Goodbye PPM, Hello State Tool

When ActiveState’s Perl Package Manager (PPM) was first introduced two decades ago, it offered a reliable and easy way to install Perl modules on multiple platforms. You no longer needed to have a development environment configured on your machine to compile and build modules for your Perl runtime environment. With tens of thousands of modules available via PPM across numerous platforms, it was a critical piece of the Perl ecosystem’s infrastructure.

Set Phase Out to Done

After many years of reliable service, PPM is being phased out as ActiveState moves forward with a new and improved solution for Perl package management across all platforms. While PPM has been included in all versions of ActivePerl up to and including version 5.26, the number of modules with which it worked has steadily declined. As a result, starting with ActivePerl 5.28, PPM modules are no longer available.

That doesn’t mean that you’re out in the cold when it comes to installing Perl modules. Until ActiveState fully rolls out its new solution, you can (as always) use CPAN to install any additional modules you require into your ActivePerl runtime.

PPM: The Next Generation

Moving forward, the ActiveState Platform will replace and enhance the functionality that was offered by PPM. Today, you can sign up for a free ActiveState Platform account and build customized Perl runtimes via our Web interface. And soon, our newly released CLI for the ActiveState Platform, the State Tool will offer the same workflow you’re used to with PPM.

Today, you can use the State Tool to install ActiveState Platform-built Perl runtimes into a virtual environment on your desktop with a single command. On the roadmap is the ability to manage those runtimes after installation by using the State Tool to add additional modules to your existing installation, for example. The State Tool offers more than just managing your installation though. You can use it to manage secrets amongst your team members, automate workflows, and seamlessly switch between different development environments.

We’re taking all the years of experience and knowledge we’ve garnered with PPM and transferring that to our new, unified (client-side CLI + server-side Web app) ActiveState Platform experience in order to give you a better way of managing your open source language distributions across all platforms without sacrificing the convenience and reliability that you came to know and love with PPM.

Engage

With the release of ActivePerl 5.28, PPM is no longer supported…However, its functionality is being replaced by the ActiveState Platform and the State Tool. You can experience the future direction of PPM today by signing up for a free account, and getting started creating your own custom Perl distributions.

Related Blogs:

How to Build a Runtime Environment from Source

ActiveState Platform: Simplify Python Project Kickoff