Strawberry Perl

Perl has been around for some time and is used to write scripts to automate tasks, process text files, manipulate data, create web applications, and much more. Strawberry Perl makes it easy for people who use Windows computers to write programs and scripts in Perl, just like they would on other operating systems like Linux or Unix.

Initially, the tool lacked a package manager tool that lets you install and manage Perl modules distributions. Nowadays, all that has changed, and you can enjoy a full Perl environment just by installing the app.

For starters, it includes the GNU Compiler Collection (gcc), which is a widely used compiler for C, C++, and other programming languages. It packs bundled database clients that allow Perl applications to connect to and interact with various database systems, such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, and others.

The app also comes with numerous libraries that account for most of the situations you may find yourself when using Perl. External libraries covering cryptography, mathematics, graphics, and XML processing, enrich its functionality.

You can implement secure protocols and encryption in your apps via cryptographic libraries, as well as add a GUI or extra features like numeric analysis, XML parsing or image manipulation, thanks to external libraries.

With the updated Windows Subsystem for Linux, the relevance of Strawberry Perl depends on your specific needs and preferences. WSL 2 allows you to run a full Linux kernel directly on Windows, enabling seamless integration of Linux tools and environments, including Perl.

There are times when Strawberry may be preferred, starting with the fact that you don’t need to have a virtual machine environment to go with it. Other relevant reasons could be related to the other tools and applications you are currently using or maintaining.