Perl, LWP and HTTPS

[Alastair Mackenzie]

Hi.

 

I'd like to use Perl to access some web sites.  I've been reading 'Perl & LWP' --- which has been very helpful and seems to make sense --- and now I'd like to get on with some scripting.  However, I've run into a bit of a problem.  The main URL that I'm interested in accessing uses the HTTPS protocol, and my version of LWP doesn't support HTTPS.  When I try to run my script the status_line comes back as "501 Protocol scheme 'https' is not supported (Crypt:::SSLeay not installed)".  If I add "use Crypt::SSLeay;" to my script I get an error message saying "Can't locate Crypt/SSLeay in @INC".

I gather that I need either Crypt::SSLeay --- or possibly LWP-Protocol-https --- but I don't know how find out exactly what I need or how to get it.  Can you point me in the right direction, please?

I'm using ActivePerl 5.8.8.817.

 

I'm reasonably computer literate, but I don't have any experience of compiling packages, so I'll need step-by-step instructions (or a book or on-line course on this subject).

 

>>  Which module(s) do I need?

 

>>  How do I go about getting and installing the necessary module(s)?

 

>>  My version of ActivePerl seems to include something called 'PPM'.  Is that relevant?  If so, how can I get step-by-step instructions on how to use it?

 

>>  Do I need OpenSSL?  If so, how can I get step-by-step instructions on how to obtain and install it?

 

>>  Would it make any difference if I upgrade to ActivePerl 5.16?

Thanks for your help,

Alastair Mackenzie

Phone:    +44-(0)1325-333333

Mobile:    +44-(0)7966-312980

Email:      alas...@batmail.co.uk

[Shlomi Fish]

On Wed, 9 Oct 2013 22:46:36 +0100
"Alastair Mackenzie" <alas...@batmail.co.uk> wrote:

> Hi.
>
> I'd like to use Perl to access some web sites. I've been reading 'Perl &
> LWP' --- which has been very helpful and seems to make sense --- and now I'd
> like to get on with some scripting. However, I've run into a bit of a
> problem. The main URL that I'm interested in accessing uses the HTTPS
> protocol, and my version of LWP doesn't support HTTPS. When I try to run my
> script the status_line comes back as "501 Protocol scheme 'https' is not
> supported (Crypt:::SSLeay not installed)". If I add "use Crypt::SSLeay;" to
> my script I get an error message saying "Can't locate Crypt/SSLeay in @INC".
>
> I gather that I need either Crypt::SSLeay --- or possibly LWP-Protocol-https
> --- but I don't know how find out exactly what I need or how to get it. Can
> you point me in the right direction, please?
>
> I'm using ActivePerl 5.8.8.817.
>
> I'm reasonably computer literate, but I don't have any experience of
> compiling packages, so I'll need step-by-step instructions (or a book or
> on-line course on this subject).
>
> >> Which module(s) do I need?
>

Crypt::SSLeay

> >> How do I go about getting and installing the necessary module(s)?
>

See the various resources at http://perl-begin.org/topics/cpan/ (Note: I
created Perl-Begin and maintain it).

> >> My version of ActivePerl seems to include something called 'PPM'. Is
> >> that relevant? If so, how can I get step-by-step instructions on how to
> >> use it?

Perhaps try this search - https://duckduckgo.com/?q=ppm%20activeperl .

>
> >> Do I need OpenSSL? If so, how can I get step-by-step instructions on how
> >> to obtain and install it?

Yes, you do, unless the Perl extension is statically linked to it. I have no
idea about how to install OpenSSL on Windows (You can try searching the web).

>
> >> Would it make any difference if I upgrade to ActivePerl 5.16?
>

As you've seen - it did. I should further note that for Windows, most
clueful people would recommend using http://strawberryperl.com/ , which is
free-as-in-speech, open source, community maintained (and naturally -
gratis), and better, over ActivePerl, which is proprietary, or
http://dwimperl.com/windows.html , which contains Strawberry Perl and other
extensions (although it seems that now DWIM Perl is stuck at perl-5.14.x, which
was end-of-lifed).

Finally, I should note that there's already perl-5.18.1, so you should use it
instead of perl-5.16.x.

Regards,

Shlomi Fish


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