Inline::FAQ (3)

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NAME

Inline-FAQ - The Inline FAQ

DESCRIPTION

Welcome to the official Inline In this case, means: Formerly Answered Questions

This is a collection of old, long-winded emails that myself and others have sent to the Inline mailing list. (inline@perl.org) They have been reviewed and edited for general Inline edification. Some of them may be related to a specific language. They are presented here in a traditional

layout.

GENERAL INLINE

Since there is only a handful of content so far, all FAQs are currently under this heading.

How disposable is a .Inline or _Inline directory?

I probably need to be more emphatic about the role of "_Inline/" cache directories. Since they are created automatically, they are completely disposable. I delete them all the time. And it is fine to have a different one for each project. In fact as long as you don't have "~/.Inline/" defined, Inline will create a new "./_Inline" directory (unless, you've done something to override this automatic process - such as using the config option, or using the "PERL_INLINE_DIRECTORY" environment variable). You can move that to "./.Inline" and it will continue to work if you want togive it more longevity and hide it from view. There is a long complicated list of rules about how "[_.]Inline/" directories are used/created. But it was designed to give you the most flexibility/ease-of-use. Never be afraid to nuke 'em. They'll just pop right back next time they're needed. :)

Whatever happened to the SITE_INSTALL option?

"SITE_INSTALL" is gone. I was going to leave it in and change the semantics, but thought it better to remove it, so people wouldn't try to use it the old way. There is now "_INSTALL_" (but you're not supposed to know that :). It works magically through the use of Inline::MakeMaker. I explained this earlier but it's worth going through again because it's the biggest change for 0.40. Here's how to 'permanently' install an Inline extension (Inline based module) with 0.40:

1.

Create a module with Inline.

2.

Test it using the normal / local "_Inline/" cache.

3.

Create a Makefile.PL (like the one produced by h2xs)

4.

Change 'use ExtUtils::MakeMaker' to 'use Inline::MakeMaker'

5.

In the Makefile.PL's WriteMakefile() insert:

    CONFIGURE_REQUIRES  =>  {
        'Inline::MakeMaker'     => 0.45,
        'ExtUtils::MakeMaker'   => 6.52,
    },

(See the ``Writing Modules with Inline'' section of Inline.pod for an explanation / elaboration.)

6.

Change your 'use Inline C =>

DATA

' to 'use Inline C =>

DATA

=>

NAME

=> Foo

=>

=> 1.23' + Make sure matches your package name ('Foo'), or => begins with 'Foo::'. + If you want to quiet a harmless warning that will => appear when the module is loaded via ``require'', do ``Inline->init();''. See => ``Writing Modules with Inline'' in the Inline pod for details. + Make sure => matches $Foo::VERSION. This must be a string (not a number) => matching "/^\d\.\d\d$/" + Do the perl / make / test / install dance => (thanks binkley :)

With Inline 0.41 (or thereabouts) you can skip steps 3 & 4, and just say "perl -MInline=INSTALL ./Foo.pm". This will work for non-Inline modules too. It will become the defacto standard (since there is no easy standard) way of installing a Perl module. It will allow Makefile.PL parameters "perl - MInline=INSTALL ./Foo.pm - PREFIX=/home/ingy/perl" and things like that. It will also make use of a

if you provide one.

How do I create a binary distribution using Inline?

I've figured out how to create and install a binary distribution; with or without distributing the C code! And I've decided to share it with all of you :)

Future versions of Inline will make this process a one line command. But
      for now just use this simple recipe.

The Inline 0.40 distribution comes with a sample extension module called Math::Simple. Theoretically you could distribute this module on

It has all the necessary support for installation. You can find it in "Inline- 0.40/modules/Math/Simple/". Here are the steps for converting this into a binary distribution without C source code.

The recipient of this binary distribution will need to have the
      .pm module installed. This module requires a lot of other  modules. ActivePerl (available for Win32, Linux, and Solaris) has all
      of these bundled. While ActivePerl isn't required, it makes things (a
      lot) easier.

1.

cd "Inline-0.40/Math/Simple/"

2.

Divide Simple.pm into two files:

    ---8<--- (Simple.pm)
    package Math::Simple;
    use strict;
    require Exporter;
    @Math::Simple::ISA = qw(Exporter);
    @Math::Simple::EXPORT = qw(add subtract);
    $Math::Simple::VERSION = '1.23';

    use Inline (C => 'src/Simple.c' =>
                NAME => 'Math::Simple',
                VERSION => '1.23',
               );
    1;
    ---8<---
    ---8<--- (src/Simple.c)
    int add (int x, int y) {
        return x + y;
    }

    int subtract (int x, int y) {
        return x - y;
    }
    ---8<---

3.

now you have the Perl in one file and the C in the other. The C code must be

in a subdirectory. + Note that I also changed the term '

' to the name of the C file. This will work just as if the C were still inline. + Run 'perl Makefile.PL' + Run 'make test' + Get the key from "blib/arch/auto/Math/Simple/Simple.inl" + Edit "blib/lib/Math/Simple.pm". Change "src/Simple.c" to "02c61710cab5b659efc343a9a830aa73" (the key)

1.

Run 'make ppd'

2.

Edit 'Math-Simple.ppd'. Fill in

AUTHOR

and

ABSTRACT

if you wish. Then

change:

      <CODEBASE HREF="" />

    to

      <CODEBASE HREF="Math-Simple.tar.gz" />

1.

Run:

    tar cvf Math-Simple.tar blib
    gzip --best Math-Simple.tar

2.

Run:

    tar cvf Math-Simple-1.23.tar Math-Simple.ppd Math-Simple.tar.gz
    gzip --best Math-Simple-1.23.tar

3.

Distribute Math-Simple-1.23.tar.gz with the following instructions:

1.

Run:

gzip -d Math-Simple-1.23.tar.gz tar xvzf Math-Simple-1.23.tar

2.

Run 'ppm install Math-Simple.ppd'

3.

Delete Math-Simple.tar and Math-Simple.ppd.

4.

Test with:

perl -MMath::Simple -le 'print add(37, 42)'

That's it. The process should also work with zip instead of tar, but I haven't tried it.

The recipient of the binary must have Perl built with a matching architecture. Luckily, ppm will catch this.

For a binary dist with C source code, simply omit steps 2, 3, 6, and 7.

If this seems too hard, then in a future version you should be able to just type:

    make ppm

Why does C/t/09parser.t fail on Cygwin ?

It doesn't always fail on Cygwin, but if you find that it produces ``unable to remap .... to same address as parent'' errors during the build phase, then it's time for you to run rebaseall.

See <cygwin.com/faq/faq-nochunks.html#faq.using.fixing-fork-failures> and, if needed, seek further help from the Cygwin mailing list.