, files are executable if they
333 have a F<.{com,bat,exe}> extension or begin with C<#!>, directories are
334 always readable and executable). On WinNT with the I<ntea> C<CYGWIN>
335 setting, the additional mode bits are stored as extended file attributes.
336 On WinNT with the I<ntsec> C<CYGWIN> setting, permissions use the standard
337 WinNT security descriptors and access control lists. Without one of
338 these options, these tests will fail:
340 Failed Test List of failed
341 ------------------------------------
351 op/stat.t 9, 20 (.tmp not an executable extension)
355 FAT partitions do not support hard links (whereas NTFS does), in which
356 case Cygwin implements link() by copying the file. These tests will fail:
358 Failed Test List of failed
359 ------------------------------------
363 =head2 Filetime Granularity
365 On FAT partitions the filetime granularity is 2 seconds. The following
368 Failed Test List of failed
369 ------------------------------------
372 =head2 Tainting Checks
374 When Perl is running in taint mode, C<$ENV{PATH}> is considered tainted
375 and not used, so DLLs not in the default system directories will not
376 be found. While the tests are running you will see warnings popup from
377 the system with messages like:
380 Error Starting Program
381 A required .DLL file, CYGWIN1.DLL, was not found
384 perl.exe or sh.exe - Unable to Locate DLL
385 The dynamic link library cygwin1.dll could not be found in the
388 Just click OK and ignore them. When running `C<make test>', 2 popups
389 occur. During `C<./perl harness>', 4 popups occur. Also, these tests
392 Failed Test List of failed
393 ------------------------------------
394 op/taint.t 1, 3, 31, 37
396 Alternatively, you can copy F<cygwin1.dll> into the directory where the
399 cp `type -p cygwin1.dll` t
401 or one of the Windows system directories (although, this is B<not>
406 Cygwin does not require F</etc/group>, in which case the F<op/grent.t>
407 test will be skipped. The check performed by F<op/grent.t> expects to
408 see entries that use the members field, otherwise this test will fail:
410 Failed Test List of failed
411 ------------------------------------
414 =head2 Script Portability
416 Cygwin does an outstanding job of providing UNIX-like semantics on top of
417 Win32 systems. However, in addition to the items noted above, there are
418 some differences that you should know about. This is a very brief guide
419 to portability, more information can be found in the Cygwin documentation.
425 Cygwin pathnames can be separated by forward (F</>) or backward (F<\>)
426 slashes. They may also begin with drive letters (F<C:>) or Universal
427 Naming Codes (F<//UNC>). DOS device names (F<aux>, F<con>, F<prn>,
428 F<com*>, F<lpt?>, F<nul>) are invalid as base filenames. However, they
429 can be used in extensions (e.g., F<hello.aux>). Names may contain all
430 printable characters except these:
434 File names are case insensitive, but case preserving.
438 When a file is opened it is in either text or binary mode. In text mode
439 a file is subject to CR/LF/Ctrl-Z translations. With Cygwin, the default
440 mode for an open() is determined by the mode of the mount that underlies
441 the file. Perl provides a binmode() function to set binary mode on files
442 that otherwise would be treated as text. sysopen() with the C<O_TEXT>
443 flag sets text mode on files that otherwise would be treated as binary:
445 sysopen(FOO, "bar", O_WRONLY|O_CREAT|O_TEXT)
447 lseek(), tell() and sysseek() only work with files opened in binary mode.
449 The text/binary issue is covered at length in the Cygwin documentation.
453 The Cygwin stat() makes the F<.exe> extension transparent by looking for
454 F<foo.exe> when you ask for F<foo> (unless a F<foo> also exists). Cygwin
455 does not require a F<.exe> extension, but I<gcc> adds it automatically
456 when building a program. However, when accessing an executable as a
457 normal file (e.g., I<cp> in a makefile) the F<.exe> is not transparent.
458 The I<install> included with Cygwin automatically appends a F<.exe>
463 On WinNT chown() can change a file's user and group IDs. On Win9x chown()
464 is a no-op, although this is appropriate since there is no security model.
466 =item * Miscellaneous
468 File locking using the C<F_GETLK> command to fcntl() is a stub that
471 Win9x can not rename() an open file (although WinNT can).
477 This will install Perl, including I<man> pages.
479 make install | tee log.make-install
481 NOTE: If C<STDERR> is redirected `C<make install>' will B<not> prompt
482 you to install I<perl> into F</usr/bin>.
484 You may need to be I<Administrator> to run `C<make install>'. If you
485 are not, you must have write access to the directories in question.
487 Information on installing the Perl documentation in HTML format can be
488 found in the F<INSTALL> document.
492 These are the files in the Perl release that contain references to Cygwin.
493 These very brief notes attempt to explain the reason for all conditional
494 code. Hopefully, keeping this up to date will allow the Cygwin port to
495 be kept as clean as possible.
501 INSTALL README.cygwin
502 Changes Changes5.005 Changes5.004
503 AUTHORS MAINTAIN MANIFEST README.win32
504 pod/perl.pod pod/perlfaq3.pod pod/perlhist.pod pod/perlmodlib.pod
505 pod/perlport.pod pod/perltoc.pod pod/perldelta.pod pod/perl5004delta.pod
507 =item Build, Configure, Make, Install
512 ext/IPC/SysV/hints/cygwin.pl
513 ext/NDBM_File/hints/cygwin.pl
514 ext/ODBM_File/hints/cygwin.pl
516 Configure - help finding hints from uname,
517 shared libperl required for dynamic loading
518 Makefile.SH - linklibperl
519 Porting/patchls - cygwin in port list
520 installman - man pages with :: translated to .
521 installperl - install dll/ld2/perlld, install to pods
522 makedepend.SH - uwinfix
526 t/io/tell.t - binmode
527 t/lib/glob-basic.t - Win32 directory list access differs from read mode
528 t/op/magic.t - $^X/symlink WORKAROUND, s/.exe//
529 t/op/stat.t - no /dev, skip Win32 ftCreationTime quirk
530 (cache manager sometimes preserves ctime of file
531 previously created and deleted), no -u (setuid)
533 =item Compiled Perl Source
535 EXTERN.h - __declspec(dllimport)
536 XSUB.h - __declspec(dllexport)
537 cygwin/cygwin.c - os_extras (getcwd, spawn)
540 doio.c - win9x can not rename a file when it is open
541 pp_sys.c - do not define h_errno, pp_system with spawn
542 mg.c - environ WORKAROUND
543 unixish.h - environ WORKAROUND
544 util.c - environ WORKAROUND
546 =item Compiled Module Source
548 ext/POSIX/POSIX.xs - tzname defined externally
549 ext/SDBM_File/sdbm/pair.c
550 - EXTCONST needs to be redefined from EXTERN.h
551 ext/SDBM_File/sdbm/sdbm.c
554 =item Perl Modules/Scripts
556 lib/Cwd.pm - hook to internal Cwd::cwd
557 lib/ExtUtils/MakeMaker.pm
558 - require MM_Cygwin.pm
559 lib/ExtUtils/MM_Cygwin.pm
560 - canonpath, cflags, manifypods, perl_archive
561 lib/File/Spec/Unix.pm - preserve //unc
562 lib/perl5db.pl - use stdin not /dev/tty
563 utils/perlcc.PL - DynaLoader.a in compile, -DUSEIMPORTLIB
564 utils/perldoc.PL - version comment
570 When I<make> starts, it warns about overriding commands for F<perlmain.o>.
572 `C<make clean>' does not remove library F<.def> and F<.exe.stackdump>
575 The I<ld2> script contains references to the source directory. You should
576 change these to $installbin after `C<make install>'.
580 Charles Wilson <cwilson@ece.gatech.edu>,
581 Eric Fifer <efifer@sanwaint.com>,
582 alexander smishlajev <als@turnhere.com>,
583 Steven Morlock <newspost@morlock.net>,
584 Sebastien Barre <Sebastien.Barre@utc.fr>,
585 Teun Burgers <burgers@ecn.nl>.
589 Last updated: 5 May 2000