How to Decide Between the Thread-Multi or Single-Threaded Chilkat Module for Perl

To determine whether to download the thread-multi or single-threaded version of the Chilkat Perl module for your Perl installation, you need to check the threading configuration of your Perl interpreter on Linux or macOS.

Here's how you can determine which version to download:

1. Check Perl Threading Configuration

Run the following command in your terminal or command prompt:

perl -V

Look for the "usethreads" configuration option in the output:

• If you see "usethreads=define" (or "useithreads=define"), your Perl supports threading, and you should download the thread-multi version.
• If you see "usethreads=undef" (or "useithreads=undef"), your Perl does not support threading, and you should download the single-threaded version.

Example Output:

Summary of my perl5 (revision 5 version 30 subversion 3) configuration:
   
  Platform:
    osname=darwin
    osvers=23.0
    archname=darwin-thread-multi-2level
    uname='darwin h8qvv.p1s.plx.sd.apple.com 23.0 darwin kernel version 22.1.0: thu dec 15 17:42:24 pst 2022; root:xnu-8792.41.9.100.2~1development_x86_64 x86_64 '
    config_args='-ds -e -Dprefix=/usr -Dccflags=-g  -pipe  -Dldflags= -Dman3ext=3pm -Duseithreads -Duseshrplib -Dinc_version_list=none -Dcc=cc'
    hint=recommended
    useposix=true
    d_sigaction=define
    useithreads=define
    usemultiplicity=define
    use64bitint=define
    use64bitall=define
    uselongdouble=undef
    usemymalloc=n
    default_inc_excludes_dot=define
    bincompat5005=undef
  Compiler:
    cc='cc'
    ccflags =' -g -pipe -DPERL_USE_SAFE_PUTENV'
    ...
    ...

In this example, "useithreads=define" indicates that the thread-multi version is required.

2. Check Module Directory

Threaded Perl installations often use a "thread-multi" directory for modules. Check the directory structure of your Perl installation by running:

perl -e 'print "@INC\n";'

Example Output:

/usr/lib/perl5/5.34/thread-multi
/usr/lib/perl5/5.34

If you see "thread-multi" in the paths, your Perl is configured for threading.

3. Notes for Multi-Version Perl Systems

• If you have multiple versions of Perl installed (e.g., system Perl and custom Perl), ensure you’re checking the version you intend to use with "perl -V" and "which perl".
• On macOS, you might use Perl installed via brew, perlbrew, or system Perl.

This ensures you select the correct module version for your Perl environment.