This is an attempt to make the original Perl Kit Version 1.0 to build on "modern" Linux and BSD. The original README file shipped with Perl has been moved to README.perl.txt.

we try our best to minimize the diff with the original source code and build system, because building is half of the fun :) Changes are limited to pure refactoring allowing to compile and run Perl1 successfully. We keep the bugs and the building issues, because they're part of history as much as features.

• Building
  • undefined reference to `crypt'
  • perl.y:73.1-5: error: syntax error, unexpected %type, expecting string or character literal or identifier
  • error: conflicting types for 'memcpy'
  • What is the full name of your C library?
• Not Building
  • Vagrant
  • Docker
• Testing
  • Can't open /etc/termcap.

Building

The building process has three steps:

1. ./Configure (answer all the questions)
2. make depend (maybe a lot of warnings)
3. make (expect a lot of warnings)

On success the last line should be

touch all

You can then enjoy ./perl.

But most of the time you'll run into errors depending on your system and how clever were your answers in the Configure step. Instead of trying to give fixes for every system, here is a list of solutions for the most common errors (in order from the most expected to the least).

IMPORTANT: If you intent to run the tests or actually use Perl1, be sure to build it with its own malloc. Answer y to the following question during the Configure step:

Do you wish to attempt to use the malloc that comes with perl? [n]

undefined reference to `crypt'

Perl1 use crypt(3) which is not in your libc, it's probably in libcrypt.

Fix:

At the Configure step try to add -lcrypt to the additional ld flags:

Any additional ld flags? [none] -lcrypt

If you still get the same error, your compiler / linker is picky about flags order. The -lcrypt flag must be added to the libs variable in the Makefile:

 % sed -i.bak -e '/^libs =/ s/$/ -lcrypt/' Makefile

perl.y:73.1-5: error: syntax error, unexpected %type, expecting string or character literal or identifier

Your yacc(1) is incompatible with Perl1, it is probably GNU bison.

Fix:

Install a Berkley Yacc (for example byacc under Debian) and then edit the Makefile in order to use it:

% sed -i.bak -e 's/yacc/byacc/' Makefile

make: yacc: Command not found

You need yacc(1) to build Perl1.

Fix:

Install a Berkley Yacc (for example byacc under Debian).

error: conflicting types for 'memcpy' (and a lot of noise)

perl.h #define bcopy which means trouble if a header (like good ol' strings.h) try to declare it.

Fix:

In the Configure step add the -DBCOPY to additional cc flags:

Any additional cc flags? [none] -DBCOPY

What is the full name of your C library?

the Configure step might fail to locate your C library. It happens for example on Ubuntu x86_64 because of their Multiarch design.

Fix:

Just figure out where is your system's libc and tell Configure.

Not Building

Not in the mood to answer questions from 1987? You'll miss a good chunk of the fun, but we got you.

Vagrant

There is a Vagrant VM based on Alpine Linux with a provision step building the latest release:

$ vagrant up
$ vagrant ssh

Once inside the VM, you can freely enjoy the Perl Kit experience. The build directory is at /usr/src/perl1.

alpine314:~$ which perl
/bin/perl
alpine314:~$ perl -v
$Header: perly.c,v 1.0.1.3 88/01/28 10:28:31 root Exp $
Patch level: 10
alpine314:~$ sudo make -C /usr/src/perl1 test
alpine314:~$ man perl

Note that /bin/perl in the VM is statically linked. Consequently, if your are running linux on x86-64 you can copy /bin/perl from the VM and it should run just fine from your host:

alpine314:~$ file /bin/perl
/bin/perl: ELF 64-bit LSB executable, x86-64, version 1 (SYSV), statically linked, with debug_info, not stripped
alpine314:~$ sudo cp /bin/perl /vagrant/
alpine314:~$ exit
$ ./perl -e 'print "Hello from the 21th century!\n";'
Hello from the 21th century!

Docker

There is a Perl Kit 1.0 Docker image available at ghcr.io/kaworu/perl1-alpine, ideal if you are planning to run in The Cloud:

$ docker run --rm ghcr.io/kaworu/perl1-alpine perl -e 'print "Hello from Docker!\n";'
Hello from Docker!
$ docker run -it --rm ghcr.io/kaworu/perl1-alpine sh
/ # man perl

Testing

Perl1 comes with some tests, see the t/ directory. You can run the tests from the project's directory with:

% make test

Can't open /etc/termcap.

Your system doesn't provide a termcap file, but the tests assume that it exist.

Fix:

You can either get a termcap file and install it as /etc/termcap, or edit the tests to check for another file:

% sed -i -e 's/termcap/fstab/g' t/*