Installing Perl 5

In this section we'll install Perl 5 and set the system path so that the iMD software knows where to find it. We assume you downloaded Perl in the previous section.

There are 5 steps in this procedure.

Even if you already have Perl 5 on your system, you should install the version offered here. Meta-Directory is very particular about the version of Perl it uses.

Step 1: Start the installation program

After you've extracted the perl software, you'll need to run the installation script, install.bat. Open the perl5_0040.. folder (which should be inside the temp folder) and locate the install.bat file. Double-click on this icon to start the installation.

Step 2: Answer the installation questions

Install Perl in the default location, C:\perl.

When asked if you have a C compiler, answer No.

You don't need to install the HTML docs for this exercise, but in real-world environments you probably would.

Near the end of the installation process you should see a message telling you how to set the System Path and what to set it to. Make note of this path.


Step 3: Bring up the system environment window

You'll need to make sure your operating system can find this version of Perl by editing the system path. Go to the main Start button in the lower left-hand corner of your monitor, select Settings, then Control Panel.

Locate the System icon and double-click on it. This should bring up a window like the one shown below. Click on the Environment tab.

For some reason many students fail to set the system path correctly at this point. They either overlook the Set button or they forget to insert a semicolon before the Perl path.

Step 4: Edit the system path

Select Path in the System Variables menu, then edit the corresponding Value: field by adding a semicolon and the path indicated in the Perl installation script during the previous step:

; C:\perl\bin

Click Set then OK when you're done.


Step 5: Verify the new system path

Using the main Windows Start menu, select Programs, then Command Prompt. When the command prompt window appears, enter the MSDOS command "path". That should produce the result shown here:

Now enter the command perl -v. That should confirm that you've installed Perl version 5.004.

If you don't get these results, repeat Step 4 and make sure you've entered the path information correctly.

You can dismiss the command prompt window at this point.


Summary

In this section we installed Perl 5 and set the system path so other software (iMD in particular) knows how to invoke it.

In the next section we'll install Directory Server 4.

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