---
name: "perlirix"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "perl-doc"
version: "5.40.1-6+deb13u1"
release: "Debian 13 (Trixie)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/perlirix"
---

# perlirix(1)

Perl version 5 on Irix systems

## NAME

perlirix - Perl version 5 on Irix systems

## DESCRIPTION

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, et cetera).  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 Perl 5.8.0 "interpreter threads", see threads.

For Irix 6.2 with perl threads, 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.
```

### Irix 5.3

While running Configure and when building, you are likely to get quite a few of these warnings:

```
  ld:
  The shared object /usr/lib/libm.so did not resolve any symbols.
        You may want to remove it from your link line.
```

Ignore them: in IRIX 5.3 there is no way to quieten ld about this.

During compilation you will see this warning from toke.c:

```
  uopt: Warning: Perl_yylex: this procedure not optimized because it
        exceeds size threshold; to optimize this procedure, use -Olimit
        option with value >= 4252.
```

Ignore the warning.

In IRIX 5.3 and with Perl 5.8.1 (Perl 5.8.0 didn't compile in IRIX 5.3) the following failures are known.

```
 Failed Test                  Stat Wstat Total Fail  Failed|Failing List
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
 ../ext/List/Util/t/shuffle.t    0   139    ??   ??       %  ??
 ../lib/Math/Trig.t            255 65280    29   12  41.38%  24-29
 ../lib/sort.t                   0   138   119   72  60.50%  48-119
 56 tests and 474 subtests skipped.
 Failed 3/811 test scripts, 99.63% okay. 78/75813 subtests failed,
    99.90% okay.
```

They are suspected to be compiler errors (at least the shuffle.t failure is known from some IRIX 6 setups) and math library errors (the Trig.t failure), but since IRIX 5 is long since end-of-lifed, further fixes for the IRIX are unlikely.  If you can get gcc for 5.3, you could try that, too, since gcc in IRIX 6 is a known workaround for at least the shuffle.t and sort.t failures.

## AUTHOR

Jarkko Hietaniemi \<jhi@iki.fi\>

Please report any errors, updates, or suggestions to \<https://github.com/Perl/perl5/issues\>.
