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Installing the VI Perl Toolkit from Sourcecode—Windows

To install the VI Perl Toolkit from sourcecode on Windows, you must:

• Obtain a Windows implementation of Perl and various libraries
• Install the VI Perl Toolkit
• Perform a few other basic setup tasks.

From start to finish, the entire process takes about 15 minutes (or less, if you already have Perl installed).

These instructions (adapted from Richard Garsthagen’s excellent HOW-TO, available on his Run-Virtual website) have been tested on a Windows XP system.

1. Obtain and install ActivePerl 5.8, available from:
   http://www.activestate.com/store/freedownload.aspx?prdGuid=81fbce82-6bd5-49bc-a915-08d58c2648ca
   
   You will need to register at ActivePerl’s website to download the software.
   
   • Download ActivePerl Microsoft installer (.msi).
   • Double-click on the filename to launch the wizard-driven installation process that also sets the required paths. During the installation process, just accept the defaults, including the default directory (C:\).
2. Launch the Perl Package Manager (PPM) by running the batch file (ppm.bat) at the command prompt:
   c:\Perl\bin>ppm
   
3. From the PPM Edit menu, select Preferences... and add the path to the University of Winnipeg’s PPM (Perl library) as a repository from which to obtain modules and packages:
   
   http://theoryx5.uwinnipeg.ca/ppms/
   
   
4. Select these modules and packages:
   • XML-LibXML-Common
   • XML-LibXML
   • Crypt-SSLeay
   • Data-Dumper
   • Class-MethodMaker
   
   
   
   As the required packages are installed, you may be prompted to install various other supporting packages. Accept any additional installations. The process may take a few minutes to complete, but it’s fairly simple.
5. Obtain Microsoft’s nmake from:
   http://support.microsoft.com/kb/132084
   The page that displays at the URL above is a support page that includes a link to nmake15.exe, which is a self-extracting compressed file that unpacks nmake.exe, nmake.err, and a readme.txt file.
6. Scroll through the page that opens to find the link for nmake15.exe on the page.
7. Click the nmake15.exe link. A save dialog displays.
8. Select Save to Disk and click OK. A navigation dialog box displays.
   • Navigate to the %SystemRoot% folder (typically, c:\WINDOWS) of your Windows host system) and click Save to download the nmake15.exe file to Windows system directory. When the download completes, open Windows Explorer and navigate to %SystemRoot% and find the nmake15.exe.
   • Double-click the file to unpack its contents:
     • nmake.exe
     • nmake.err
     • readme.txt
9. Launch a Windows console session (cmd.exe).
10. Navigate to the location of the VI Perl Toolkit download and run these commands:
    
    C:\viperltoolkit>perl Makefile.PL
    
    The console displays progress:
    Writing Makefile for VIPerlToolkit
    
11. Enter nmake at the command prompt:
    C:\viperltoolkit>nmake
    
    
12. Enter nmake install at the command prompt:
    C:\viperltoolkit>nmake install

The console reports status as the VI Perl Toolkit components (VIRuntime.html, VIStub.html, VIRuntime.pm, and so on) are installed, and in a few seconds, the process completes.