How to Install Perl on Windows and Write Your First Program

Perl is a versatile programming language widely used for text processing, system administration, and web development. This guide will walk you through the process of installing Perl on Windows and show you how to write and run your first Perl script.

Installing Perl on Windows: Choosing Between ActivePerl and Strawberry Perl

There are two primary distributions of Perl for Windows:

1. ActivePerl: A commercial distribution of Perl that is feature-rich and supported by ActiveState.
2. Strawberry Perl: An open-source, community-driven Perl distribution that includes many precompiled libraries.

Both distributions are suitable, and the choice is based on personal preference. Let’s walk through the installation process for both.

1. Installing ActivePerl

Follow these steps to install ActivePerl on your Windows system:

1. Go to the ActivePerl download page: ActivePerl Download.

2. Choose the appropriate version for your system (32-bit or 64-bit).

3. Download the installer and launch it.

4. The installation wizard will guide you through the process. Follow the prompts, and when asked, accept the default installation settings.

5. After installation is complete, open Command Prompt (type cmd in the Windows search bar).

6. To verify that Perl was installed successfully, type the following command and press Enter:

   bash

   perl -v

   This command will display the installed Perl version along with some information. If you see this message, Perl is installed correctly.

2. Installing Strawberry Perl

Follow these steps to install Strawberry Perl:

1. Go to the Strawberry Perl download page: Strawberry Perl Download.

2. Select the 32-bit or 64-bit version, depending on your system configuration.

3. Download the installer and double-click it to start the installation.

4. Accept the default installation settings and let the installer complete the process.

5. Once installed, open Command Prompt.

6. To verify the installation, type:

   bash          perl-v

   If the installation was successful, you should see the Perl version printed out.

Write and Run Your First Perl Program

Once Perl is installed, you’re ready to write your first Perl script. Let’s get started.

Creating the Script

1. Open your preferred text editor. You can use:

   • Notepad
   • TextEdit (for macOS)
   • Vi or Emacs (for Linux/Unix users)
   • UltraEdit, Sublime Text, or any code editor.

2. In the text editor, type the following Perl code:

   perl

   #!usr/bin/perl print “Enter your name: “; $name = <STDIN>; print “Hello, ${name} … you will soon be a Perl addict!”;

   Explanation of the Code:

   • #!usr/bin/perl is the “shebang” that tells the system where to find Perl (optional on Windows but required on Unix-like systems).
   • print “Enter your name: “; displays a prompt for the user to input their name.
   • $name = <STDIN>; stores the user’s input in the $name variable.
   • print “Hello, ${name} … you will soon be a Perl addict!”; outputs a greeting message, including the user’s name.

3. Save the file with the name hello.pl (the .pl extension is the standard for Perl scripts). Choose a location where you can easily access it, for example, C:\Perl\Scripts.

Running the Script

1. Open Command Prompt.

2. Navigate to the directory where your script is located. Use the cd command to change directories. For example:

   bash
   cd c:\perl\scripts

3. Run the Perl script by typing the following command and pressing Enter:

   bash
   perl hello.pl

4. When you run the script, it will prompt you to enter your name. After you type your name and press Enter, the script will greet you. For example:

   bash
   Enter your name: Vinod Hello, Vinod … you will soon be a Perl addict!

Conclusion: You’re Ready to Dive into Perl

Congratulations! You’ve successfully installed Perl on your Windows machine, written your first script, and executed it. You’re now on your way to exploring the world of Perl programming, which is great for text processing, automation tasks, and much more.

Next Steps:

• Learn about more advanced Perl topics such as regular expressions, modules, and object-oriented programming.
• Explore CPAN to access thousands of pre-built modules for various tasks.
• Start building more complex scripts to automate your work and solve problems with Perl.