In a message dated: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 17:47:32 EDT
Benjamin Scott said:
> Dead wrong.
>
> You're generally in good shape on POSIX (i.e., Unix-like) platforms, but
>once you move on to Win32, VMS, Novell NetWare, and the like, Perl programs
>can and do run into portability problems. They usually fall into one of three
>categories:
>
> (1) Programmer Brain Damage, where some programmer decides that all the
>world runs Unix, and therefore that tools like "cat", "ps", etc., would be
>available. These are easy to fix, and indeed, should never happen. But they
>do.
This is not a *language* problem, but human one. If the program is written
properly, it will run anywhere!
> (2) File naming problems. perl makes a good effort at translating
>Unix-style /path/to/file names to C:\PATH\TO\FILE or [PATH.TO]FILE names, but
>it isn't perfect. These problems, too, can be avoided, if you know to do so.
>
>Porting existing Perl programs can be a pain, though.
>
> (3) Unimplemented language functions. Perl has a number of built-in
>functions which model Unix system calls, and which are not guaranteed to work
>on your current platform. These are the worst, because when you need
>something like flock(), you *really* need it.
#include disclaimer.h
Since I have never written anything for the win32 world in any way
shape or form, I have little knowledge about what perl can and can't
do on such an inherently braindead platform. I was speaking generally,
and I do believe that most perl programs if well written will move
seamlessly from Unix to win32. HOWEVER, as you pointed out, there
inherent differences that may cause problems (which I alluded to
in previous posts. Therefore, and claims made about the portability
of perl programs from Unix to Win32 are generic.
(Of course, at least you *can* move a perl program to win32. Ever
tried porting a csh program to win32? ;)
>> There is no porting for perl scripts.
>
> Then please explain the need for the 'perlport' manpage. :-)
See number 1 above. It was made for those who wrote programs with little or
no fore-thought to portability.
I still maintain that a well written perl program will run anywhere (there is
a perl interpreter installed). Human stupity is not the fault of the language.
--
Seeya,
Paul
----
"I always explain our company via interpretive dance.
I meet lots of interesting people that way."
Niall Kavanagh, 10 April, 2000
If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right!
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