NAME
    Perl::Dist::Strawberry - Strawberry Perl for win32

VERSION
    This is 0.1.2, corresponding to Strawberry Perl 5.8.8 Alpha 2

DESCRIPTION
    *Strawberry Perl is currently an alpha release and is not recommended
    for production purposes.*

    Strawberry Perl is a binary distribution of Perl for the Windows
    operating system. It includes a bundled compiler and pre-installed
    modules that offer the ability to install XS CPAN modules directly from
    CPAN.

    The purpose of the Strawberry Perl series is to provide a practical
    Win32 Perl environment for experienced Perl developers to experiment
    with and test the installation of various CPAN modules under Win32
    conditions, and to provide a useful platform for doing real work.

    Strawberry Perl includes:

    *   Perl 5.8.8

    *   Mingw GCC C/C++ compiler

    *   Dmake "make" tool

    *   ExtUtils::CBuilder and ExtUtils::ParseXS

    *   Bundle::CPAN (including Perl modules that largely eliminate the need
        for external helper programs like "gzip" and "tar")

    *   Bundle::LWP (providing more reliable http CPAN repository support)

    *   Additional Perl modules that enhance the stability of core Perl for
        the Win32 platform

    The Perl::Dist::Strawberry distribution on CPAN contains programs and
    instructions for downloading component sources and assembling them into
    the executable installer for Strawberry Perl. It does not include the
    resulting Strawberry Perl installer itself.

    See "DOWNLOADING THE INSTALLER" for instructions on where to download
    and how to install Strawberry Perl.

    See Perl::Dist::Build at <http://search.cpan.org> for details on the
    builder used to create Strawberry Perl from source.

CHANGES FROM CORE PERL
    Strawberry Perl is and will continue to be based on the latest "stable"
    release of Perl, currently version 5.8.8. Some additional modifications
    are included that improve general compatibility with the Win32 platform
    or improve "turnkey" operation on Win32.

    Whenever possible, these modifications will be made only by
    preinstalling additional CPAN modules within Strawberry Perl,
    particularly modules that have been newly included as core Perl modules
    in the "development" branch of perl to address Win32 compatibility
    issues.

    Modules or distributions currently included are:

    *   ExtUtils::MakeMaker 6.30_01 -- fixes a Win32 perl path bug

    *   CPAN 1.87_57 -- many small fixes for numerous annoyances on Win32

    *   Win32API::File -- to allow for deletion of in-use files at next
        reboot; required for CPAN.pm to be able to upgrade itself

    *   IO -- to address Win32 Socket bugs

    *   Compress::Zlib, IO::Zlib and Archive::Tar -- to eliminate the
        CPAN.pm dependency on external, binary programs to handle .tar.gz
        files

    *   Archive::Zip (and its dependency, Time::Local) -- to eliminate the
        CPAN.pm dependency on external, binary programs to handle .zip files

    *   libnet -- provides Net::FTP to eliminate the CPAN.pm dependency on
        an external, binary ftp program; installed configured for FTP
        passive mode

    Additionally, a stub CPAN Config.pm file is installed. It provides
    defaults to the path for dmake, to automatically follow dependencies and
    to use the Windows temporary directory for the CPAN working directory.

DOWNLOADING THE INSTALLER
    Strawberry Perl is available from <http://vanillaperl.com/>.

CONFIGURATION
    At present, Strawberry Perl must be installed in C:\strawberry-perl. The
    executable installer adds the following environment variable changes:

        * adds directories to PATH
            - C:\strawberry-perl\perl\bin  
            - C:\strawberry-perl\dmake\bin
            - C:\strawberry-perl\mingw
            - C:\strawberry-perl\mingw\bin

        * adds directories to LIB
            - C:\strawberry-perl\mingw\lib
            - C:\strawberry-perl\perl\bin

        * adds directories to INCLUDE 
            - C:\strawberry-perl\mingw\include 
            - C:\strawberry-perl\perl\lib\CORE 
            - C:\strawberry-perl\perl\lib\encode

    LIB and INCLUDE changes are likely more than are necessary, but attempt
    to head off potential problems compiling external programs for use with
    Perl.

    Users installing Strawberry Perl manually without the installer will
    need to change their environment variables manually.

    The first time that the "cpan" program is run, users will be prompted
    for configuration settings. With the defaults provided in Strawberry
    Perl, users may answer "no" to manual configuration and the installation
    should still work.

    Manual CPAN configuration may be repeated by running the following
    command:

        perl -MCPAN::FirstTime -e "CPAN::FirstTime::init"

VERSION HISTORY AND ROADMAP
    Perl::Dist::Strawberry version numbers map to Strawberry Perl release
    versions as follows:

     Pre-release series (0.x.y)
       0.0.1 -- Strawberry Perl 5.8.8 Alpha 1 (July 9, 2006)
       0.1.2 -- Strawberry Perl 5.8.8 Alpha 2 (August 27, 2006)
       0.1.y -- Alpha series
       0.3.y -- Beta series
       0.5.y -- Release candidate series

     Perl 5.8 series (1.x.y) -- 'x' will be odd for test releases 
 
     Perl 5.10 series (2.x.y) -- 'x' will be odd for test releases 

    Strawberry Perl is targeting release 1.0.0 to correspond to the next
    maintenance release of Perl (5.8.9), which should include most of the
    "changes from core Perl" listed above. Strawberry Perl will be declared
    Beta when the pre-release candidate for Perl 5.8.9 is available.

CONTACTS AND BUGS REPORTING
    Currently, Strawberry Perl discussion is centered at win32.perl.org. New
    venues for discussion may be listed there.

    Please report bugs or feature requests using the CPAN Request Tracker.
    Bugs can be sent by email to "bug-Perl-Dist-Strawberry@rt.cpan.org" or
    submitted using the web interface at
    <http://rt.cpan.org/Dist/Display.html?Queue=Perl-Dist-Strawberry>

LICENSE AND COPYRIGHT
    Strawberry Perl is open source and may be licensed under the same terms
    as Perl. Open source software included with Strawberry Perl
    installations are governed by their respective licenses. See LICENSE.txt
    for details.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY
    BECAUSE THIS SOFTWARE IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY
    FOR THE SOFTWARE, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN
    OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES
    PROVIDE THE SOFTWARE "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER
    EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED
    WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE
    ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE IS WITH
    YOU. SHOULD THE SOFTWARE PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL
    NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR, OR CORRECTION.

    IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING
    WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND/OR
    REDISTRIBUTE THE SOFTWARE AS PERMITTED BY THE ABOVE LICENCE, BE LIABLE
    TO YOU FOR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR
    CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE
    SOFTWARE (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING
    RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A
    FAILURE OF THE SOFTWARE TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER SOFTWARE), EVEN IF
    SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
    DAMAGES.

