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Revision 1.13 by root, Tue Dec 7 19:55:56 2010 UTC vs.
Revision 1.67 by root, Fri Aug 4 03:58:52 2023 UTC

1=head1 NAME 1=head1 NAME
2 2
3staticperl - perl, libc, 100 modules, all in one 500kb file 3staticperl - perl, libc, 100 modules, all in one standalone 500kb file
4 4
5=head1 SYNOPSIS 5=head1 SYNOPSIS
6 6
7 staticperl help # print the embedded documentation 7 staticperl help # print the embedded documentation
8 staticperl fetch # fetch and unpack perl sources 8 staticperl fetch # fetch and unpack perl sources
9 staticperl configure # fetch and then configure perl 9 staticperl configure # fetch and then configure perl
10 staticperl build # configure and then build perl 10 staticperl build # configure and then build perl
11 staticperl install # build and then install perl 11 staticperl install # build and then install perl
12 staticperl clean # clean most intermediate files (restart at configure) 12 staticperl clean # clean most intermediate files (restart at configure)
13 staticperl distclean # delete everything installed by this script 13 staticperl distclean # delete everything installed by this script
14 staticperl perl ... # invoke the perlinterpreter
14 staticperl cpan # invoke CPAN shell 15 staticperl cpan # invoke CPAN shell
15 staticperl instmod path... # install unpacked modules 16 staticperl instsrc path... # install unpacked modules
16 staticperl instcpan modulename... # install modules from CPAN 17 staticperl instcpan modulename... # install modules from CPAN
17 staticperl mkbundle <bundle-args...> # see documentation 18 staticperl mkbundle <bundle-args...> # see documentation
18 staticperl mkperl <bundle-args...> # see documentation 19 staticperl mkperl <bundle-args...> # see documentation
20 staticperl mkapp appname <bundle-args...> # see documentation
19 21
20Typical Examples: 22Typical Examples:
21 23
22 staticperl install # fetch, configure, build and install perl 24 staticperl install # fetch, configure, build and install perl
23 staticperl cpan # run interactive cpan shell 25 staticperl cpan # run interactive cpan shell
24 staticperl mkperl -M '"Config_heavy.pl"' # build a perl that supports -V 26 staticperl mkperl -MConfig_heavy.pl # build a perl that supports -V
25 staticperl mkperl -MAnyEvent::Impl::Perl -MAnyEvent::HTTPD -MURI -MURI::http 27 staticperl mkperl -MAnyEvent::Impl::Perl -MAnyEvent::HTTPD -MURI -MURI::http
26 # build a perl with the above modules linked in 28 # build a perl with the above modules linked in
29 staticperl mkapp myapp --boot mainprog mymodules
30 # build a binary "myapp" from mainprog and mymodules
27 31
28=head1 DESCRIPTION 32=head1 DESCRIPTION
29 33
30This script helps you creating single-file perl interpreters, or embedding 34This script helps you to create single-file perl interpreters
31a perl interpreter in your applications. Single-file means that it is 35or applications, or embedding a perl interpreter in your
32fully self-contained - no separate shared objects, no autoload fragments, 36applications. Single-file means that it is fully self-contained - no
33no .pm or .pl files are needed. And when linking statically, you can 37separate shared objects, no autoload fragments, no .pm or .pl files are
34create (or embed) a single file that contains perl interpreter, libc, all 38needed. And when linking statically, you can create (or embed) a single
35the modules you need and all the libraries you need. 39file that contains perl interpreter, libc, all the modules you need, all
40the libraries you need and of course your actual program.
36 41
37With F<uClibc> and F<upx> on x86, you can create a single 500kb binary 42With F<uClibc> and F<upx> on x86, you can create a single 500kb binary
38that contains perl and 100 modules such as POSIX, AnyEvent, EV, IO::AIO, 43that contains perl and 100 modules such as POSIX, AnyEvent, EV, IO::AIO,
39Coro and so on. Or any other choice of modules. 44Coro and so on. Or any other choice of modules (and some other size :).
45
46To see how this turns out, you can try out smallperl and bigperl, two
47pre-built static and compressed perl binaries with many and even more
48modules: just follow the links at L<http://staticperl.schmorp.de/>.
40 49
41The created files do not need write access to the file system (like PAR 50The created files do not need write access to the file system (like PAR
42does). In fact, since this script is in many ways similar to PAR::Packer, 51does). In fact, since this script is in many ways similar to PAR::Packer,
43here are the differences: 52here are the differences:
44 53
63=item * The generated executables don't need a writable filesystem. 72=item * The generated executables don't need a writable filesystem.
64 73
65F<staticperl> loads all required files directly from memory. There is no 74F<staticperl> loads all required files directly from memory. There is no
66need to unpack files into a temporary directory. 75need to unpack files into a temporary directory.
67 76
68=item * More control over included files. 77=item * More control over included files, more burden.
69 78
70PAR tries to be maintenance and hassle-free - it tries to include more 79PAR tries to be maintenance and hassle-free - it tries to include more
71files than necessary to make sure everything works out of the box. The 80files than necessary to make sure everything works out of the box. It
72extra files (such as the unicode database) can take substantial amounts of 81mostly succeeds at this, but he extra files (such as the unicode database)
73memory and file size. 82can take substantial amounts of memory and file size.
74 83
75With F<staticperl>, the burden is mostly with the developer - only direct 84With F<staticperl>, the burden is mostly with the developer - only direct
76compile-time dependencies and L<AutoLoader> are handled automatically. 85compile-time dependencies and L<AutoLoader> are handled automatically.
77This means the modules to include often need to be tweaked manually. 86This means the modules to include often need to be tweaked manually.
87
88All this does not preclude more permissive modes to be implemented in
89the future, but right now, you have to resolve hidden dependencies
90manually.
78 91
79=item * PAR works out of the box, F<staticperl> does not. 92=item * PAR works out of the box, F<staticperl> does not.
80 93
81Maintaining your own custom perl build can be a pain in the ass, and while 94Maintaining your own custom perl build can be a pain in the ass, and while
82F<staticperl> tries to make this easy, it still requires a custom perl 95F<staticperl> tries to make this easy, it still requires a custom perl
103Afterwards, you create a list of files and modules you want to include, 116Afterwards, you create a list of files and modules you want to include,
104and then either build a new perl binary (that acts just like a normal perl 117and then either build a new perl binary (that acts just like a normal perl
105except everything is compiled in), or you create bundle files (basically C 118except everything is compiled in), or you create bundle files (basically C
106sources you can use to embed all files into your project). 119sources you can use to embed all files into your project).
107 120
108This step is very fast (a few seconds if PPI is not used for stripping, 121This step is very fast (a few seconds if PPI is not used for stripping, or
109more seconds otherwise, as PPI is very slow), and can be tweaked and 122the stripped files are in the cache), and can be tweaked and repeated as
110repeated as often as necessary. 123often as necessary.
111 124
112=head1 THE F<STATICPERL> SCRIPT 125=head1 THE F<STATICPERL> SCRIPT
113 126
114This module installs a script called F<staticperl> into your perl 127This module installs a script called F<staticperl> into your perl
115binary directory. The script is fully self-contained, and can be used 128binary directory. The script is fully self-contained, and can be
116without perl (for example, in an uClibc chroot environment). In fact, 129used without perl (for example, in an uClibc/dietlibc/musl chroot
117it can be extracted from the C<App::Staticperl> distribution tarball as 130environment). In fact, it can be extracted from the C<App::Staticperl>
118F<bin/staticperl>, without any installation. 131distribution tarball as F<bin/staticperl>, without any installation. The
132newest (possibly alpha) version can also be downloaded from
133L<http://staticperl.schmorp.de/staticperl>.
119 134
120F<staticperl> interprets the first argument as a command to execute, 135F<staticperl> interprets the first argument as a command to execute,
121optionally followed by any parameters. 136optionally followed by any parameters.
122 137
123There are two command categories: the "phase 1" commands which deal with 138There are two command categories: the "phase 1" commands which deal with
125with creating binaries and bundle files. 140with creating binaries and bundle files.
126 141
127=head2 PHASE 1 COMMANDS: INSTALLING PERL 142=head2 PHASE 1 COMMANDS: INSTALLING PERL
128 143
129The most important command is F<install>, which does basically 144The most important command is F<install>, which does basically
130everything. The default is to download and install perl 5.12.2 and a few 145everything. The default is to download and install perl 5.12.3 and a few
131modules required by F<staticperl> itself, but all this can (and should) be 146modules required by F<staticperl> itself, but all this can (and should) be
132changed - see L<CONFIGURATION>, below. 147changed - see L<CONFIGURATION>, below.
133 148
134The command 149The command
135 150
136 staticperl install 151 staticperl install
137 152
138Is normally all you need: It installs the perl interpreter in 153is normally all you need: It installs the perl interpreter in
139F<~/.staticperl/perl>. It downloads, configures, builds and installs the 154F<~/.staticperl/perl>. It downloads, configures, builds and installs the
140perl interpreter if required. 155perl interpreter if required.
141 156
142Most of the following commands simply run one or more steps of this 157Most of the following F<staticperl> subcommands simply run one or more
143sequence. 158steps of this sequence.
159
160If it fails, then most commonly because the compiler options I selected
161are not supported by your compiler - either edit the F<staticperl> script
162yourself or create F<~/.staticperl> shell script where your set working
163C<PERL_CCFLAGS> etc. variables.
144 164
145To force recompilation or reinstallation, you need to run F<staticperl 165To force recompilation or reinstallation, you need to run F<staticperl
146distclean> first. 166distclean> first.
147 167
148=over 4 168=over 4
149 169
170=item F<staticperl version>
171
172Prints some info about the version of the F<staticperl> script you are using.
173
150=item F<staticperl fetch> 174=item F<staticperl fetch>
151 175
152Runs only the download and unpack phase, unless this has already happened. 176Runs only the download and unpack phase, unless this has already happened.
153 177
154=item F<staticperl configure> 178=item F<staticperl configure>
162 186
163=item F<staticperl install> 187=item F<staticperl install>
164 188
165Wipes the perl installation directory (usually F<~/.staticperl/perl>) and 189Wipes the perl installation directory (usually F<~/.staticperl/perl>) and
166installs the perl distribution, potentially after building it first. 190installs the perl distribution, potentially after building it first.
191
192=item F<staticperl perl> [args...]
193
194Invokes the compiled perl interpreter with the given
195arguments. Basically the same as starting perl directly (usually via
196F<~/.staticperl/bin/perl>), but beats typing the path sometimes.
197
198Example: check that the Gtk2 module is installed and loadable.
199
200 staticperl perl -MGtk2 -e0
167 201
168=item F<staticperl cpan> [args...] 202=item F<staticperl cpan> [args...]
169 203
170Starts an interactive CPAN shell that you can use to install further 204Starts an interactive CPAN shell that you can use to install further
171modules. Installs the perl first if necessary, but apart from that, 205modules. Installs the perl first if necessary, but apart from that,
172no magic is involved: you could just as well run it manually via 206no magic is involved: you could just as well run it manually via
173F<~/.staticperl/perl/bin/cpan>. 207F<~/.staticperl/perl/bin/cpan>, except that F<staticperl> additionally
208sets the environment variable C<$PERL> to the path of the perl
209interpreter, which is handy in subshells.
174 210
175Any additional arguments are simply passed to the F<cpan> command. 211Any additional arguments are simply passed to the F<cpan> command.
176 212
177=item F<staticperl instcpan> module... 213=item F<staticperl instcpan> module...
178 214
191 227
192=item F<staticperl clean> 228=item F<staticperl clean>
193 229
194Deletes the perl source directory (and potentially cleans up other 230Deletes the perl source directory (and potentially cleans up other
195intermediate files). This can be used to clean up files only needed for 231intermediate files). This can be used to clean up files only needed for
196building perl, without removing the installed perl interpreter, or to 232building perl, without removing the installed perl interpreter.
197force a re-build from scratch.
198 233
199At the moment, it doesn't delete downloaded tarballs. 234At the moment, it doesn't delete downloaded tarballs.
235
236The exact semantics of this command will probably change.
200 237
201=item F<staticperl distclean> 238=item F<staticperl distclean>
202 239
203This wipes your complete F<~/.staticperl> directory. Be careful with this, 240This wipes your complete F<~/.staticperl> directory. Be careful with this,
204it nukes your perl download, perl sources, perl distribution and any 241it nukes your perl download, perl sources, perl distribution and any
228 265
229 # first make sure we have perl and the required modules 266 # first make sure we have perl and the required modules
230 staticperl instcpan AnyEvent::HTTPD 267 staticperl instcpan AnyEvent::HTTPD
231 268
232 # now build the perl 269 # now build the perl
233 staticperl mkperl -M'"Config_heavy.pl"' -MAnyEvent::Impl::Perl \ 270 staticperl mkperl -MConfig_heavy.pl -MAnyEvent::Impl::Perl \
234 -MAnyEvent::HTTPD -MURI::http \ 271 -MAnyEvent::HTTPD -MURI::http \
235 --add 'eg/httpd httpd.pm' 272 --add 'eg/httpd httpd.pm'
236 273
237 # finally, invoke it 274 # finally, invoke it
238 ./perl -Mhttpd 275 ./perl -Mhttpd
244(required by L<AnyEvent::HTTPD>) implements various URI schemes as extra 281(required by L<AnyEvent::HTTPD>) implements various URI schemes as extra
245modules - since L<AnyEvent::HTTPD> only needs C<http> URIs, we only need 282modules - since L<AnyEvent::HTTPD> only needs C<http> URIs, we only need
246to include that module. I found out about these dependencies by carefully 283to include that module. I found out about these dependencies by carefully
247watching any error messages about missing modules... 284watching any error messages about missing modules...
248 285
286Instead of building a new perl binary, you can also build a standalone
287application:
288
289 # build the app
290 staticperl mkapp app --boot eg/httpd \
291 -MAnyEvent::Impl::Perl -MAnyEvent::HTTPD -MURI::http
292
293 # run it
294 ./app
295
296Here are the three phase 2 commands:
297
298=over 4
299
300=item F<staticperl mkbundle> args...
301
302The "default" bundle command - it interprets the given bundle options and
303writes out F<bundle.h>, F<bundle.c>, F<bundle.ccopts> and F<bundle.ldopts>
304files, useful for embedding.
305
306=item F<staticperl mkperl> args...
307
308Creates a bundle just like F<staticperl mkbundle> (in fact, it's the same
309as invoking F<staticperl mkbundle --perl> args...), but then compiles and
310links a new perl interpreter that embeds the created bundle, then deletes
311all intermediate files.
312
313=item F<staticperl mkapp> filename args...
314
315Does the same as F<staticperl mkbundle> (in fact, it's the same as
316invoking F<staticperl mkbundle --app> filename args...), but then compiles
317and links a new standalone application that simply initialises the perl
318interpreter.
319
320The difference to F<staticperl mkperl> is that the standalone application
321does not act like a perl interpreter would - in fact, by default it would
322just do nothing and exit immediately, so you should specify some code to
323be executed via the F<--boot> option.
324
325=back
326
249=head3 OPTION PROCESSING 327=head3 OPTION PROCESSING
250 328
251All options can be given as arguments on the command line (typically 329All options can be given as arguments on the command line (typically
252using long (e.g. C<--verbose>) or short option (e.g. C<-v>) style). Since 330using long (e.g. C<--verbose>) or short option (e.g. C<-v>) style). Since
253specifying a lot of modules can make the command line very cumbersome, 331specifying a lot of options can make the command line very long and
254you can put all long options into a "bundle specification file" (with or 332unwieldy, you can put all long options into a "bundle specification file"
255without C<--> prefix) and specify this bundle file instead. 333(one option per line, with or without C<--> prefix) and specify this
334bundle file instead.
256 335
257For example, the command given earlier could also look like this: 336For example, the command given earlier to link a new F<perl> could also
337look like this:
258 338
259 staticperl mkperl httpd.bundle 339 staticperl mkperl httpd.bundle
260 340
261And all options could be in F<httpd.bundle>: 341With all options stored in the F<httpd.bundle> file (one option per line,
262 342everything after the option is an argument):
343
263 use "Config_heavy.pl" 344 use "Config_heavy.pl"
264 use AnyEvent::Impl::Perl 345 use AnyEvent::Impl::Perl
265 use AnyEvent::HTTPD 346 use AnyEvent::HTTPD
266 use URI::http 347 use URI::http
267 add eg/httpd httpd.pm 348 add eg/httpd httpd.pm
268 349
269All options that specify modules or files to be added are processed in the 350All options that specify modules or files to be added are processed in the
270order given on the command line (that affects the C<--use> and C<--eval> 351order given on the command line.
271options at the moment).
272 352
273=head3 MKBUNDLE OPTIONS 353=head3 BUNDLE CREATION WORKFLOW / STATICPERL MKBUNDLE OPTIONS
274 354
275=over 4 355F<staticperl mkbundle> works by first assembling a list of candidate
356files and modules to include, then filtering them by include/exclude
357patterns. The remaining modules (together with their direct dependencies,
358such as link libraries and L<AutoLoader> files) are then converted into
359bundle files suitable for embedding. F<staticperl mkbundle> can then
360optionally build a new perl interpreter or a standalone application.
276 361
362=over 4
363
364=item Step 0: Generic argument processing.
365
366The following options influence F<staticperl mkbundle> itself.
367
368=over 4
369
277=item --verbose | -v 370=item C<--verbose> | C<-v>
278 371
279Increases the verbosity level by one (the default is C<1>). 372Increases the verbosity level by one (the default is C<1>).
280 373
281=item --quiet | -q 374=item C<--quiet> | C<-q>
282 375
283Decreases the verbosity level by one. 376Decreases the verbosity level by one.
284 377
378=item any other argument
379
380Any other argument is interpreted as a bundle specification file, which
381supports all options (without extra quoting), one option per line, in the
382format C<option> or C<option argument>. They will effectively be expanded
383and processed as if they were directly written on the command line, in
384place of the file name.
385
386=back
387
388=item Step 1: gather candidate files and modules
389
390In this step, modules, perl libraries (F<.pl> files) and other files are
391selected for inclusion in the bundle. The relevant options are executed
392in order (this makes a difference mostly for C<--eval>, which can rely on
393earlier C<--use> options to have been executed).
394
395=over 4
396
397=item C<--use> F<module> | C<-M>F<module>
398
399Include the named module or perl library and trace direct
400dependencies. This is done by loading the module in a subprocess and
401tracing which other modules and files it actually loads.
402
403Example: include AnyEvent and AnyEvent::Impl::Perl.
404
405 staticperl mkbundle --use AnyEvent --use AnyEvent::Impl::Perl
406
407Sometimes you want to load old-style "perl libraries" (F<.pl> files), or
408maybe other weirdly named files. To support this, the C<--use> option
409actually tries to do what you mean, depending on the string you specify:
410
411=over 4
412
413=item a possibly valid module name, e.g. F<common::sense>, F<Carp>,
414F<Coro::Mysql>.
415
416If the string contains no quotes, no F</> and no F<.>, then C<--use>
417assumes that it is a normal module name. It will create a new package and
418evaluate a C<use module> in it, i.e. it will load the package and do a
419default import.
420
421The import step is done because many modules trigger more dependencies
422when something is imported than without.
423
424=item anything that contains F</> or F<.> characters,
425e.g. F<utf8_heavy.pl>, F<Module/private/data.pl>.
426
427The string will be quoted and passed to require, as if you used C<require
428$module>. Nothing will be imported.
429
430=item "path" or 'path', e.g. C<"utf8_heavy.pl">.
431
432If you enclose the name into single or double quotes, then the quotes will
433be removed and the resulting string will be passed to require. This syntax
434is form compatibility with older versions of staticperl and should not be
435used anymore.
436
437=back
438
439Example: C<use> AnyEvent::Socket, once using C<use> (importing the
440symbols), and once via C<require>, not importing any symbols. The first
441form is preferred as many modules load some extra dependencies when asked
442to export symbols.
443
444 staticperl mkbundle -MAnyEvent::Socket # use + import
445 staticperl mkbundle -MAnyEvent/Socket.pm # require only
446
447Example: include the required files for F<perl -V> to work in all its
448glory (F<Config.pm> is included automatically by the dependency tracker).
449
450 # shell command
451 staticperl mkbundle -MConfig_heavy.pl
452
453 # bundle specification file
454 use Config_heavy.pl
455
456The C<-M>module syntax is included as a convenience that might be easier
457to remember than C<--use> - it's the same switch as perl itself uses
458to load modules. Or maybe it confuses people. Time will tell. Or maybe
459not. Sigh.
460
461=item C<--eval> "perl code" | C<-e> "perl code"
462
463Sometimes it is easier (or necessary) to specify dependencies using perl
464code, or maybe one of the modules you use need a special use statement. In
465that case, you can use C<--eval> to execute some perl snippet or set some
466variables or whatever you need. All files C<require>'d or C<use>'d while
467executing the snippet are included in the final bundle.
468
469Keep in mind that F<mkbundle> will not import any symbols from the modules
470named by the C<--use> option, so do not expect the symbols from modules
471you C<--use>'d earlier on the command line to be available.
472
473Example: force L<AnyEvent> to detect a backend and therefore include it
474in the final bundle.
475
476 staticperl mkbundle --eval 'use AnyEvent; AnyEvent::detect'
477
478 # or like this
479 staticperl mkbundle -MAnyEvent --eval 'AnyEvent::detect'
480
481Example: use a separate "bootstrap" script that C<use>'s lots of modules
482and also include this in the final bundle, to be executed automatically
483when the interpreter is initialised.
484
485 staticperl mkbundle --eval 'do "bootstrap"' --boot bootstrap
486
487=item C<--boot> F<filename>
488
489Include the given file in the bundle and arrange for it to be
490executed (using C<require>) before the main program when the new perl
491is initialised. This can be used to modify C<@INC> or do similar
492modifications before the perl interpreter executes scripts given on the
493command line (or via C<-e>). This works even in an embedded interpreter -
494the file will be executed during interpreter initialisation in that case.
495
496=item C<--incglob> pattern
497
498This goes through all standard library directories and tries to match any
499F<.pm> and F<.pl> files against the extended glob pattern (see below). If
500a file matches, it is added. The pattern is matched against the full path
501of the file (sans the library directory prefix), e.g. F<Sys/Syslog.pm>.
502
503This is very useful to include "everything":
504
505 --incglob '*'
506
507It is also useful for including perl libraries, or trees of those, such as
508the unicode database files needed by some perl built-ins, the regex engine
509and other modules.
510
511 --incglob '/unicore/**.pl'
512
513=item C<--add> F<file> | C<--add> "F<file> alias"
514
515Adds the given (perl) file into the bundle (and optionally call it
516"alias"). The F<file> is either an absolute path or a path relative to the
517current directory. If an alias is specified, then this is the name it will
518use for C<@INC> searches, otherwise the path F<file> will be used as the
519internal name.
520
521This switch is used to include extra files into the bundle.
522
523Example: embed the file F<httpd> in the current directory as F<httpd.pm>
524when creating the bundle.
525
526 staticperl mkperl --add "httpd httpd.pm"
527
528 # can be accessed via "use httpd"
529
530Example: add a file F<initcode> from the current directory.
531
532 staticperl mkperl --add 'initcode &initcode'
533
534 # can be accessed via "do '&initcode'"
535
536Example: add local files as extra modules in the bundle.
537
538 # specification file
539 add file1 myfiles/file1.pm
540 add file2 myfiles/file2.pm
541 add file3 myfiles/file3.pl
542
543 # then later, in perl, use
544 use myfiles::file1;
545 require myfiles::file2;
546 my $res = do "myfiles/file3.pl";
547
548=item C<--addbin> F<file> | C<--addbin> "F<file> alias"
549
550Just like C<--add>, except that it treats the file as binary and adds it
551without any post-processing (perl files might get stripped to reduce their
552size).
553
554If you specify an alias you should probably add a C</> prefix to avoid
555clashing with embedded perl files (whose paths never start with C</>),
556and/or use a special directory prefix, such as C</res/name>.
557
558You can later get a copy of these files by calling C<static::find
559"alias">.
560
561An alternative way to embed binary files is to convert them to perl and
562use C<do> to get the contents - this method is a bit cumbersome, but works
563both inside and outside of a staticperl bundle, without extra ado:
564
565 # a "binary" file, call it "bindata.pl"
566 <<'SOME_MARKER'
567 binary data NOT containing SOME_MARKER
568 SOME_MARKER
569
570 # load the binary
571 chomp (my $data = do "bindata.pl");
572
573=item C<--allow-dynamic>
574
575By default, when F<mkbundle> hits a dynamic perl extension (e.g. a F<.so>
576or F<.dll> file), it will stop with a fatal error.
577
578When this option is enabled, F<mkbundle> packages the shared
579object into the bundle instead, with a prefix of F<!>
580(e.g. F<!auto/List/Util/Util.so>). What you do with that is currently up
581to you, F<staticperl> has no special support for this at the moment, apart
582from working around the lack of availability of F<PerlIO::scalar> while
583bootstrapping, at a speed cost.
584
585One way to deal with this is to write all files starting with F<!> into
586some directory and then C<unshift> that path onto C<@INC>.
587
588(TODO for future self: write and insert a suitable example here, if
589somebody requests it).
590
591=back
592
593=item Step 2: filter all files using C<--include> and C<--exclude> options.
594
595After all candidate files and modules are added, they are I<filtered>
596by a combination of C<--include> and C<--exclude> patterns (there is an
597implicit C<--include *> at the end, so if no filters are specified, all
598files are included).
599
600All that this step does is potentially reduce the number of files that are
601to be included - no new files are added during this step.
602
603=over 4
604
605=item C<--include> pattern | C<-i> pattern | C<--exclude> pattern | C<-x> pattern
606
607These specify an include or exclude pattern to be applied to the candidate
608file list. An include makes sure that the given files will be part of the
609resulting file set, an exclude will exclude remaining files. The patterns
610are "extended glob patterns" (see below).
611
612The patterns are applied "in order" - files included via earlier
613C<--include> specifications cannot be removed by any following
614C<--exclude>, and likewise, and file excluded by an earlier C<--exclude>
615cannot be added by any following C<--include>.
616
617For example, to include everything except C<Devel> modules, but still
618include F<Devel::PPPort>, you could use this:
619
620 --incglob '*' -i '/Devel/PPPort.pm' -x '/Devel/**'
621
622=back
623
624=item Step 3: add any extra or "hidden" dependencies.
625
626F<staticperl> currently knows about three extra types of depdendencies
627that are added automatically. Only one (F<.packlist> files) is currently
628optional and can be influenced, the others are always included:
629
630=over 4
631
632=item C<--usepacklists>
633
634Read F<.packlist> files for each distribution that happens to match a
635module name you specified. Sounds weird, and it is, so expect semantics to
636change somehow in the future.
637
638The idea is that most CPAN distributions have a F<.pm> file that matches
639the name of the distribution (which is rather reasonable after all).
640
641If this switch is enabled, then if any of the F<.pm> files that have been
642selected match an install distribution, then all F<.pm>, F<.pl>, F<.al>
643and F<.ix> files installed by this distribution are also included.
644
645For example, using this switch, when the L<URI> module is specified, then
646all L<URI> submodules that have been installed via the CPAN distribution
647are included as well, so you don't have to manually specify them.
648
649=item L<AutoLoader> splitfiles
650
651Some modules use L<AutoLoader> - less commonly (hopefully) used functions
652are split into separate F<.al> files, and an index (F<.ix>) file contains
653the prototypes.
654
655Both F<.ix> and F<.al> files will be detected automatically and added to
656the bundle.
657
658=item link libraries (F<.a> files)
659
660Modules using XS (or any other non-perl language extension compiled at
661installation time) will have a static archive (typically F<.a>). These
662will automatically be added to the linker options in F<bundle.ldopts>.
663
664Should F<staticperl> find a dynamic link library (typically F<.so>) it
665will warn about it - obviously this shouldn't happen unless you use
666F<staticperl> on the wrong perl, or one (probably wrongly) configured to
667use dynamic loading.
668
669=item extra libraries (F<extralibs.ld>)
670
671Some modules need linking against external libraries - these are found in
672F<extralibs.ld> and added to F<bundle.ldopts>.
673
674=back
675
676=item Step 4: write bundle files and optionally link a program
677
678At this point, the select files will be read, processed (stripped) and
679finally the bundle files get written to disk, and F<staticperl mkbundle>
680is normally finished. Optionally, it can go a step further and either link
681a new F<perl> binary with all selected modules and files inside, or build
682a standalone application.
683
684Both the contents of the bundle files and any extra linking is controlled
685by these options:
686
687=over 4
688
285=item --strip none|pod|ppi 689=item C<--strip> C<none>|C<pod>|C<ppi>
286 690
287Specify the stripping method applied to reduce the file of the perl 691Specify the stripping method applied to reduce the file of the perl
288sources included. 692sources included.
289 693
290The default is C<pod>, which uses the L<Pod::Strip> module to remove all 694The default is C<pod>, which uses the L<Pod::Strip> module to remove all
291pod documentation, which is very fast and reduces file size a lot. 695pod documentation, which is very fast and reduces file size a lot.
292 696
293The C<ppi> method uses L<PPI> to parse and condense the perl sources. This 697The C<ppi> method uses L<PPI> to parse and condense the perl sources. This
294saves a lot more than just L<Pod::Strip>, and is generally safer, but 698saves a lot more than just L<Pod::Strip>, and is generally safer,
295is also a lot slower, so is best used for production builds. Note that 699but is also a lot slower (some files take almost a minute to strip -
296this method doesn't optimise for raw file size, but for best compression 700F<staticperl> maintains a cache of stripped files to speed up subsequent
297(that means that the uncompressed file size is a bit larger, but the files 701runs for this reason). Note that this method doesn't optimise for raw file
298compress better, e.g. with F<upx>). 702size, but for best compression (that means that the uncompressed file size
703is a bit larger, but the files compress better, e.g. with F<upx>).
299 704
300Last not least, if you need accurate line numbers in error messages, 705Last not least, if you need accurate line numbers in error messages,
301or in the unlikely case where C<pod> is too slow, or some module gets 706or in the unlikely case where C<pod> is too slow, or some module gets
302mistreated, you can specify C<none> to not mangle included perl sources in 707mistreated, you can specify C<none> to not mangle included perl sources in
303any way. 708any way.
304 709
710=item C<--compress> C<none>|C<lzf>
711
712Compress each included library file with C<lzf> (default), or do not
713compress (C<none>). LZF compression typically halves the size of the
714included library data at almost no overhead, but is counterproductive if
715you are using another compression solution such as C<UPX>, so it can be
716disabled.
717
305=item --perl 718=item C<--perl>
306 719
307After writing out the bundle files, try to link a new perl interpreter. It 720After writing out the bundle files, try to link a new perl interpreter. It
308will be called F<perl> and will be left in the current working 721will be called F<perl> and will be left in the current working
309directory. The bundle files will be removed. 722directory. The bundle files will be removed.
310 723
311This switch is automatically used when F<staticperl> is invoked with the 724This switch is automatically used when F<staticperl> is invoked with the
312C<mkperl> command (instead of C<mkbundle>): 725C<mkperl> command instead of C<mkbundle>.
313 726
314 # build a new ./perl with only common::sense in it - very small :) 727Example: build a new F<./perl> binary with only L<common::sense> inside -
728it will be even smaller than the standard perl interpreter as none of the
729modules of the base distribution (such as L<Fcntl>) will be included.
730
315 staticperl mkperl -Mcommon::sense 731 staticperl mkperl -Mcommon::sense
316 732
317=item --use module | -Mmodule 733=item C<--app> F<name>
318 734
319Include the named module and all direct dependencies. This is done by 735After writing out the bundle files, try to link a new standalone
320C<require>'ing the module in a subprocess and tracing which other modules 736program. It will be called C<name>, and the bundle files get removed after
321and files it actually loads. If the module uses L<AutoLoader>, then all 737linking it.
322splitfiles will be included as well.
323 738
324Example: include AnyEvent and AnyEvent::Impl::Perl. 739This switch is automatically used when F<staticperl> is invoked with the
740C<mkapp> command instead of C<mkbundle>.
325 741
326 staticperl mkbundle --use AnyEvent --use AnyEvent::Impl::Perl 742The difference to the (mutually exclusive) C<--perl> option is that the
743binary created by this option will not try to act as a perl interpreter -
744instead it will simply initialise the perl interpreter, clean it up and
745exit.
327 746
328Sometimes you want to load old-style "perl libraries" (F<.pl> files), or 747This means that, by default, it will do nothing but burn a few CPU cycles
329maybe other weirdly named files. To do that, you need to quote the name in 748- for it to do something useful you I<must> add some boot code, e.g. with
330single or double quotes. When given on the command line, you probably need 749the C<--boot> option.
331to quote once more to avoid your shell interpreting it. Common cases that
332need this are F<Config_heavy.pl> and F<utf8_heavy.pl>.
333 750
334Example: include the required files for F<perl -V> to work in all its 751Example: create a standalone perl binary called F<./myexe> that will
335glory (F<Config.pm> is included automatically by this). 752execute F<appfile> when it is started.
336 753
337 # bourne shell 754 staticperl mkbundle --app myexe --boot appfile
338 staticperl mkbundle --use '"Config_heavy.pl"'
339 755
340 # bundle specification file 756=item C<--ignore-env>
341 use "Config_heavy.pl"
342 757
343The C<-Mmodule> syntax is included as an alias that might be easier to 758Generates extra code to unset some environment variables before
344remember than C<use>. Or maybe it confuses people. Time will tell. Or 759initialising/running perl. Perl supports a lot of environment variables
345maybe not. Argh. 760that might alter execution in ways that might be undesirable for
761standalone applications, and this option removes those known to cause
762trouble.
346 763
347=item --eval "perl code" | -e "perl code" 764Specifically, these are removed:
348 765
349Sometimes it is easier (or necessary) to specify dependencies using perl 766C<PERL_HASH_SEED_DEBUG> and C<PERL_DEBUG_MSTATS> can cause undesirable
350code, or maybe one of the modules you use need a special use statement. In 767output, C<PERL5OPT>, C<PERL_DESTRUCT_LEVEL>, C<PERL_HASH_SEED> and
351that case, you can use C<eval> to execute some perl snippet or set some 768C<PERL_SIGNALS> can alter execution significantly, and C<PERL_UNICODE>,
352variables or whatever you need. All files C<require>'d or C<use>'d in the 769C<PERLIO_DEBUG> and C<PERLIO> can affect input and output.
353script are included in the final bundle.
354 770
355Keep in mind that F<mkbundle> will only C<require> the modules named 771The variables C<PERL_LIB> and C<PERL5_LIB> are always ignored because the
356by the C<--use> option, so do not expect the symbols from modules you 772startup code used by F<staticperl> overrides C<@INC> in all cases.
357C<--use>'d earlier on the command line to be available.
358 773
359Example: force L<AnyEvent> to detect a backend and therefore include it 774This option will not make your program more secure (unless you are
360in the final bundle. 775running with elevated privileges), but it will reduce the surprise effect
776when a user has these environment variables set and doesn't expect your
777standalone program to act like a perl interpreter.
361 778
362 staticperl mkbundle --eval 'use AnyEvent; AnyEvent::detect'
363
364 # or like this
365 staticperl mkbundle -MAnyEvent --eval 'use AnyEvent; AnyEvent::detect'
366
367Example: use a separate "bootstrap" script that C<use>'s lots of modules
368and include this in the final bundle, to be executed automatically.
369
370 staticperl mkbundle --eval 'do "bootstrap"' --boot bootstrap
371
372=item --boot filename
373
374Include the given file in the bundle and arrange for it to be executed
375(using a C<require>) before anything else when the new perl is
376initialised. This can be used to modify C<@INC> or anything else before
377the perl interpreter executes scripts given on the command line (or via
378C<-e>). This works even in an embedded interpreter.
379
380=item --add "file" | --add "file alias"
381
382Adds the given (perl) file into the bundle (and optionally call it
383"alias"). This is useful to include any custom files into the bundle.
384
385Example: embed the file F<httpd> as F<httpd.pm> when creating the bundle.
386
387 staticperl mkperl --add "httpd httpd.pm"
388
389It is also a great way to add any custom modules:
390
391 # specification file
392 add file1 myfiles/file1
393 add file2 myfiles/file2
394 add file3 myfiles/file3
395
396=item --binadd "file" | --add "file alias"
397
398Just like C<--add>, except that it treats the file as binary and adds it
399without any processing.
400
401You should probably add a C</> prefix to avoid clashing with embedded
402perl files (whose paths do not start with C</>), and/or use a special
403directory, such as C</res/name>.
404
405You can later get a copy of these files by calling C<staticperl::find
406"alias">.
407
408=item --static 779=item C<--static>
409 780
410When C<--perl> is also given, link statically instead of dynamically. The 781Add C<-static> to F<bundle.ldopts>, which means a fully static (if
782supported by the OS) executable will be created. This is not immensely
783useful when just creating the bundle files, but is most useful when
784linking a binary with the C<--perl> or C<--app> options.
785
411default is to link the new perl interpreter fully dynamic (that means all 786The default is to link the new binary dynamically (that means all perl
412perl modules are linked statically, but all external libraries are still 787modules are linked statically, but all external libraries are still
413referenced dynamically). 788referenced dynamically).
414 789
415Keep in mind that Solaris doesn't support static linking at all, and 790Keep in mind that Solaris doesn't support static linking at all, and
416systems based on GNU libc don't really support it in a usable fashion 791systems based on GNU libc don't really support it in a very usable fashion
417either. Try uClibc if you want to create fully statically linked 792either. Try dietlibc or musl if you want to create fully statically linked
418executables, or try the C<--staticlibs> option to link only some libraries 793executables, or try the C<--staticlib> option to link only some libraries
419statically. 794statically.
420 795
421=item any other argument 796=item C<--staticlib> libname
422 797
423Any other argument is interpreted as a bundle specification file, which 798When not linking fully statically, this option allows you to link specific
424supports most long options (without extra quoting), one option per line. 799libraries statically. What it does is simply replace all occurrences of
800C<-llibname> with the GCC-specific C<-Wl,-Bstatic -llibname -Wl,-Bdynamic>
801option.
425 802
426=back 803This will have no effect unless the library is actually linked against,
804specifically, C<--staticlib> will not link against the named library
805unless it would be linked against anyway.
427 806
807Example: link libcrypt statically into the final binary.
808
809 staticperl mkperl -MIO::AIO --staticlib crypt
810
811 # ldopts might now contain:
812 # -lm -Wl,-Bstatic -lcrypt -Wl,-Bdynamic -lpthread
813
814=item C<--extra-cflags> string
815
816Specifies extra compiler flags, used when compiling the bundle file. The
817flags are appended to all the existing flags, so can be sued to override
818settings.
819
820=item C<--extra-ldflags> string
821
822Specifies extra linker flags, used when linking the bundle.
823
824=item C<--extra-libs> string
825
826Extra linker flags, appended at the end when linking. The difference to
827C<--extra-ldflags> is that the ldflags are appended to the flags, before
828the objects and libraries, and the extra libs are added at the end.
829
830=back
831
832=back
833
834=head3 EXTENDED GLOB PATTERNS
835
836Some options of F<staticperl mkbundle> expect an I<extended glob
837pattern>. This is neither a normal shell glob nor a regex, but something
838in between. The idea has been copied from rsync, and there are the current
839matching rules:
840
841=over 4
842
843=item Patterns starting with F</> will be a anchored at the root of the library tree.
844
845That is, F</unicore> will match the F<unicore> directory in C<@INC>, but
846nothing inside, and neither any other file or directory called F<unicore>
847anywhere else in the hierarchy.
848
849=item Patterns not starting with F</> will be anchored at the end of the path.
850
851That is, F<idna.pl> will match any file called F<idna.pl> anywhere in the
852hierarchy, but not any directories of the same name.
853
854=item A F<*> matches anything within a single path component.
855
856That is, F</unicore/*.pl> would match all F<.pl> files directly inside
857C</unicore>, not any deeper level F<.pl> files. Or in other words, F<*>
858will not match slashes.
859
860=item A F<**> matches anything.
861
862That is, F</unicore/**.pl> would match all F<.pl> files under F</unicore>,
863no matter how deeply nested they are inside subdirectories.
864
865=item A F<?> matches a single character within a component.
866
867That is, F</Encode/??.pm> matches F</Encode/JP.pm>, but not the
868hypothetical F</Encode/J/.pm>, as F<?> does not match F</>.
869
870=back
871
428=head2 F<STATCPERL> CONFIGURATION AND HOOKS 872=head2 F<STATICPERL> CONFIGURATION AND HOOKS
429 873
430During (each) startup, F<staticperl> tries to source the following shell 874During (each) startup, F<staticperl> tries to source some shell files to
431files in order: 875allow you to fine-tune/override configuration settings.
876
877In them you can override shell variables, or define shell functions
878("hooks") to be called at specific phases during installation. For
879example, you could define a C<postinstall> hook to install additional
880modules from CPAN each time you start from scratch.
881
882If the environment variable C<$STATICPERLRC> is set, then F<staticperl>
883will try to source the file named with it only. Otherwise, it tries the
884following shell files in order:
432 885
433 /etc/staticperlrc 886 /etc/staticperlrc
434 ~/.staticperlrc 887 ~/.staticperlrc
435 $STATICPERL/rc 888 $STATICPERL/rc
436 889
437They can be used to override shell variables, or define functions to be
438called at specific phases.
439
440Note that the last file is erased during F<staticperl distclean>, so 890Note that the last file is erased during F<staticperl distclean>, so
441generally should not be used. 891generally should not be used.
442 892
443=head3 CONFIGURATION VARIABLES 893=head3 CONFIGURATION VARIABLES
444 894
476=item C<STATICPERL> 926=item C<STATICPERL>
477 927
478The directory where staticperl stores all its files 928The directory where staticperl stores all its files
479(default: F<~/.staticperl>). 929(default: F<~/.staticperl>).
480 930
931=item C<DLCACHE>
932
933The path to a directory (will be created if it doesn't exist) where
934downloaded perl sources are being cached, to avoid downloading them
935again. The default is empty, which means there is no cache.
936
937=item C<PERL_VERSION>
938
939The perl version to install - C<5.12.5> is a good choice for small builds,
940but C<5.8.9> is also a good choice (5.8.9 is much smaller than 5.12.5), if
941it builds on your system.
942
943You can also set this variable to the absolute URL of a tarball (F<.tar>,
944F<.tar.gz>, F<.tar.bz2>, F<.tar.lzma> or F<.tar.xz>), or to the absolute
945path of an unpacked perl source tree, which will be copied.
946
947The default is currently
948F<http://stableperl.schmorp.de/dist/latest.tar.gz>, i.e. the latest
949stableperl release.
950
481=item C<PERL_MM_USE_DEFAULT>, C<EV_EXTRA_DEFS>, ... 951=item C<PERL_MM_USE_DEFAULT>, C<EV_EXTRA_DEFS>, ...
482 952
483Usually set to C<1> to make modules "less inquisitive" during their 953Usually set to C<1> to make modules "less inquisitive" during their
484installation, you can set any environment variable you want - some modules 954installation. You can set (and export!) any environment variable you want
485(such as L<Coro> or L<EV>) use environment variables for further tweaking. 955- some modules (such as L<Coro> or L<EV>) use environment variables for
486 956further tweaking.
487=item C<PERL_VERSION>
488
489The perl version to install - default is currently C<5.12.2>, but C<5.8.9>
490is also a good choice (5.8.9 is much smaller than 5.12.2, while 5.10.1 is
491about as big as 5.12.2).
492 957
493=item C<PERL_PREFIX> 958=item C<PERL_PREFIX>
494 959
495The prefix where perl gets installed (default: F<$STATICPERL/perl>), 960The directory where perl gets installed (default: F<$STATICPERL/perl>),
496i.e. where the F<bin> and F<lib> subdirectories will end up. 961i.e. where the F<bin> and F<lib> subdirectories will end up. Previous
962contents will be removed on installation.
497 963
498=item C<PERL_CONFIGURE> 964=item C<PERL_CONFIGURE>
499 965
500Additional Configure options - these are simply passed to the perl 966Additional Configure options - these are simply passed to the perl
501Configure script. For example, if you wanted to enable dynamic loading, 967Configure script. For example, if you wanted to enable dynamic loading,
502you could pass C<-Dusedl>. To enable ithreads (Why would you want that 968you could pass C<-Dusedl>. To enable ithreads (Why would you want that
503insanity? Don't! Use L<forks> instead!) you would pass C<-Duseithreads> 969insanity? Don't! Use L<Coro> or L<forks> instead!) you would pass
504and so on. 970C<-Duseithreads> and so on.
505 971
506More commonly, you would either activate 64 bit integer support 972More commonly, you would either activate 64 bit integer support
507(C<-Duse64bitint>), or disable large files support (-Uuselargefiles), to 973(C<-Duse64bitint>), or disable large files support (C<-Uuselargefiles>),
508reduce filesize further. 974to reduce file size further.
509 975
510=item C<PERL_CPPFLAGS>, C<PERL_OPTIMIZE>, C<PERL_LDFLAGS>, C<PERL_LIBS> 976=item C<PERL_CC>, C<PERL_CCFLAGS>, C<PERL_OPTIMIZE>, C<PERL_LDFLAGS>, C<PERL_LIBS>
511 977
512These flags are passed to perl's F<Configure> script, and are generally 978These flags are passed to perl's F<Configure> script, and are generally
513optimised for small size (at the cost of performance). Since they also 979optimised for small size (at the cost of performance). Since they also
514contain subtle workarounds around various build issues, changing these 980contain subtle workarounds around various build issues, changing these
515usually requires understanding their default values - best look at the top 981usually requires understanding their default values - best look at
516of the F<staticperl> script for more info on these. 982the top of the F<staticperl> script for more info on these, and use a
983F<~/.staticperlrc> to override them.
984
985Most of the variables override (or modify) the corresponding F<Configure>
986variable, except C<PERL_CCFLAGS>, which gets appended.
987
988The default for C<PERL_OPTIMIZE> is C<-Os> (assuming gcc or compatible
989compilers), and for C<PERL_LIBS> is C<-lm -lcrypt>, which should be good
990for most (but not all) systems.
991
992For other compilers or more customised optimisation settings, you need to
993adjust these, e.g. in your F<~/.staticperlrc>.
994
995With gcc on x86 and amd64, you can often get more space-savings by using:
996
997 -Os -ffunction-sections -fdata-sections -finline-limit=8 -mpush-args
998 -mno-inline-stringops-dynamically -mno-align-stringops
999
1000And on x86 and pentium3 and newer (basically everything you might ever
1001want to run on), adding these is even better for space-savings (use
1002C<-mtune=core2> or something newer for much faster code, too):
1003
1004 -fomit-frame-pointer -march=pentium3 -mtune=i386
517 1005
518=back 1006=back
519 1007
520=head4 Variables you probably I<do not want> to override 1008=head4 Variables you probably I<do not want> to override
521 1009
522=over 4 1010=over 4
1011
1012=item C<MAKE>
1013
1014The make command to use - default is C<make>.
523 1015
524=item C<MKBUNDLE> 1016=item C<MKBUNDLE>
525 1017
526Where F<staticperl> writes the C<mkbundle> command to 1018Where F<staticperl> writes the C<mkbundle> command to
527(default: F<$STATICPERL/mkbundle>). 1019(default: F<$STATICPERL/mkbundle>).
536=head3 OVERRIDABLE HOOKS 1028=head3 OVERRIDABLE HOOKS
537 1029
538In addition to environment variables, it is possible to provide some 1030In addition to environment variables, it is possible to provide some
539shell functions that are called at specific times. To provide your own 1031shell functions that are called at specific times. To provide your own
540commands, just define the corresponding function. 1032commands, just define the corresponding function.
1033
1034The actual order in which hooks are invoked during a full install
1035from scratch is C<preconfigure>, C<patchconfig>, C<postconfigure>,
1036C<postbuild>, C<postinstall>.
541 1037
542Example: install extra modules from CPAN and from some directories 1038Example: install extra modules from CPAN and from some directories
543at F<staticperl install> time. 1039at F<staticperl install> time.
544 1040
545 postinstall() { 1041 postinstall() {
552 1048
553=over 4 1049=over 4
554 1050
555=item preconfigure 1051=item preconfigure
556 1052
557Called just before running F<./Configur> in the perl source 1053Called just before running F<./Configure> in the perl source
558directory. Current working directory is the perl source directory. 1054directory. Current working directory is the perl source directory.
559 1055
560This can be used to set any C<PERL_xxx> variables, which might be costly 1056This can be used to set any C<PERL_xxx> variables, which might be costly
561to compute. 1057to compute.
562 1058
1059=item patchconfig
1060
1061Called after running F<./Configure> in the perl source directory to create
1062F<./config.sh>, but before running F<./Configure -S> to actually apply the
1063config. Current working directory is the perl source directory.
1064
1065Can be used to tailor/patch F<config.sh> or do any other modifications.
1066
563=item postconfigure 1067=item postconfigure
564 1068
565Called after configuring, but before building perl. Current working 1069Called after configuring, but before building perl. Current working
566directory is the perl source directory. 1070directory is the perl source directory.
567 1071
568Could be used to tailor/patch config.sh (followed by F<sh Configure -S>)
569or do any other modifications.
570
571=item postbuild 1072=item postbuild
572 1073
573Called after building, but before installing perl. Current working 1074Called after building, but before installing perl. Current working
574directory is the perl source directory. 1075directory is the perl source directory.
575 1076
576I have no clue what this could be used for - tell me. 1077I have no clue what this could be used for - tell me.
1078
1079=item postcpanconfig
1080
1081Called just after CPAN has been configured, but before it has been used to
1082install anything. You can further change the configuration like this:
1083
1084 "$PERL_PREFIX"/bin/perl -MCPAN::MyConfig -MCPAN -e '
1085 CPAN::Shell->o (conf => urllist => push => "'"$CPAN"'");
1086 ' || fatal "error while initialising CPAN in postcpanconfig"
577 1087
578=item postinstall 1088=item postinstall
579 1089
580Called after perl and any extra modules have been installed in C<$PREFIX>, 1090Called after perl and any extra modules have been installed in C<$PREFIX>,
581but before setting the "installation O.K." flag. 1091but before setting the "installation O.K." flag.
612A header file that contains the prototypes of the few symbols "exported" 1122A header file that contains the prototypes of the few symbols "exported"
613by bundle.c, and also exposes the perl headers to the application. 1123by bundle.c, and also exposes the perl headers to the application.
614 1124
615=over 4 1125=over 4
616 1126
617=item staticperl_init () 1127=item staticperl_init (xs_init = 0)
618 1128
619Initialises the perl interpreter. You can use the normal perl functions 1129Initialises the perl interpreter. You can use the normal perl functions
620after calling this function, for example, to define extra functions or 1130after calling this function, for example, to define extra functions or
621to load a .pm file that contains some initialisation code, or the main 1131to load a .pm file that contains some initialisation code, or the main
622program function: 1132program function:
629 } 1139 }
630 1140
631 static void 1141 static void
632 run_myapp(void) 1142 run_myapp(void)
633 { 1143 {
634 staticperl_init (); 1144 staticperl_init (0);
635 newXSproto ("myapp::xsfunction", xsfunction, __FILE__, "$$;$"); 1145 newXSproto ("myapp::xsfunction", xsfunction, __FILE__, "$$;$");
636 eval_pv ("require myapp::main", 1); // executes "myapp/main.pm" 1146 eval_pv ("require myapp::main", 1); // executes "myapp/main.pm"
637 } 1147 }
638 1148
1149When your boot code already wants to access some XS functions at compile
1150time, then you need to supply an C<xs_init> function pointer that is
1151called as soon as perl is initialised enough to define XS functions, but
1152before the preamble code is executed:
1153
1154 static void
1155 xs_init (pTHX)
1156 {
1157 newXSproto ("myapp::xsfunction", xsfunction, __FILE__, "$$;$");
1158 }
1159
1160 static void
1161 run_myapp(void)
1162 {
1163 staticperl_init (xs_init);
1164 }
1165
1166=item staticperl_cleanup ()
1167
1168In the unlikely case that you want to destroy the perl interpreter, here
1169is the corresponding function.
1170
639=item staticperl_xs_init (pTHX) 1171=item staticperl_xs_init (pTHX)
640 1172
641Sometimes you need direct control over C<perl_parse> and C<perl_run>, in 1173Sometimes you need direct control over C<perl_parse> and C<perl_run>, in
642which case you do not want to use C<staticperl_init> but call them on your 1174which case you do not want to use C<staticperl_init> but call them on your
643own. 1175own.
644 1176
645Then you need this function - either pass it directly as the C<xs_init> 1177Then you need this function - either pass it directly as the C<xs_init>
646function to C<perl_parse>, or call it from your own C<xs_init> function. 1178function to C<perl_parse>, or call it as one of the first things from your
647 1179own C<xs_init> function.
648=item staticperl_cleanup ()
649
650In the unlikely case that you want to destroy the perl interpreter, here
651is the corresponding function.
652 1180
653=item PerlInterpreter *staticperl 1181=item PerlInterpreter *staticperl
654 1182
655The perl interpreter pointer used by staticperl. Not normally so useful, 1183The perl interpreter pointer used by staticperl. Not normally so useful,
656but there it is. 1184but there it is.
669 1197
670=back 1198=back
671 1199
672=head1 RUNTIME FUNCTIONALITY 1200=head1 RUNTIME FUNCTIONALITY
673 1201
674Binaries created with C<mkbundle>/C<mkperl> contain extra functions, which 1202Binaries created with C<mkbundle>/C<mkperl> contain extra functionality,
675are required to access the bundled perl sources, but might be useful for 1203mostly related to the extra files bundled in the binary (the virtual
676other purposes. 1204filesystem). All of this data is statically compiled into the binary, and
1205accessing means copying it from a read-only section of your binary. Data
1206pages in this way are usually freed by the operating system, as they aren't
1207used more then once.
1208
1209=head2 VIRTUAL FILESYSTEM
1210
1211Every bundle has a virtual filesystem. The only information stored in it
1212is the path and contents of each file that was bundled.
1213
1214=head3 LAYOUT
1215
1216Any paths starting with an ampersand (F<&>) or exclamation mark (F<!>) are
1217reserved by F<staticperl>. They must only be used as described in this
1218section.
1219
1220=over 4
1221
1222=item !
1223
1224All files that typically cannot be loaded from memory (such as dynamic
1225objects or shared libraries), but have to reside in the filesystem, are
1226prefixed with F<!>. Typically these files get written out to some
1227(semi-)temporary directory shortly after program startup, or before being
1228used.
1229
1230=item !boot
1231
1232The bootstrap file, if specified during bundling.
1233
1234=item !auto/
1235
1236Shared objects or dlls corresponding to dynamically-linked perl extensions
1237are stored with an F<!auto/> prefix.
1238
1239=item !lib/
1240
1241External shared libraries are stored in this directory.
1242
1243=item any letter
1244
1245Any path starting with a letter is a perl library file. For example,
1246F<Coro/AIO.pm> corresponds to the file loaded by C<use Coro::AIO>, and
1247F<Coro/jit.pl> corresponds to C<require "Coro/jit.pl">.
1248
1249Obviously, module names shouldn't start with any other characters than
1250letters :)
1251
1252=back
1253
1254=head3 FUNCTIONS
1255
1256=over 4
1257
1258=item $file = static::find $path
1259
1260Returns the data associated with the given C<$path>
1261(e.g. C<Digest/MD5.pm>, C<auto/POSIX/autosplit.ix>).
1262
1263Returns C<undef> if the file isn't embedded.
1264
1265=item @paths = static::list
1266
1267Returns the list of all paths embedded in this binary.
1268
1269=back
1270
1271=head2 EXTRA FEATURES
677 1272
678In addition, for the embedded loading of perl files to work, F<staticperl> 1273In addition, for the embedded loading of perl files to work, F<staticperl>
679overrides the C<@INC> array. 1274overrides the C<@INC> array.
680 1275
681=over 4
682
683=item $file = staticperl::find $path
684
685Returns the data associated with the given C<$path>
686(e.g. C<Digest/MD5.pm>, C<auto/POSIX/autosplit.ix>), which is basically
687the UNIX path relative to the perl library directory.
688
689Returns C<undef> if the file isn't embedded.
690
691=item @paths = staticperl::list
692
693Returns the list of all paths embedded in this binary.
694
695=back
696
697=head1 FULLY STATIC BINARIES - BUILDROOT 1276=head1 FULLY STATIC BINARIES - ALPINE LINUX
698 1277
699To make truly static (Linux-) libraries, you might want to have a look at 1278This section once contained a way to build fully static (including
700buildroot (L<http://buildroot.uclibc.org/>). 1279uClibc) binaries with buildroot. Unfortunately, buildroot no longer
1280supports a compiler, so I recommend using alpine linux instead
1281(L<http://alpinelinux.org/>). Get yourself a VM (e.g. with qemu), run an
1282older alpine linux verison in it (e.g. 2.4), copy staticperl inside and
1283use it.
701 1284
702Buildroot is primarily meant to set up a cross-compile environment (which 1285The reason you might want an older alpine linux is that uClibc can be
703is not so useful as perl doesn't quite like cross compiles), but it can also compile 1286quite dependent on kernel versions, so the newest version of alpine linux
704a chroot environment where you can use F<staticperl>. 1287might need a newer kernel then you might want for, if you plan to run your
1288binaries on on other kernels.
705 1289
706To do so, download buildroot, and enable "Build options => development 1290=head1 RECIPES / SPECIFIC MODULES
707files in target filesystem" and optionally "Build options => gcc
708optimization level (optimize for size)". At the time of writing, I had
709good experiences with GCC 4.4.x but not GCC 4.5.
710 1291
711To minimise code size, I used C<-pipe -ffunction-sections -fdata-sections 1292This section contains some common(?) recipes and information about
712-finline-limit=8 -fno-builtin-strlen -mtune=i386>. The C<-mtune=i386> 1293problems with some common modules or perl constructs that require extra
713doesn't decrease codesize much, but it makes the file much more 1294files to be included.
714compressible.
715 1295
716If you don't need Coro or threads, you can go with "linuxthreads.old" (or 1296=head2 MODULES
717no thread support). For Coro, it is highly recommended to switch to a
718uClibc newer than 0.9.31 (at the time of this writing, I used the 20101201
719snapshot) and enable NPTL, otherwise Coro needs to be configured with the
720ultra-slow pthreads backend to work around linuxthreads bugs (it also uses
721twice the address space needed for stacks).
722 1297
723If you use C<linuxthreads.old>, then you should also be aware that 1298=over 4
724uClibc shares C<errno> between all threads when statically linking. See
725L<http://lists.uclibc.org/pipermail/uclibc/2010-June/044157.html> for a
726workaround (And L<https://bugs.uclibc.org/2089> for discussion).
727 1299
728C<ccache> support is also recommended, especially if you want 1300=item utf8
729to play around with buildroot options. Enabling the C<miniperl>
730package will probably enable all options required for a successful
731perl build. F<staticperl> itself additionally needs either C<wget>
732(recommended, for CPAN) or C<curl>.
733 1301
734As for shells, busybox should provide all that is needed, but the default 1302Some functionality in the C<utf8> module, such as swash handling
735busybox configuration doesn't include F<comm> which is needed by perl - 1303(used for unicode character ranges in regexes) is implemented in the
736either make a custom busybox config, or compile coreutils. 1304C<utf8_heavy.pl> library:
737 1305
738For the latter route, you might find that bash has some bugs that keep 1306 -Mutf8_heavy.pl
739it from working properly in a chroot - either use dash (and link it to
740F</bin/sh> inside the chroot) or link busybox to F</bin/sh>, using it's
741built-in ash shell.
742 1307
743Finally, you need F</dev/null> inside the chroot for many scripts to work 1308Many Unicode properties in turn are defined in separate modules,
744- F<cp /dev/null output/target/dev> or bind-mounting your F</dev> will 1309such as C<unicore/Heavy.pl> and more specific data tables such as
745both provide this. 1310C<unicore/To/Digit.pl> or C<unicore/lib/Perl/Word.pl>. These tables
1311are big (7MB uncompressed, although F<staticperl> contains special
1312handling for those files), so including them only on demand in your
1313application might pay off.
746 1314
747After you have compiled and set up your buildroot target, you can copy 1315To simply include the whole unicode database, use:
748F<staticperl> from the C<App::Staticperl> distribution or from your 1316
749perl f<bin> directory (if you installed it) into the F<output/target> 1317 --incglob '/unicore/**.pl'
750filesystem, chroot inside and run it. 1318
1319=item AnyEvent
1320
1321AnyEvent needs a backend implementation that it will load in a delayed
1322fashion. The L<AnyEvent::Impl::Perl> backend is the default choice
1323for AnyEvent if it can't find anything else, and is usually a safe
1324fallback. If you plan to use e.g. L<EV> (L<POE>...), then you need to
1325include the L<AnyEvent::Impl::EV> (L<AnyEvent::Impl::POE>...) backend as
1326well.
1327
1328If you want to handle IRIs or IDNs (L<AnyEvent::Util> punycode and idn
1329functions), you also need to include C<"AnyEvent/Util/idna.pl"> and
1330C<"AnyEvent/Util/uts46data.pl">.
1331
1332Or you can use C<--usepacklists> and specify C<-MAnyEvent> to include
1333everything.
1334
1335=item Cairo
1336
1337See Glib, same problem, same solution.
1338
1339=item Carp
1340
1341Carp had (in older versions of perl) a dependency on L<Carp::Heavy>. As of
1342perl 5.12.2 (maybe earlier), this dependency no longer exists.
1343
1344=item Config
1345
1346The F<perl -V> switch (as well as many modules) needs L<Config>, which in
1347turn might need L<"Config_heavy.pl">. Including the latter gives you
1348both.
1349
1350=item Glib
1351
1352Glib literally requires Glib to be installed already to build - it tries
1353to fake this by running Glib out of the build directory before being
1354built. F<staticperl> tries to work around this by forcing C<MAN1PODS> and
1355C<MAN3PODS> to be empty via the C<PERL_MM_OPT> environment variable.
1356
1357=item Gtk2
1358
1359See Pango, same problems, same solution.
1360
1361=item Net::SSLeay
1362
1363This module hasn't been significantly updated since OpenSSL is called
1364OpenSSL, and fails to properly link against dependent libraries, most
1365commonly, it forgets to specify C<-ldl> when linking.
1366
1367On GNU/Linux systems this usually goes undetected, as perl usually links
1368against C<-ldl> itself and OpenSSL just happens to pick it up that way, by
1369chance.
1370
1371For static builds, you either have to configure C<-ldl> manually, or you
1372can use the following snippet in your C<postinstall> hook which patches
1373Net::SSLeay after installation, which happens to work most of the time:
1374
1375 postinstall() {
1376 # first install it
1377 instcpan Net::SSLeay
1378 # then add -ldl for future linking
1379 chmod u+w "$PERL_PREFIX"/lib/auto/Net/SSLeay/extralibs.ld
1380 echo " -ldl" >>"$PERL_PREFIX"/lib/auto/Net/SSLeay/extralibs.ld
1381 }
1382
1383=item Pango
1384
1385In addition to the C<MAN3PODS> problem in Glib, Pango also routes around
1386L<ExtUtils::MakeMaker> by compiling its files on its own. F<staticperl>
1387tries to patch L<ExtUtils::MM_Unix> to route around Pango.
1388
1389=item Term::ReadLine::Perl
1390
1391Also needs L<Term::ReadLine::readline>, or C<--usepacklists>.
1392
1393=item URI
1394
1395URI implements schemes as separate modules - the generic URL scheme is
1396implemented in L<URI::_generic>, HTTP is implemented in L<URI::http>. If
1397you need to use any of these schemes, you should include these manually,
1398or use C<--usepacklists>.
1399
1400=back
1401
1402=head2 RECIPES
1403
1404=over 4
1405
1406=item Just link everything in
1407
1408To link just about everything installed in the perl library into a new
1409perl, try this (the first time this runs it will take a long time, as a
1410lot of files need to be parsed):
1411
1412 staticperl mkperl -v --strip ppi --incglob '*'
1413
1414If you don't mind the extra megabytes, this can be a very effective way of
1415creating bundles without having to worry about forgetting any modules.
1416
1417You get even more useful variants of this method by first selecting
1418everything, and then excluding stuff you are reasonable sure not to need -
1419L<bigperl|http://staticperl.schmorp.de/bigperl.html> uses this approach.
1420
1421=item Getting rid of netdb functions
1422
1423The perl core has lots of netdb functions (C<getnetbyname>, C<getgrent>
1424and so on) that few applications use. You can avoid compiling them in by
1425putting the following fragment into a C<preconfigure> hook:
1426
1427 preconfigure() {
1428 for sym in \
1429 d_getgrnam_r d_endgrent d_endgrent_r d_endhent \
1430 d_endhostent_r d_endnent d_endnetent_r d_endpent \
1431 d_endprotoent_r d_endpwent d_endpwent_r d_endsent \
1432 d_endservent_r d_getgrent d_getgrent_r d_getgrgid_r \
1433 d_getgrnam_r d_gethbyaddr d_gethent d_getsbyport \
1434 d_gethostbyaddr_r d_gethostbyname_r d_gethostent_r \
1435 d_getlogin_r d_getnbyaddr d_getnbyname d_getnent \
1436 d_getnetbyaddr_r d_getnetbyname_r d_getnetent_r \
1437 d_getpent d_getpbyname d_getpbynumber d_getprotobyname_r \
1438 d_getprotobynumber_r d_getprotoent_r d_getpwent \
1439 d_getpwent_r d_getpwnam_r d_getpwuid_r d_getsent \
1440 d_getservbyname_r d_getservbyport_r d_getservent_r \
1441 d_getspnam_r d_getsbyname
1442 # d_gethbyname
1443 do
1444 PERL_CONFIGURE="$PERL_CONFIGURE -U$sym"
1445 done
1446 }
1447
1448This mostly gains space when linking statically, as the functions will
1449likely not be linked in. The gain for dynamically-linked binaries is
1450smaller.
1451
1452Also, this leaves C<gethostbyname> in - not only is it actually used
1453often, the L<Socket> module also exposes it, so leaving it out usually
1454gains little. Why Socket exposes a C function that is in the core already
1455is anybody's guess.
1456
1457=back
1458
1459=head1 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
1460
1461Some guy has made a repository on github
1462(L<https://github.com/gh0stwizard/staticperl-modules>) with some modules
1463patched to build with staticperl.
751 1464
752=head1 AUTHOR 1465=head1 AUTHOR
753 1466
754 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de> 1467 Marc Lehmann <schmorp@schmorp.de>
755 http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/staticperl.html 1468 http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/staticperl.html
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