http://qs1969.pair.com?node_id=1058481

Anonymous Monk has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

I've got Perl 5 and GNU/Linux experience, nearly zero experience on MS Windows, and need to get some scripts and tools (ex. cron, scp, tar, gzip, Perl) running on a Windows server. I'm hoping to get some guidance here about what I need to install to make this Windows box act at least somewhat like a standard *nix server.

So, perhaps some direct questions will help:

Should I install cygwin? I've done so on a test laptop (running Windows 7, not Windows Server), and it provides a familiar bash shell (so I've got that going for me, which is nice). Cygwin seems to have the regular unixy tools I require, and even comes with Perl 5.14.

Can I install and use cpanm with the Perl that comes with cygwin? I'd much rather use cpanm than manually build/install packages.

I've heard of two other ways to get Perl for Windows: Strawberry Perl and ActivePerl. Would you recommend one of those instead of the one that comes with cygwin? And if so, will installing it conflict with cygwin? Will I be able to shell out to tar and gzip and friends from that other Perl?

Any other tips for dealing with Perl on Windows gratefully accepted. Thanks!