Installing real gcc (not clang) on macOS is fraught with compatibility issues, so I installed a fresh Ubuntu 22.0.4 in VirtualBox. Fetched gcc (11.3.0) with apt and attempted to build Tk with cpanm into perl 5.34.0. This required libx11-dev which built without errors. However, alas, building Tk with sudo failed with the following linker errors in root's build log, to wit:

ar rcs libpng.a png.o pngerror.o pngget.o pngmem.o pngpread.o pngread.
+o pngrio.o pngrtran.o pngrutil.o pngset.o pngtrans.o pngwio.o pngwrit
+e.o pngwtran.o pngwutil.o
: libpng.a
make[2]: Leaving directory '/root/.cpanm/work/1688142289.10679/Tk-804.
+036/PNG/libpng'
make[2]: Entering directory '/root/.cpanm/work/1688142289.10679/Tk-804
+.036/PNG/libpng'
x86_64-linux-gnu-gcc -fPIC -c -Wall -O2 -I../zlib pngtest.c
x86_64-linux-gnu-gcc -s -L../zlib -o pngtest pngtest.o libpng.a -lz -l
+m
/usr/bin/ld: libpng.a(pngread.o): in function `png_read_row':
pngread.c:(.text+0x10fd): undefined reference to `png_combine_row'
/usr/bin/ld: pngread.c:(.text+0x1121): undefined reference to `png_com
+bine_row'
/usr/bin/ld: pngread.c:(.text+0x11d6): undefined reference to `png_com
+bine_row'
/usr/bin/ld: pngread.c:(.text+0x11f0): undefined reference to `png_com
+bine_row'
/usr/bin/ld: pngread.c:(.text+0x122a): undefined reference to `png_rea
+d_filter_row'
/usr/bin/ld: pngread.c:(.text+0x1292): undefined reference to `png_do_
+read_interlace'
/usr/bin/ld: pngread.c:(.text+0x12e0): undefined reference to `png_com
+bine_row'
/usr/bin/ld: pngread.c:(.text+0x1337): undefined reference to `png_com
+bine_row'
/usr/bin/ld: pngread.c:(.text+0x136a): undefined reference to `png_com
+bine_row'
/usr/bin/ld: pngread.c:(.text+0x13a0): undefined reference to `png_com
+bine_row'
/usr/bin/ld: pngread.c:(.text+0x13de): undefined reference to `png_com
+bine_row'
/usr/bin/ld: libpng.a(pngread.o):pngread.c:(.text+0x1416): more undefi
+ned references to `png_combine_row' follow
/usr/bin/ld: libpng.a(png.o): in function `png_init_mmx_flags':
png.c:(.text+0xb33): undefined reference to `png_mmx_support'
collect2: error: ld returned 1 exit status
make[2]: *** [Makefile:58: pngtest] Error 1
make[2]: Leaving directory '/root/.cpanm/work/1688142289.10679/Tk-804.
+036/PNG/libpng'
make[1]: *** [Makefile:519: subdirs] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory '/root/.cpanm/work/1688142289.10679/Tk-804.
+036/PNG'
make: *** [Makefile:769: subdirs] Error 2
-> FAIL Installing Tk failed.
[download]

I can't build Tk with either clang 9.2 or 10.1 on High Sierra, but I was hoping to do Tk dev on Ubuntu, but that too seems now to be closed off. Since Python (3.11.4) works perfectly with tkinter on my existing mac, that seems the best option. I know those two versions of clang are problematic, especially with macro expansion. I went round and round with the PDL pumpking re segmentation fault building pdlcore.c in 2.083. The C standard talks about macro length limitations, but fails to specify a value, leaving it up to compiler builder discretion (your mileage will vary). I stepped through pdlcore.c with #if 0...#endif until I found the macro,

#define PDL_KLUDGE_COPY_X(X, datatype_out, ctype_out, ppsym_out, ...) 
+\
[download]

that was causing the fault. I shortened two variables, cursor to c and target to t in a loop and like magic, pdlcore.c compiled. I reported this to the developers but the answer (totally bogus) was to strip out all comments and white space to shorten that macro. I argued till I was blue in the face that the C preprocessor does that, but the pumpking went ahead and released PDL 2.084 with pdlcore.c stripped of white space. As expected, its pdlcore.c segmentation faulted with both of my clangs just as the previous version had. I copied all the C headers and both versions of pdlcore.c to a private directory and preprocessed them with gcc -E, and both were identical. I reported this too to the PDL developers list but as yet have heard zero response, which means PDL is compromised in my version of macOS. Sure, my kludge fix within a kludge works for now, but if I ever try to upgrade PDL I will face the same issue. The good news, and it is very good news mixed with some bad is that PDL 2.084 builds without errors in Ubuntu. The bad is, of course, Tk builds on neither. So, I have PDL on Ubuntu, Tk nowhere, but Python with tkinter everywhere. Needless to say, I want to get on with my work rather than spend so much of my time on Perl admin.

G'day Rob,

I don't know if any of the following will help, but here's some Perl, Tk and gcc version information for comparison. I've provided info for Perl 5.30 (which the OP had problems with) and Perl 5.36 (which you've had problems with) — note that I have different subversions.

I install Tk with all of my Perl versions. I usually get an error or two from `make test`, but nothing catastrophic; although, I seem to recall that I couldn't build Tk years ago (maybe Perl 5.26). I install with the cpan utility (force install Tk when tests fail). I run several of the widget demos, as additional tests, when `make test` fails.

I'm running Cygwin version 3.4.7 on Win10. I update both of these weekly; last done about seven hours ago.

Currently cmd.exe starts by showing:

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.19045.3155]
(c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
[download]

Cygwin's latest version of gcc:

$ gcc --version
gcc (GCC) 11.4.0
[download]

I get Perl module version and location info with perlmodver:

Perl v5.30

$ perl -v | head -2 | tail -1
This is perl 5, version 30, subversion 0 (v5.30.0) built for cygwin-th
+read-multi

$ perl -V
Summary of my perl5 (revision 5 version 30 subversion 0) configuration
+:

  Platform:
    osname=cygwin
    osvers=3.0.7(0.33853)
    archname=cygwin-thread-multi
    uname='cygwin_nt-10.0 titan 3.0.7(0.33853) 2019-04-30 18:08 x86_64
+ cygwin '
...
    gccversion='7.4.0'
...

$ perlmodver Tk
Tk 804.034
  in /home/ken/perl5/perlbrew/perls/perl-5.30.0/lib/site_perl/5.30.0/c
+ygwin-thread-multi/Tk.pm
----------------------------------------------------------------------
+--
[download]

Full perl -V output:

Perl v5.36

$ perl -v | head -2 | tail -1
This is perl 5, version 36, subversion 0 (v5.36.0) built for cygwin-th
+read-multi

$ perl -V
Summary of my perl5 (revision 5 version 36 subversion 0) configuration
+:

  Platform:
    osname=cygwin
    osvers=3.2.0(0.34053)
    archname=cygwin-thread-multi
    uname='cygwin_nt-10.0 titan 3.2.0(0.34053) 2021-03-29 08:42 x86_64
+ cygwin '
...
    gccversion='10.2.0'
...

$ perlmodver Tk
Tk 804.036
  in /home/ken/perl5/perlbrew/perls/perl-5.36.0/lib/site_perl/5.36.0/c
+ygwin-thread-multi/Tk.pm
----------------------------------------------------------------------
+--
[download]

Full perl -V output:

Did you look at Tkx?

Yes -- it failed in testing. No problem installing it on MacOS 13.4 / perl-5.38.0-RC2