Perl has been ported to at least 60 (100+?) different operating systems, including (as mentioned above) PalmOS. In every case, the same basic functionality exists. (Obviously, if forking isn't supported on the OS, then you can't have fork work in Perl, and the like.)

As for requiring a dedicated server - it all depends on what you're doing. Perl itself is very fast, compared with VB. However, because you can do some really complex things in Perl very easily, it can be very ... dominating. Most commerical uses for Perl do require their own servers. Not because it's Perl, but because the application built in Perl has requirements. (Report servers, e-commerce apps, etc)

I would recommend doing at least one of the following steps:

  1. Download and install ActivePerl on your desktop. Play with it and get a feel for the requirements of what you're doing. In many cases on Windows, using WScript, JScript, and/or VBScript may be more appropriate.
  2. Talk to your manager. If you're asking the question, you probably have been asked to do something by your manager.
  3. Bring in a Perl consultant to discuss the issue. Sysadmins are trained to be very conservative. Remember, it might be your application that's causing the server to slowdown, but it's his job. (There are old sysadmins and bold sysadmins, but there are no old and bold sysadmins.)

Oh, it's not a Perl compiler - it's a Perl interpreter. Perl compilers are different beasts.

------
We are the carpenters and bricklayers of the Information Age.

Please remember that I'm crufty and crochety. All opinions are purely mine and all code is untested, unless otherwise specified.

In reply to Re: ISO technical document outlining system requirements for Perl by dragonchild
in thread ISO technical document outlining system requirements for Perl by xburrows

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