Learning Perl on Win32 Systems

Win32 Extensions

We’ve said that extensions consist of a module written in Perl, and a library written in C or C++. Win32 extensions are valuable tools because they provide Windows-specific functionality that otherwise wouldn’t be present in the base language. The following list details the extensions included with the ActiveState distribution (these are also available for the standard distribution via the libwin32 distribution, available from CPAN).

OLE ( Win32::OLE in the libwin32 distribution)

Access to OLE automation and OLE variants

Win32::Process

Access to extended Win32 process creation and management; includes methods to kill, suspend, resume, and set the priorities of processes

Win32::Semaphore

Provides access to Win32 semaphores and synchronization

Win32::IPC

Provides sychronization for objects of type Semaphore, Mutex, Process, or ChangeNotify

Win32::Mutex

Provides access to Win32 mutex objects

Win32::ChangeNotify

Provides access to Win32 change-notification objects, letting you do things like monitor changes to directory trees

Win32::EventLog

Provides access to the Windows NT event log

Win32::Registry

Provides access to the Windows NT registry

Win32::NetAdmin

Lets you manipulate users and groups

Win32::File

Lets you get and set file attributes

Win32::Service

Provides a service control interface: lets you start, pause, resume, and stop services

Win32::NetResource

Lets you work with shares, both as a client and a server

Win32::FileSecurity

Lets you work with file ...