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Tutorial
Cross-Platform Packaging and Deployment with PAR
Autrijus Tang, OurInternet, Inc. | The Elixir Initiative
Track: Perl
Date: Tuesday, July 08
Time: 8:45am - 12:15pm
Location: Willamette
What is PAR (Perl Archive Toolkit)?
Do what JAR (Java Archive) does for Perl
Benefit of using PAR
Self-contained scripts
Getting Started
Simple module packaging
Using modules inside a PAR file
Using it with customized @INC
Command-line Tools
par.pl: Run files from an archive
scandeps.pl: scan scripts for dependencies
pp: turn a Perl program into a self-contained script
Making Binary Executables
Common idioms
Comparison to perlcc, perlapp and perl2exe
Deploying cross-platform applications
The Anatomy of a PAR file
Directory layout
Special files: Build.PL, SIGNATURE, MANIFEST and META.yml
Accessing packed files
Perl Servlets with Apache::PAR
Scenarios for Apache1 and Apache2
Self-contained configuration files
On-demand library fetching over network
Implementation Details
Code References in @INC
Source Filtering
DynaLoader::bootstrap
Deployment tips
Module::Build integration
CPANPLUS::Dist integration
Tang supplies additional background: "I created PAR by a combination of neccessity, passion for obscure features, and the amazing altruistic ethics among Perl hackers. The result is a package that deals with three of the most common needs of Perl programmers--determining the dependency tree needed for some code to run; deploying cross-platform compiled libraries; and shipping binary versions of their scripts without Perl being present on the target system. Both leaders of PerlApp and Perl2Exe, PAR's two
direct (and proprietary) competitors, generously shared their source code,
ideas and wisdom to my then-fledging project, for which I'm very amazed and
grateful. One of the things attendees will be able to apply to their own projects after my session is how to debunk the myth that deploying and maintaining large-scale Perl applications is any difficult.
"Before PAR, it was very difficult to ship Perl applications,
especially web applications, without fiddling with complex custom-made
installation scripts (just imagine Java without .jar files.), and
dealing with various module incompatibilities. Now it's as simple as copying a .par or a .exe file to the target
machine, and modify one line of Apache configuration. This opens
new possibilities for the long neglected client-side Perl application
market."
Tang's prediction for the future? "Technology will one day cease to be treated as something other than life itself; thus it's not so much as one 'affects' another, but intertwined within the unconsicous natural ability, much as we cease to
see the pattern recognition software built in our eyes as a 'technology.' Then, and only then, will we be able to look past the Human Condition."
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