HOW TO: Install Perl for a UNIX-to-Windows Migration

Perl is the leading scripting language that is used for developing dynamic Web sites under the UNIX platform. The Perl language is mostly cross-platform aware. Unless you are using many UNIX-specific features, most scripts are easily migrated to the Windows platform. This article describes how to install the Perl language interpreter and configure the Internet Information Services (IIS) server to use Perl for CGI scripts, how to use Perl scripts as an ISAPI filter, and how to configure Perl to act as an accepted language for Active Server Pages (ASP) processing.

Installing the ActivePerl Distribution Package

To obtain ActivePerl software, which is a special version of the Perl language interpreter that is designed to work under Windows and with additional Windows specific extensions, visit the following ActiveState Web site to download the ActivePerl installer: ActivePerl version numbers use the same version numbering system as the main Perl distribution package. However, ActivePerl also gives a "build" number, which indicates the specific build (which incorporates new features, enhancements, and bug fixes). For example, the full ActivePerl distribution package may be referred to as ActivePerl 5.6.1 Build 631. Microsoft recommends that you always select the latest stable build of the ActivePerl distribution package.

To install the ActivePerl software:

1. Log on to the Web server computer as an administrator.
2. Download the ActivePerl installer from the following ActiveState Web site:
   http://www.activestate.com/ (http://www.activestate.com/)
3. Double-click the ActivePerl installer.
4. After the installer confirms the version of ActivePerl that it is going to be installed, click Next.
5. If you agree with the terms of the license agreement, click I accept the terms in the license agreement, and then click Next.
   
   Click Cancel if you do not accept the license agreement. If you do so, you cannot continue the installation.
6. To install the whole ActivePerl distribution package (this step is recommended), click Next to continue the installation.
   
   The software is installed in the default location (typically C:\Perl).
7. To customize the individual components or to change the installation folder, follow the instructions that appear on the screen.
8. When you are prompted to confirm the addition features that you want to configure during the installation, click any of the following settings, and then click Next:
   • Add Perl to the PATH environment variable: Click this setting if you want to use Perl in a command prompt without requiring the full path to the Perl interpreter.
   • Create Perl file extension association: Click this setting if you want to allow Perl scripts to be automatically run when you use a file that has the Perl file name extension (.pl) as a command name.
   • Create IIS script mapping for Perl: Click this setting to configure IIS to identify Perl scripts as executable CGI programs according to their file name extension.
   • Create IIS script mapping for Perl ISAPI: Click this setting to use Perl scripts as an ISAPI filter.
9. Click Install to start the installation process.
10. After the installation has completed, click Finish.

Learning about Perl

ActivePerl comes with a complete set of Perl documentation, including some tutorials and guides, How-Tos and FAQ documents. To access the documentation, click Start, point to Programs, point to ActiveState ActivePerl X.X (where X.X is the version number), and then click Documentation. The documentation is in the form of HTML Help documents, which you can browse, search, and bookmark different sections of the documentation.

For additional information about how to prepare servers for a migration from UNIX to Windows, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: