From miner@doit.wisc.edu

I got this email from our head Solaris administrator concerning the
statement

You may wish to put your version of perl in the PATH of all users by
changing the link /usr/bin/perl. This is OK, as all Perl scripts
shipped with Solaris use /usr/perl5/bin/perl.

in README.solaris

jon

----- Forwarded message from David Lawver <d7l@​helios.doit.wisc.edu> -----

From​: David Lawver <d7l@​helios.doit.wisc.edu>
Subject​: Re​: Solaris Perl
Date​: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 08​:50​:30 -0600
Message-ID​: <20030312145030.GA28188@​helios.doit.wisc.edu>
User-Agent​: Mutt/1.4i
X-Spam-Level​:

On Thu, Mar 06, 2003 at 11​:32​:50AM -0600, Jon Miner wrote​:

According to README.solaris from the Perl 5.8.0 distribution​:
users by changing the link /usr/bin/perl. This is OK, as all
Perl scripts shipped with Solaris use /usr/perl5/bin/perl.

Not true. I just tripped across /etc/rcm/scripts/README which begins
with​:
#! /usr/bin/perl -w

Now, it's true that this file is pseudo code intended as an example,
but rcmscript(4) doesn't make any reference to needing to point to
/usr/perl5/bin/perl, and indeed uses the same magic line in its
example script.

It's my view that if there's one exception to a sweeping statement like
the one above, there are likely to be others....

For example, /usr/bin/rpm2cpio.......

David Lawver, UW-Madison DoIT/POST dlawver@​doit.wisc.edu
608/262-8159 -->3173 CS&S<-- dmlawver@​facstaff.wisc.edu
"Paranoia can reduce security." --Nick Maclaren

----- End forwarded message -----

--
.Jonathan J. Miner------------------Division of Information Technology.
|miner@​doit.wisc.edu University Of Wisconsin - Madison|
|608/262.9655 Room 3149 Computer Science|
`---------------------------------------------------------------------'

Lispers are among the best grads of the Sweep-It-Under-Someone-Else's-Carpet
School of Simulated Simplicity. [Was that sufficiently incendiary? :-)]
  -- Larry Wall in <1992Jan10.201804.11926@​netlabs.com
  (88)

From @doughera88

A long time ago, we got the following message​:

----- Forwarded message from David Lawver <d7l@​helios.doit.wisc.edu> -----

From​: David Lawver <d7l@​helios.doit.wisc.edu>
Subject​: Re​: Solaris Perl
Date​: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 08​:50​:30 -0600
Message-ID​: <20030312145030.GA28188@​helios.doit.wisc.edu>

On Thu, Mar 06, 2003 at 11​:32​:50AM -0600, Jon Miner wrote​:

According to README.solaris from the Perl 5.8.0 distribution​:
users by changing the link /usr/bin/perl. This is OK, as all
Perl scripts shipped with Solaris use /usr/perl5/bin/perl.

Not true. I just tripped across /etc/rcm/scripts/README which begins
with​:
#! /usr/bin/perl -w

Now, it's true that this file is pseudo code intended as an example,
but rcmscript(4) doesn't make any reference to needing to point to
/usr/perl5/bin/perl, and indeed uses the same magic line in its
example script.

It's my view that if there's one exception to a sweeping statement like
the one above, there are likely to be others....

For example, /usr/bin/rpm2cpio.......

I think the following patch to README.solaris (suitable for both 5.8.6 and
5.9.x) addresses the matter adequately.

--- perl-current/README.solaris	Wed Jul 28 02:47:42 2004
+++ perl-andy/README.solaris	Wed Sep  8 11:26:55 2004
@@ -26,11 +26,15 @@
 to use are /usr/local and /opt/perl.

 You may wish to put your version of perl in the PATH of all users by
-changing the link /usr/bin/perl.  This is OK, as all perl scripts
-shipped with Solaris use an explicit path.  Solaris ships with a
-range of Solaris-specific modules.  If you choose to install your own
-version of perl you will find the source of many of these modules is
-available on CPAN under the Sun::Solaris:: namespace.
+changing the link /usr/bin/perl.  This is probably OK, as most perl
+scripts shipped with Solaris use an explicit path.  (There are a few
+exceptions, such as /usr/bin/rpm2cpio and /etc/rcm/scripts/README, but
+these are also sufficiently generic that the actual version of perl
+probably doesn't matter too much.)
+
+Solaris ships with a range of Solaris-specific modules.  If you choose
+to install your own version of perl you will find the source of many of
+these modules is available on CPAN under the Sun::Solaris:: namespace.

 Solaris may include two versions of perl, e.g. Solaris 9 includes
 both 5.005_03 and 5.6.1.  This is to provide stability across Solaris

-- 

  Andy Dougherty doughera@​lafayette.edu

The RT System itself - Status changed from 'new' to 'open'

From @iabyn

(whoops, failed to Cc p5p).

----- Forwarded message from Dave Mitchell <davem@​iabyn.com> -----

From​: Dave Mitchell <davem@​iabyn.com>
To​: Andy Dougherty <doughera@​lafayette.edu>
Date​: Wed, 8 Sep 2004 21​:03​:16 +0100
Subject​: Re​: [perl #21553] Re​: Solaris Perl (fwd)

On Wed, Sep 08, 2004 at 11​:32​:26AM -0400, Andy Dougherty wrote​:

I think the following patch to README.solaris (suitable for both 5.8.6 and
5.9.x) addresses the matter adequately.

Thanks, applied as change #23281.

--
In the 70's we wore flares because we didn't know any better.
What possible excuse does the current generation have?

----- End forwarded message -----

--
Technology is dominated by two types of people​: those who understand what
they do not manage, and those who manage what they do not understand.

@iabyn - Status changed from 'open' to 'resolved'

From @AlanBurlison

Andy Dougherty wrote​:

Now, it's true that this file is pseudo code intended as an example,
but rcmscript(4) doesn't make any reference to needing to point to
/usr/perl5/bin/perl, and indeed uses the same magic line in its
example script.

It's my view that if there's one exception to a sweeping statement like
the one above, there are likely to be others....

For example, /usr/bin/rpm2cpio.......

Thanks for pointing these out, I've raised bugs against all of them.

--
Alan Burlison
--