README.irix - Perl version 5 on Irix systems This document describes various features of Irix that will affect how Perl version 5 (hereafter just Perl) is compiled and/or runs.

Building 32-bit Perl in Irix
Use sh Configure -Dcc='cc -n32' to compile Perl 32-bit. Don't bother with -n32 unless you have 7.1 or later compilers (use cc -version to check). (Building 'cc -n32' is the default.)

Building 64-bit Perl in Irix
Use sh Configure -Dcc='cc -64' -Duse64bitint This requires require a 64-bit MIPS CPU (R8000, R10000, ...) You can also use sh Configure -Dcc='cc -64' -Duse64bitall but that makes no difference compared with the -Duse64bitint because of the "cc -64". You can also do sh Configure -Dcc='cc -n32' -Duse64bitint to use long longs for the 64-bit integer type, in case you don't have a 64-bit CPU. If you are using gcc, just sh Configure -Dcc=gcc -Duse64bitint should be enough, the Configure should automatically probe for the correct 64-bit settings.

About Compiler Versions of Irix
Some Irix cc versions, e.g. 7.3.1.1m (try cc -version) have been known to have issues (coredumps) when compiling perl.c. If you've used -OPT:fast_io=ON and this happens, try removing it. If that fails, or you didn't use that, then try adjusting other optimization options (-LNO, -INLINE, -O3 to -O2, etcetera). The compiler bug has been reported to SGI. (Allen Smith <easmith@beatrice.rutgers.edu>)

Linker Problems in Irix
If you get complaints about so_locations then search in the file hints/irix_6.sh for "lddflags" and do the suggested adjustments. (David Billinghurst <David.Billinghurst@riotinto.com.au>)

Malloc in Irix
Do not try to use Perl's malloc, this will lead into very mysterious errors (especially with -Duse64bitall).

Building with threads in Irix
Run Configure with -Duseithreads which will configure Perl with the new Perl 5.8.0 "interpreter threads", see threads. The old Perl 5.005 threads is obsolete, unmaintained, and its use is discouraged. If you really want it, run Configure with the -Dusethreads -Duse5005threads options as described in INSTALL. For either thread model and for Irix 6.2, you have to have the following patches installed: 1404 Irix 6.2 Posix 1003.1b man pages 1645 Irix 6.2 & 6.3 POSIX header file updates 2000 Irix 6.2 Posix 1003.1b support modules 2254 Pthread library fixes 2401 6.2 all platform kernel rollup IMPORTANT: Without patch 2401, a kernel bug in Irix 6.2 will cause your machine to panic and crash when running threaded perl. Irix 6.3 and later are okay. Thanks to Hannu Napari <Hannu.Napari@hut.fi> for the IRIX pthreads patches information. Jarkko Hietaniemi <jhi@iki.fi> Please report any errors, updates, or suggestions to perlbug@perl.org.