OT: Sco 5.0.7 gcc/make

[Fairlight]

On Tue, Aug 16, 2022 at 11:36:41AM -0400, Brian K. White via Filepro-list thus spoke:
> 
> The more difficult problem is that Perl modules can be pretty hairy to build
> and then later to run, because usually you have to build them with the same
> environment that was used to build the rest of the perl installation that
> they will run in, and I *think* the stock Perl was built with the stock
> compiler, and when you try to build a module with the gcc environment, you
> either can't build it or you can't run it, unless you want to try to build
> and install a whole separate perl installation, or buy a license for the
> stock compiler.

I've had that, and I've had exceptions.  It really, really depends upon
the module in question, and exactly how it was written.

I can authoritatively say that stock Perl core will build but not work
properly if done with gcc.  If you build modules, though, it's about an
80% success rate of them working, in my experience.

This may have worsened as the rift between core and CPAN abandonware has
grown substantially, to the point I've tossed over Perl for Python
(finally following in Bill Campbell's footsteps).

> I might be misremembering how bad the problem is and it might all work out
> ok so go ahead and try, but just a heads up to be ready to accept that this
> might be non-trivial even after you get a working gcc to hello world. I
> never even tried to build a perl module the whole time I was porting and
> building gnu stuff on sco.

Perl and its modules are becoming increasingly unmaintainable, and I say
this as a former Perl diehard.  I just don't even want to deal with it
anymore, honestly, at least for just myself.  If there's money in it,
sure.  Even then, it's a royal pain in the ass.  Oh, module 'x' builds
for 5.12.x, but module 'y' only builds for 5.24 and up?  Wait, you need
both 'x' and 'y', you say?  Let me know how that works for you.
Sometimes it's safer to go back to 5.8, honestly, but then some modules
won't build at all.

m->
-- 
Audi omnia, crede nihil.