BIF 101 – Fall 2008 – Running Perl and transferring files between computers
Instructions for running Perl from home
1 – Mac Computers
If you have a Mac you will start the terminal utility exactly as we do in the lab here at
Canisius. Terminal is located in: hard drive Æ applications Æ utilities Æ terminal. Perl
should automatically be installed on your system.
Before you get rolling make sure to create a folder where you will put all your course
work. I suggest a folder called BIF101 with subfolders named for the lab or assignment
date, for example, 9-4. Put this folder where it is easy to find!
In the terminal window make sure to move to the folder you have created using the cd
command. To create a new folder use the mkdir command. We will review this in class.
2 – Windows Computers
Download and Install Perl
You need to get a copy of Perl in order to get started. To download, go to:
http://www.activestate.com/Products/activeperl/index.mhtml
and click on the link by the top that says Free Active Perl Download Now (underneath
that it says Windows … and you should see a downward pointing arrow). Once you click
that link select the Save File option in the file chooser that comes up. Make sure you
know WHERE it is saved. If you download it and don’t see it anywhere use the search
function (off the Start menu – the start of that file name is ActivePerl which you can use
as a search term).
Once you’ve located that downloaded file just double click on it and follow the
instructions.
Before you get rolling make sure to create a folder where you will put all your course
work. I suggest a folder called BIF101 with subfolders named for the lab or assignment
date, for example, 9-4. Put this folder where it is easy to find!
Use Perl
After it’s installed you can use it anytime.
We will work with Perl using the Windows Command Prompt and the Notepad text
editor.
