Perl installation (updated)

  1. NOTE: if you already have (older) Perl installed on your machine, try just this: Run->"cmd", then enter "ppm install DBD-mysql" -- if that doesn't work try the longer command below. If it works, you're done.
  2. Download perl, click "Get Active Perl", then under "ActivePerl" (the basic version) click "Download", then "Continue", then "AS package" under Windows.
  3. Save the .zip file you get somewhere (e.g. c:/temp)
  4. Open c:/temp and double-click on the zip file. This should open WinZip or something. Click "Extract" , then extract all the files to c:/temp/perl. NOTE: If you immediately get a folder instead of WinZip, click on "Extract all" and extract to c:/temp/perl before procedding.
  5. Open c:/temp/perl/ and Double-click on "install.bat". If you are asked, click "Extract All" before proceedings.
  6. This should open up a command prompt that runs the installation. After agreeing to the license, just pick the default location and "y" to every question.
  7. When finished, log out and log back in.
  8. Now you just need to enable MySQL access. Do Run->"cmd", then paste in:
    ppm install http://theoryx5.uwinnipeg.ca/ppms/DBD-mysql.ppd
  9. Perl should now be available on your machine. If you have problems, open ControlPanel, go to System, select Advanced tab, and click Environment variables. Make sure C:\perl\bin is part of your path.

Double-click deletes my Perl files!

Apparently some of you have some kind of movie player called WinIEPG on your Bancroft PCs. Your computer tries to run this when you double-click on a .pl file. You then get a weird error and it deletes your file.

I recommend you do this:

  1. Make a copy of some perl file (cut and paste is easiest). Rename it test.pl.
  2. Right-click on test.pl. Pick "Open With" --> "Choose Program".
  3. Select Crimson Editor or Notepad. Then check "Always use the selected program to open this kind of file. Click OK.
  4. Log out and log back in. Double-click on test.pl to make sure it opens Crimson Editor. Your other files should work too now -- try it with a backup .pl file.

NOTE: if your PC profile ever gets wiped for some reason, Windows will forget about this and may revert to the WinIEPG of death program. So be careful and make backups! You might consider uninstalling WinIEPG if you don't use it.


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