One Perl Executable to Rule Them All?

• Vendors of operating systems -- whether commercial or non-profit -- either:

  • Compile a perl executable which they install as /usr/bin/perl

    • "System perl"

  • Compile a perl executable which they offer as a "port" or "package"

    • "Vendor perl"

    • Gets installed in places like /usr/local/bin/perl

• It's convenient, since the end user does not have to configure, compile and install their own perl, but ...

• "The system perl is for the system" -- brian.d.foy