Question:
Can I do a “binary dump” using PERL? Meaning, can I “compile” a PERL script to binary form? If this is possible, I would greatly appreciate some “how to.”
Answer:
There is a “dump” command in Perl that puts the byte codes out to a file. These binary codes can then be read in via “undump”. However this command is not widely used, because:
- It may have bugs.
- Compilation of Perl programs is about 10,000 lines per second, so if your program is less than 10,000 lines you are saving at most one second of response time.
Larry Wall, author of Perl, refuses to spend much time making Perl a compiler, preferring instead to add features.
