Is there an easy way to convert Inline::C code to XS?

If you run with the Inline::C Config option 'CLEAN_AFTER_BUILD => 0', then after compilation you can go into the build directory and grab the actual XS file that Inline::C auto-generated. You can then package that with an appropriate Makefile.PL, test suite, etc. into a normal cpan-type distro. You'll need to edit the 'MODULE' and 'PACKAGE' entries in the auto-generated XS file but, iirc, that's the only change you'll have to make.

Alternatively, you could try Inline::C2XS (which I wrote and put on CPAN). It works ok for me - but it's not exactly a great piece of work, and ymmv :-) The correct thing for Inline::C2XS would be to tap into the XS-generating code that Inline::C uses - but it doesn't do that. Anyway, here's the IdleTime.xs file that Inline::C2XS produces for me. (I believe it's correct.)

#include "EXTERN.h"
#include "perl.h"
#include "XSUB.h"

#include <time.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <X11/Xlib.h>
#include <X11/Xutil.h>
#include <X11/extensions/scrnsaver.h>

int GetIdleTime () {
        time_t idle_time;
        static XScreenSaverInfo *mit_info;
        Display *display;
        int screen;
        mit_info = XScreenSaverAllocInfo();
        if((display=XOpenDisplay(NULL)) == NULL) { return(-1); }
        screen = DefaultScreen(display);
        XScreenSaverQueryInfo(display, RootWindow(display,screen), mit
+_info);
    XFree(mit_info);
    XCloseDisplay(display); 
        idle_time = (mit_info->idle) / 1000;
        return idle_time;
}

MODULE = X11::IdleTime    PACKAGE = X11::IdleTime

PROTOTYPES: DISABLE

int
GetIdleTime ()
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I couldn't quite make sense of the errors you reported - and don't have time to investigate. In the past I have used Inline::C and PAR. The Inline::C binaries need to be placed in a specifically-named location, and PAR mangles that location so that the files can't be found. The only way I ever got it to work was to include that "specifically-named" location as a separate folder alongside the PAR executable. I forget the details - it was something I did only as a "proof-of-concept" exercise. (There might well be a better solution.)

Cheers,
Rob