in reply to Re^3: Detect which version of perl an XS module is linked against?
in thread Detect which version of perl an XS module is linked against?

BrowserUk,
I concede you make really good points. I hope you concede that the average user is just going to accept the defaults and expect it to "just work". This is my situation and I would guess that it is the same for many more users.

It didn't take me long to figure out what the problem was or how to fix it. In fact, my goal in this post (updated in the root thread) is to fix a particular test in the parrot test suite - not change how AS works. OTOH, it wouldn't be incredibly difficult for AS to make this easier on the average user during install:

Cheers - L~R

  • Comment on Re^4: Detect which version of perl an XS module is linked against?

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Re^5: Detect which version of perl an XS module is linked against?
by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Jan 03, 2008 at 16:15 UTC

    There are many things I would change about the way Perl installs on Win32. Whether the AS version or the standard distribution. The major change I would make is that I would do away with the <lib>\auto\... directories and place all dlls generated by building XS modules into the perl\bin. In this way, when a new perl is installed, it would empty perl\bin before installing thereby forcing all XS modules to have to be re-built before use.

    There are also a bunch of other reasons why having all the XS-built dlls in a single place makes sense for purely Win32 reasons.

    Distinguishing <install>\site\lib by version, is the wrong way to go. 99% of what lives in Perls lib directories is Pure Perl and so unaffected by version changes. It simply isn't necessary to replace or duplicate the vast majority of it when the binaries change.

    The real problem is the mixing of the non Perl source parts (DLLs/SOs) with the Perl sources in the same subtree. And that's a big flaw (one of several) in the overall architecture of the Perl distributions. AS simply try to work with it as far as possible.

    Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
    "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".
    In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.
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