Setup Instructions for the Classroom System Administrator

The Big Picture

This course (Advanced Perl) can be adapted for a variety of classroom hardware configurations:
• A roomful of NT boxes
• A roomful of Unix workstations
• Terminal emulators (on PCs or workstations) connecting to a Unix host
All machines must, of course, have web browsers and be connected to the Internet.

Two basic classroom software configurations are possible:

1. Each student's desktop machine has its own Perl interpreter.
2. A single Perl interpreter resides on a server, and each student machine can connect (via telnet or otherwise) to this server with read, write, and execute permissions.

The required software includes:

• A Perl interpreter -- 5.004 or later

Utility Programs to Install

Archive/Zipfile Unpacker

• For NT, Winzip (shareware) is a good one. You can download it from http://www.winzip.com/ or from Dan Keller's site.
• For Unix, gzip and gunzip work well. Download them from the GNU site.

Text Editor

Perl error messages include source code line numbers, so the ability to locate lines in source code files by line number is essential for debugging. Make sure you have an editor that shows line numbers.
• For NT, suitable choices include:
  • edlin, DOS's antique, crusty line editor
  • textpad, a full-featured shareware graphical text editor for Win32 platforms. Download it from http://www.textpad.com/ or from Dan Keller's site.
• For Unix, vi and emacs have line-numbering modes that can be enabled.

Installing Perl

Installing Perl on Windows NT

1. Download the latest binary build of Perl from ActiveState to Temp folder
   
2. Double click downloaded .exe file to execute self extracting setup file
   
3. The Welcome Screen is displayed: Choose Next
   
4. Software License Agreement: Choose Yes
   
5. Installation Notes: Choose Yes
   
6. Choose Destination Location: Choose Yes (C:\Perl)
   
7. Select Components: Choose
   • Perl
   • Online Help and Documentation
   • Choose Next
8. Select Perl Options:
   • Add the Perl bin directory to your path
   • Associate '.pl' with Perl.exe in Explorer
   • Choose Next
9. Select Program Folder:
   • Program Folders: ActivePerl
   • Choose Next
10. Start Copying Files: Choose Next
11. Wait (5 to 10 minutes for processing)
12. Do you want to review the release notes: Choose No
13. Setup Complete: Choose Yes and click Finish (reboot)
14. Verify a complete installation after reboot:
    • Open a new DOS window
    • Enter the command: perl -v
TOTAL TIME FOR INSTALLATION: 12 to 15 minutes.
• Installation time can be reduced by not installing and building the HTML documentation.

Installing Perl on Unix

• The tasks required here demand advanced system administration skills... don't try this at home, kids! :-)
• If you are building a Perl interpreter for use by any user (including the web server) you need root privilege in order to write in /usr/local/lib and related system directories.
• For Unix, you must download and compile the source code.
• Get it from CPAN's source code directory.
• You'll need an ANSI C compiler (such as gcc) and gzip (get them from GNU).

Installing the Class Labs Source Files

To install the labs on NT or Unix, follow these instructions:
• Create a new folder to store the files (e.g. perladv).
• Make sure this folder has the appropriate read, write, and execute permissions set, if required. (e.g. chmod 777).
• Into your new folder, download an archive file containing the source code for the labs in this class.
• With your zipfile unpacker, unpack the archive file into your new perladv folder.