Changes between Version 26 and Version 27 of Scripting and Plugins

Timestamp:

Apr 17, 2013, 4:14:10 AM (11 years ago)

Author:

dandv

Comment:

Add more troubleshooting steps for Perl plugins

Scripting and Plugins

@@ -57 +57 @@
 Check if your Pidgin binary includes Perl support (Help -> Build Information).
 
-You must also have a compatible Perl Runtime installed (on Windows, we require [http://www.activestate.com/Products/activeperl ActivePerl] or [http://strawberryperl.com/releases.html Strawberry Perl] 5.10.0 or a newer 5.10.x release - if you're running 64-bit Windows, make sure that you install the 32-bit version of Perl; Pidgin is a 32-bit application on Windows).
+You must also have a compatible Perl runtime installed. On Windows, that is perl510.dll, and as of April 2013, we require [http://www.activestate.com/Products/activeperl ActivePerl] or [http://strawberryperl.com/releases.html Strawberry Perl] 5.10.x. Newer versions of Perl, such as the [https://developer.pidgin.im/ticket/14966#comment:8 current Strawberry Perl 5.16.3, do not work at the moment]. The most recent 5.10.x Strawberry Perl is [http://strawberryperl.com/download/5.10.1.5/strawberry-perl-5.10.1.5.zip 5.10.1]. Extracting just perl510.dll alongside the existing perl51*.dll from the newer installation you may already have, will work, as long as you only use pure-Perl libraries. Otherwise, you'll need to extract Perl 5.10.1 alongside your existing Perl, and add it to the path ''after'' the path to the existing Perl installation. If you're running 64-bit Windows, make sure that you install the 32-bit version of Perl; Pidgin is a 32-bit application on Windows.
+
+First, download the test Perl plugin from the [https://developer.pidgin.im/doxygen/2.5.2/html/perl-howto.html Perl Scripting HOWTO page] in `~/.purple/plugins`. Restart Pidgin and see if the plugin appears in the list as "Perl Test Plugin". If not, open the Debug window from the Help menu, and open the plugin list again. You should see if Pidgin picks up the plugin from the proper directory, and any errors while loading it.
+
+Alternatively, you may want to make sure that the plugin passes a syntax check, by running `perl -c -I<path to Pidgin's plugins/perl directory> plugin.pl`.
 
 If you wrote the plugin yourself, you have likely missed some important detail about implementation or need to update to the current Perl API, which has changed several times.