in reply to Advantages of Activeperl vs Strawberry Perl

Hmm, not sure that I should try to say something relevant after the excellent, detailed and well-argumented answer by davido. Especially in view of the fact that I am using Perl mostly (and by far) on Unix/Linux systems. And even on Windows, my favorite Perl environment is Cygwin. For two reasons: 1. because the Unix shell, whether sh, ksh or bash, is so vastly superior to the DOS cmd that there is not even room for discussion; 2. it is much more compatible with the rest of my work under Unix.

Now, I am also occasionally using Perl under Windows (perhaps only 5 to 10% of my Perl activity). I have been using ActivePerl for a number of years, and I must say that I mostly got what I needed from it, I can't complain. I can't say, however, that I loved it, but it sort of did the job. I discovered Strawberry quite recently, and I love it much more. More up to date (Perl 5.18 vs. Perl 5.16), more modules, easier to use. And the recent policy shifts of ActivePerl only increase, in my view, the advantage of Strawberry. Personally, I would really favor Strawberry, but it is true that I certainly don't really care about the level of support on Perl under Windows, because my company is not going to pay for support for Perl under Windows, and neither will I.

One final advantage of Strawberry is the Perl portable version. Just put a Strawberry portable implementation on a USB flashkey, together with your programs, and you don't need to install anything on your client's workstation. You can just run the whole shebang from the USB device. This is a major advange in my view.

  • Comment on Re: Advantages of Activeperl vs Strawberry Perl

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Re^2: Advantages of Activeperl vs Strawberry Perl
by Anonymous Monk on Nov 02, 2013 at 00:35 UTC

    One final advantage of Strawberry ...

    Is a feature also shared by activeperl

      Out of curiosity, where does one find a portable version of ActivePerl?

      I don't remember seeing one before, but I guess I could have missed it. Looking at the (community edition) ActivePerl download page, I'm only seeing installer downloads and not a portable version. Also, a quick Google search turned up this link from ActiveState's user forums from about 4 months ago.

      On the other hand, it's clear from their releases page that Strawberry Perl offers a portable version of their distribution of Perl.

      I personally am not really needing/wanting a portable version of ActivePerl. Just have never heard of a portable version of ActiveState and was curious where that is available at.