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README.mpeix(1)





NAME

       README.mpeix - Perl/iX for HP e3000 MPE


SYNOPSIS

          http://www.bixby.org/mark/perlix.html
          http://jazz.external.hp.com/src/hp_freeware/perl/
          Perl language for MPE
          Last updated January 12, 2006 @ 2100 UTC


NOTE

       This is a podified version of the above-mentioned web page, podified by
       Jarkko Hietaniemi 2001-Jan-01.


Binary distribution from HP

       The simplest way to obtain Perl for the MPE/iX is to go either of these
       URLs and follow the instructions within.

       http://jazz.external.hp.com/src/hp_freeware/perl/
       http://www.bixby.org/mark/perlix.html

       Use which ever one is more recent.


What's New in Perl for MPE/iX

       January 12, 2006

       o   Updated for perl-5.8.8 and perl-5.9.3 by Ken Hirsch.

           Simplified the build process by using the MPEAUTOCONF functionality
           in Mark Klein's ld.

           If you build this from scratch, make sure you have a version of ld
           which supports it.  In the shell, type

             ld --help
               and look for AUTOCONF or MPEAUTOCONF near the bottom

             or do this:
             ld --help 2>&1 | grep AUTOCONF

           If you see don't see AUTOCONF or MPEAUTOCONF, make sure you get a
           new version.

           You also do not have to use mpeix/relink after building, so the
           recommend sequence is:

             ./Configure -de

                 # or ./Configure -de -Dusedevel
                 # if you're building a development version

             make
             make test
                # if you run this in a job, do "make test_notty"

             make install

           Be prepared for a wait. These take much longer on MPE/iX than on a
           Unix system, because of a slow forking, mostly.  On a lightly-
           loaded HP3000 Series 979 running MPE/iX 7.5:

               Configure: 1 hour
               make:      1 hour 15 minutes
               make test  1 hour 45 minutes

           Various socket problems were fixed in mpeix.c.

           Mark Klein provided a fixed sigsetjmp (that works with dynamic
           libraries) in mpeix_setjmp.c

       o   June 1, 2000

           o   Rebuilt to be compatible with mod_perl.  If you plan on using
               mod_perl, you MUST download and install this version of
               Perl/iX!

           o   uselargefiles="undef": not available in MPE for POSIX files
               yet.

           o   Now bundled with various add-on packages:

               o       libnet (as seen on CPAN)

               o       libwww-perl (LWP) which lets Perl programs behave like
                       web browsers:

                           1. #!/PERL/PUB/perl
                           2. use LWP::Simple;
                           3. $doc = get('http://www.bixby.org/mark/perlix.html');  # reads the
                              web page into variable $doc

                       (http://www.bixby.org/mark/perlix.html)

               o       mod_perl (just the perl portion; the actual DSO will be
                       released soon with Apache/iX 1.3.12 from bixby.org).
                       This module allows you to write high performance per-
                       sistent Perl CGI scripts and all sorts of cool things.
                       (http://perl.apache.org/)

                       and much much more hiding under /PERL/PUB/.cpan/

               o       The CPAN module now works for automatic downloading and
                       installing of add-on packages:

                           1. export FTP_PASSIVE=1
                           2. perl -MCPAN -e shell
                           3. Ignore any terminal I/O related complaints!

                       (http://theoryx5.uwinnipeg.ca/CPAN/data/perl/CPAN.html)

           May 20, 2000

           o   Updated to version 5.6.0.  Builds straight out of the box on
               MPE/iX.

           o   Perl's getpwnam() function which had regressed to being unim-
               plemented on MPE is now implemented once again.

           September 17, 1999

           o   Migrated from cccd.edu to bixby.org.


Welcome to Perl/iX

       This is the official home page for the HP e3000 MPE/iX (
       http://www.hp.com/go/e3000 ) port of the Perl scripting language (
       http://www.perl.com/ ) which gives you all of the power of C, awk, sed,
       and sh in a single language. Check here for the latest news, imple-
       mented functionality, known bugs, to-do list, etc. Status reports about
       major milestones will also be posted to the HP3000-L mailing list (
       http://www.lsoft.com/scripts/wl.exe?SL1=HP3000-L&H=RAVEN.UTC.EDU ) and
       its associated gatewayed newsgroup comp.sys.hp.mpe.

       I'm doing this port because I can't live without Perl on the Unix
       machines that I administer, and I want to have the same power available
       to me on MPE.

       Please send your comments, questions, and bug reports directly to me,
       Mark Bixby ( http://www.bixby.org/mark/ ). Or just post them to
       HP3000-L.

       The platform I'm using to do this port is an HP 3000 957RX running
       MPE/iX 6.0 and using the GNU gcc C compiler ( http://jazz.exter-
       nal.hp.com/src/gnu/gnuframe.html ).

       The combined porting wisdom from all of my ports can be found in my
       MPE/iX Porting Guide (http://www.bixby.org/mark/porting.html).

       IMPORTANT NOTICE: Yes, I do work for the HP CSY R&D lab, but ALL of the
       software you download from bixby.org is my personal freeware that is
       NOT supported by HP.


System Requirements for Perl/iX

       o   MPE/iX 5.5 or later. This version of Perl/iX does NOT run on MPE/iX
           5.0 or earlier, nor does it run on "classic" MPE/V machines.

       o   If you wish to recompile Perl, you must install both GNUCORE and
           GNUGCC from jazz (http://jazz.exter-
           nal.hp.com/src/gnu/gnuframe.html).

       o   Perl/iX will be happier on MPE/iX 5.5 if you install the MPEKX40B
           extended POSIX filename characters patch, but this is optional.

       o   Patch LBCJXT6A is required on MPE/iX 5.5 machines in order to pre-
           vent Perl/iX from dying with an unresolved external reference to
           _getenv_libc.

       o   If you will be compiling Perl/iX yourself, you will also need Sys-
           log/iX ( http://www.bixby.org/mark/syslogix.html ) and the
           /BIND/PUB/include and /BIND/PUB/lib portions of BIND/iX (
           http://www.bixby.org/mark/bindix.html ).


How to Obtain Perl/iX

       1.  Download Perl using either FTP.ARPA.SYS or some other client

       2.  Extract the installation script

       3.  Edit the installation script

       4.  Run the installation script

       5.  Convert your *.a system archive libraries to *.sl shared libraries

           Download Perl using FTP.ARPA.SYS from your HP 3000 (the preferred
           method).....

               :HELLO MANAGER.SYS
               :XEQ FTP.ARPA.SYS
               open ftp.bixby.org
               anonymous
               your@email.address
               bytestream
               cd /pub/mpe
               get perl-5.6.0-mpe.tar.Z /tmp/perl.tar.Z;disc=2147483647
               exit

           .....Or download using some other generic web or ftp client (the
           alternate method)

           Download the following files (make sure that you use "binary mode"
           or whatever client feature that is 8-bit clean):

           o   Perl from

                   http://www.bixby.org/ftp/pub/mpe/perl-5.6.0-mpe.tar.Z

               or

                   ftp://ftp.bixby.org/pub/mpe/perl-5.6.0-mpe.tar.Z

           o   Upload those files to your HP 3000 in an 8-bit clean bytestream
               manner to:

                   /tmp/perl.tar.Z

           o   Then extract the installation script (after both download meth-
               ods)

                   :CHDIR /tmp
                   :XEQ TAR.HPBIN.SYS 'xvfopz /tmp/perl.tar.Z INSTALL'

           o   Edit the installation script

               Examine the accounting structure creation commands and modify
               if necessary (adding additional capabilities, choosing a non-
               system volume set, etc).

                   :XEQ VI.HPBIN.SYS /tmp/INSTALL

           o   Run the installation script.

               The accounting structure will be created and then all files
               will be extracted from the archive.

                   :XEQ SH.HPBIN.SYS /tmp/INSTALL

           o   Convert your *.a system archive libraries to *.sl shared
               libraries

               You only have to do this ONCE on your MPE/iX 5.5 machine in
               order to convert /lib/lib*.a and /usr/lib/lib*.a libraries to
               their *.sl equivalents.  This step should not be necessary on
               MPE/iX 6.0 or later machines because the 6.0 or later update
               process does it for you.

                   :XEQ SH.HPBIN.SYS /PERL/PUB/LIBSHP3K


Perl/iX Distribution Contents Highlights

       README
           The file you're reading now.

       INSTALL
           Perl/iX Installation script.

       LIBSHP3K
           Script to convert *.a system archive libraries to *.sl shared
           libraries.

       PERL
           Perl NMPRG executable.  A version-numbered backup copy also exists.
           You might wish to "ln -s /PERL/PUB/PERL /usr/local/bin/perl".

       .cpan/
           Much add-on source code downloaded with the CPAN module.

       lib/
           Perl libraries, both core and add-on.

       man/
           Perl man page documentation.

       public_html/feedback.cgi
           Sample feedback CGI form written in Perl.

       src/perl-5.6.0-mpe
           Source code.


How to Compile Perl/iX

       1.  cd src/perl-5.6.0-mpe

       2.  Read the INSTALL file for the official instructions

       3.  ./Configure -d

       4.  make

       5.  ./mpeix/relink

       6.  make test (expect approximately 15 out of 11306 subtests to fail,
           mostly due to MPE not supporting hard links, UDP socket problems,
           and handling exit() return codes improperly)

       7.  make install

       8.  Optionally create symbolic links that point to the Perl executable,
           i.e. ln -s /PERL/PUB/PERL /usr/local/bin/perl

           The summary test results from "cd t; ./perl -I../lib harness":

             Failed Test  Status Wstat Total Fail  Failed  List of failed
             ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
             io/fs.t                      29    8  27.59%  2-5, 7-9, 11
             io/openpid.t                 10    1  10.00%  7
             lib/io_sock.t                14    1   7.14%  13
             lib/io_udp.t                  7    2  28.57%  3, 5
             lib/posix.t                  27    1   3.70%  12
             op/lex_assign.t             187    1   0.53%  13
             op/stat.t                    58    1   1.72%  3
             15 tests and 94 subtests skipped.
             Failed 7/236 test scripts, 97.03% okay. 15/11306 subtests failed, 99.87% okay.


Getting Started with Perl/iX

       Create your Perl script files with "#!/PERL/PUB/perl" (or an equivalent
       symbolic link) as the first line.  Use the chmod command to make sure
       that your script has execute permission. Run your script!

       Be sure to take a look at the CPAN module list (
       http://www.cpan.org/CPAN.html ). A wide variety of free Perl software
       is available.  You can automatically download these packages by using
       the CPAN module ( http://theoryx5.uwinnipeg.ca/CPAN/data/perl/CPAN.html
       ).


MPE/iX Implementation Considerations

       There some minor functionality issues to be aware of when comparing
       Perl for Unix (Perl/UX) to Perl/iX:

       o   MPE gcc/ld doesn't properly support linking NMPRG executables
           against NMXL dynamic libraries, so you must manually run
           mpeix/relink after each re-build of Perl.

       o   Perl/iX File::Copy will use MPE's /bin/cp command to copy files by
           name in order to preserve file attributes like file code.

       o   MPE (and thus Perl/iX) lacks support for setgrent(), endgrent(),
           setpwent(), endpwent().

       o   MPE (and thus Perl/iX) lacks support for hard links.

       o   MPE requires GETPRIVMODE() in order to bind() to ports less than
           1024.  Perl/iX will call GETPRIVMODE() automatically on your behalf
           if you attempt to bind() to these low-numbered ports.  Note that
           the Perl/iX executable and the PERL account do not normally have
           CAP=PM, so if you will be bind()-ing to these privileged ports, you
           will manually need to add PM capability as appropriate.

       o   MPE requires that you bind() to an IP address of zero.  Perl/iX
           automatically replaces the IP address that you pass to bind() with
           a zero.

       o   MPE requires GETPRIVMODE() in order to setuid().  There are too
           many calls to setuid() within Perl/iX, so I have not attempted an
           automatic GETPRIVMODE() solution similar to bind().


Known Perl/iX Bugs Under Investigation

       None.


Perl/iX To-Do List

       o   Make setuid()/setgid() support work.

       o   Make sure that fcntl() against a socket descriptor is redirected to
           sfcntl().

       o   Add support for Berkeley DB once I've finished porting Berkeley DB.

       o   Write an MPE XS extension library containing miscellaneous impor-
           tant MPE functions like GETPRIVMODE(), GETUSERMODE(), and sfcntl().


Perl/iX Change History

       May 6, 1999

       o   Patch LBCJXT6A is required on MPE/iX 5.5 machines in order to pre-
           vent Perl/iX from dying with an unresolved external reference to
           _getenv_libc.

           April 7, 1999

           o   Updated to version 5.005_03.

           o   The official source distribution once again compiles "straight
               out of the box" for MPE.

           o   The current incarnation of the 5.5 POSIX filename extended
               characters patch is now MPEKX40B.

           o   The LIBSHP3K *.a -> *.sl library conversion script is now
               included as /PERL/PUB/LIBSHP3K.

           November 20, 1998

           o   Updated to version 5.005_02.

           o   Fixed a DynaLoader bug that was unable to load symbols from
               relative path name libraries.

           o   Fixed a .xs compilation bug where the mpeixish.sh include file
               wasn't being installed into the proper directory.

           o   All bugfixes will be submitted back to the official Perl devel-
               opers.

           o   The current incarnation of the POSIX filename extended charac-
               ters patch is now MPEKXJ3A.

           August 14, 1998

           o   The previous POSIX filename extended characters patch MPEKX44C
               has been superseded by MPEKXB5A.

           August 7, 1998

           o   The previous POSIX filename extended characters patch MPEKX76A
               has been superseded by MPEKX44C.

           July 28, 1998

           o   Updated to version 5.005_01.

           July 23, 1998

           o   Updated to version 5.005 (production release).  The public
               freeware sources are now 100% MPE-ready "straight out of the
               box".

           July 17, 1998

           o   Updated to version 5.005b1 (public beta release).  The public
               freeware sources are now 99.9% MPE-ready.  By installing and
               testing this beta on your own HP3000, you will be helping to
               insure that the final release of 5.005 will be 100% MPE-ready
               and 100% bug free.

           o   My MPE binary release is now extracted using my standard
               INSTALL script.

           July 15, 1998

           o   Changed startperl to #!/PERL/PUB/perl so that Perl will recog-
               nize scripts more easily and efficiently.

           July 8, 1998

           o   Updated to version 5.004_70 (internal developer release) which
               is now MPE-ready.  The next public freeware release of Perl
               should compile "straight out of the box" on MPE.  Note that
               this version of Perl/iX was strictly internal to me and never
               publicly released.  Note that [21]BIND/iX is now required
               (well, the include files and libbind.a) if you wish to compile
               Perl/iX.

           November 6, 1997

           o   Updated to version 5.004_04.  No changes in MPE-specific func-
               tionality.

           October 16, 1997

           o   Added Demos section to the Perl/iX home page so you can see
               some sample Perl applications running on my 3000.

           October 3, 1997

           o   Added System Requirements section to the Perl/iX home page just
               so the prerequisites stand out more. Various other home page
               tweaks.

           October 2, 1997

           o   Initial public release.

           September 1997

           o   Porting begins.


AUTHOR

       Mark Bixby, http://www.bixby.org/mark/

perl v5.8.8                       2006-06-14                      PERLMPEIX(1)

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