So, finally the question: why does Perl need to go through all this extra rigmarole of testing and compiling any library C/C++ code?

It really doesn't, both cpan and cpanp allow you to skip running tests

ActiveState provides eggs, calls them ppms, with a tool called ppm.

Ubuntu and the like also provide binary packages via apt-get.

cygwin also provides binary packages , as does MinGW (mingw-get)

There are other binary packages like StrawberryPerl or CitrusPerl or IndigoPerl, they also support ppm.

Even Padre, the Perl IDE, comes as a binary package.

In reply to Re: Why is it in some other popular languages fewer steps and potential issues when installing libraries no testing needed and no compilation of C/C++ code done by Anonymous Monk
in thread Why are other popular languages very different from Perl when installing libraries, e.g. no testing needed and no compilation of C/C++ code done by hermida

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