The Perl Dev Kit (PDK) provides essential tools for Perl programmers, making it simple to build and deploy applications. PDK features application builders for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris, AIX and HP-UX; plus a suite of tools to speed development time and improve code quality.

PDK 7.3 supports ActivePerl 5.6, ActivePerl 5.8 and ActivePerl 5.10. Updates to PDK 7.3 are free to PDK 7.x and ActivePerl Pro Studio users.

PDK Pro

PDK Pro includes the complete suite of PDK tools for creating and deploying Perl applications. Graphical user interfaces for all application builders make creating executables fast and easy, with visual guides to a wealth of build options. The comprehensive feature set includes PerlApp, Coverage Analyzer, Filter Builder, VBScript Converter, Graphical Debugger, PerlMSI, PerlCtrl, PerlNET, PerlSvc and PerlTray.

PDK Deployment Tools

PDK Deployment Tools make it easy to deliver software to a broad range of users and platforms. Features include PerlApp, PerlMSI, PerlCtrl, PerlNET, PerlSvc and PerlTray.

Features

PerlApp

Easily create and deploy self-contained Perl executables to all major platforms.

• Deliver small, seamless executables with sophisticated module wrapping and dynamically linked runtime libraries.
• Run from the command line, or choose intuitive GUIs for visual guides to build options.
• Ensure that code is always executed by a specific version of Perl.
• Deploy to systems with or without Perl and modules installed.

Graphical Debugger

Find problems fast with the nimble Windows debugger.

• Debug programs running on remote machines.
• Debug multiple applications simultaneously.

Coverage Analyzer

Improve code performance and reliability through coverage experiments, hotspot analysis and data set comparisons.

• Test program revisions and compare them visually, or compare different test runs on the same code.
• Determine which code has not been run and which files have the least or most coverage.
• Test revised code for changes in code coverage.
• Compare experiments file by file and function by function.

Filter Builder

Filter text interactively, with on-the-fly results.

• Construct filters and alter contents of text-based files, such as log and XML files.
• Search logs, tweak regular expressions and rename variables throughout source files for a Perl program.
• Filter text documents using strings or Perl regular expressions.
• Save filters as Perl scripts and run them from the command line.

VBScript Converter

Convert VBScript programs or snippets to the functional equivalent in Perl.

• Generate Perl code from VBScript examples on the web.
• Automate migration of VBScript programs to Perl code.
• Convert VBA code snippets generated by macro recorders in MS Office applications to Perl for use in separate applications.
• Translate calls to COM objects in VBScript to Perl.
• Simplify building Perl programs for the Win32 environment.
• Access Perl's rich data structures, pattern-matching and built-in functions.

PerlCtrl

Convert Perl programs into standalone ActiveX controls.

• Develop controls that can be automated from applications and languages that support ActiveX.
• Create ActiveX components for use in Win32 applications and development environments.
• Create ActiveX components for system administration that can be accessed remotely using DCOM.
• Develop ActiveX components that expose a subset of Perl functionality, such as Perl's regular expression engine.
• Develop ActiveX components that expose the functionality of a Perl module, such as a module from the libwww-perl (LWP) library.

PerlNET

Allow .NET Framework code to access Perl code running outside the .NET Framework.

• Create .NET applications written in Perl, using .NET components.
• Wrap existing Perl modules into .NET components.
• Create new .NET components written in Perl.
• Extend existing .NET components with Perl.

PerlSvc

Convert Perl programs to native Windows services.

PerlTray

Convert Perl programs to native Windows system tray applications.

PerlMSI

Easily create MSI files using Perl code.

Documentation

Easily master features through detailed tutorials and sample projects.