On Tuesday 13 October 2009 06:17:47 O. STeffen BEYer wrote: > Dear Perl module authors, > > what would be the best way to detect whether a working C compiler is > available at build time of a module (i.e., in Makefile.PL)? > > I would like to install a (faster) XS version of a module if that is the > case, and a (slower) pure-Perl implementation if not. > > Remember that C compilers are not always available on all systems. > Sometimes they cost heavy extra money, or sometimes you have to work > with what's there on a customer's or provider's server (where frequently > installing a C compiler is not an option due to company policies).
While I've got no idea about detecting the compiler, I would suggest though installing the pure perl one no matter what, under a different name and having the module fall back on it if possible, that way if something changes later on the module will always continue to work. This could also simplify the build and install process since you wouldn't have to decide which one to copy during make install.
