openssl: Windows 10 - Build Problems - ActivePerl missing Win32/Console.pm

So Guys,

I’m very mad. Your build instructions are very bad. You describe the dependencies here: https://github.com/openssl/openssl/blob/master/NOTES.WIN

I installed ActiveState, nasm and VS2019. I tried to run perl Configure VC-Win64A from a “Visual Studio 2019 Developer Command Prompt v16.6.1” what isn’t explained somewhere. But I think it is necessary to use this command prompt…

Then I get the error:

C:\Users\TiTan\openssl-master>perl Configure VC-WIN64A
Configuring OpenSSL version 1.1.1g (0x1010107fL) for VC-WIN64A
Using os-specific seed configuration
Can't locate Win32/Console.pm in @INC (you may need to install the Win32::Console module) (@INC contains: C:/Users/TiTan/openssl-master/util/perl C:/Perl64/site/lib C:/Perl64/lib) at C:/Perl64/site/lib/ActivePerl/Config.pm line 400.
Compilation failed in require at C:/Perl64/site/lib/ExtUtils/MakeMaker.pm line 9.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at C:/Perl64/site/lib/ExtUtils/MakeMaker.pm line 9.
Compilation failed in require at C:/Perl64/site/lib/IPC/Cmd.pm line 235.

So no problem. I tried cpan -i Win32::Console. But then:

C:\Users\TiTan\openssl-master>cpan -i Win32::Console
Loading internal logger. Log::Log4perl recommended for better logging
Reading 'C:\Perl64\cpan\Metadata'
  Database was generated on Fri, 05 Jun 2020 03:17:03 GMT
Running install for module 'Win32::Console'
CPAN: Digest::SHA loaded ok (v6.01)
CPAN: Compress::Zlib loaded ok (v2.092)
Checksum for C:\Perl64\cpan\sources\authors\id\J\JD\JDB\Win32-Console-0.10.tar.gz ok
CPAN: Archive::Tar loaded ok (v2.30)
Win32-Console-0.10/
Win32-Console-0.10/Changes
Win32-Console-0.10/Console.pm
Win32-Console-0.10/Console.xs
Win32-Console-0.10/docs/
Win32-Console-0.10/docs/index.html
Win32-Console-0.10/docs/intro.html
Win32-Console-0.10/docs/license.html
Win32-Console-0.10/docs/reference.html
Win32-Console-0.10/docs/toc.html
Win32-Console-0.10/eg/
Win32-Console-0.10/eg/sample.pl
Win32-Console-0.10/Makefile.PL
Win32-Console-0.10/MANIFEST
Win32-Console-0.10/META.yml
Win32-Console-0.10/README
Win32-Console-0.10/typemap
CPAN: YAML::XS loaded ok (v0.69)
CPAN: CPAN::Meta::Requirements loaded ok (v2.140)
CPAN: Parse::CPAN::Meta loaded ok (v2.150010)
CPAN: CPAN::Meta loaded ok (v2.150010)
Configuring J/JD/JDB/Win32-Console-0.10.tar.gz with Makefile.PL
Checking if your kit is complete...
Looks good
Generating a dmake-style Makefile
Writing Makefile for Win32::Console
Writing MYMETA.yml and MYMETA.json
  JDB/Win32-Console-0.10.tar.gz
  C:\Perl64\bin\perl.exe Makefile.PL INSTALLDIRS=site -- OK
Running make for J/JD/JDB/Win32-Console-0.10.tar.gz
CPAN: Module::CoreList loaded ok (v5.20181129_28)
Der Befehl "dmake" ist entweder falsch geschrieben oder
konnte nicht gefunden werden.
  JDB/Win32-Console-0.10.tar.gz
  dmake -- NOT OK

And this is the point where I need to get out. I can’t find a solution for this problem… Some pages says you just need to run npan to install dmake. But that isn’t right. Other sites say you need to update stuff. But npan -u doesn’t help.

I’m very frustrated by your bad documentation. Maybe I just didn’t find the right lines. But at the moment I see no solution…

Maybe I need a Phd or some stuff in computer science to build your project. But shouldn’t it be very easy for guys like me or other guys?

About this issue

Original URL
State: closed
Created 4 years ago
Comments: 21 (14 by maintainers)

Most upvoted comments

If you download a regular ActivePerl CE, it is missing Win32-Console required to run the configure script. The CPAN tooling doesn’t work well in ActivePerl, but if you go to https://platform.activestate.com/ActiveState/ActivePerl-5.28 you can fork this project, add Win32-Console to the list of packages and the resulting build runs the Configure script just fine.

shaunmlowry on Sep 14, 2020

you can try ActivePerl 5.24 version. it works for me.

yayiyao on Aug 31, 2020

@Tockra, you could have found the solution to that ActivePerl module hick-up here: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/58538495/ppm-doesnt-work-after-installing-activestate-perl

I wrote earlier:

Apparently they replaced ppm by some gui-based package manager, which I can’t find as part of the installation.

Meanwhile I understand better what’s going on here: ActiveState moved to an online package management, where one selects the wanted modules, lets them build remotely (not on the target Windows-based host) and then downloads an installer (.exe or .msi) which includes those modules. Kind of counter-intuitive and inflexible.

I’ve tried it out, manually selecting Win32-Console on https://platform.activestate.com/DDvO/ActivePerl-5.26 AFAICS also others can now download the resulting augmented installer from there. Using that installer the perl Configure VC-Win64A call succeeds.

DDvO on Jun 9, 2020

It seems, BTW, that others have hit the same bug through different means:

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/57897632/how-to-install-additional-perl-module-on-latest-perl-active-state

One interesting answer in there is this:

Or ppm install Win32-Console since you said you’re using ActiveState

levitte on Jun 6, 2020

It sounds like a bug report should be filed with ActiveState…

levitte on Jun 6, 2020

I think NOTES.WIN could benefit from some re-organisation to put the really important information up front. It does need some up front explanation of the different Windows build types (because the instructions for a VC++ based build are different to a mingw build, and are different to a cygwin build). But the current wall of text at the beginning of NOTES.WIN just makes me glaze over.

A Windows specific “Quick Start” guide might be useful. Something along the lines of my SO answer here, which seems to have been quite popular:

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/45494630/how-to-build-openssl-on-windows-with-visual-studio-2017/45495686#45495686

mattcaswell on Jun 8, 2020