Editing The Perl Lazarus Workshop (section)

== Martha: assistance at the difficult boundary ==

The tool named Martha belongs near the far end of the workshop, not at its foundation.

Martha does not replace Strawberry Perl, wxPerl, wxGlade, PAR, or Inno Setup. It is a wxPerl application created to assist with the difficult transition from a working Perl program to a package which can be installed and tested.

Its present work includes assistance with:

* discovering required DLLs;
* generating a Makefile based on <code>wxpar</code>;
* allowing that Makefile to be reviewed and adjusted;
* running the executable build;
* generating an Inno Setup configuration;
* building the installer;
* and testing the resulting stages.

The name is related to Lazarus, but Martha's role is deliberately practical. The Perl Lazarus Project describes the larger revival and workflow. Martha helps with some of the work which is repetitive, error-prone, and easy to perform inconsistently.

The important principle is that the helper should expose the process rather than make it unknowable. The programmer should be able to inspect the generated Makefile, see the DLL paths, read the Inno Setup script, and reproduce the command outside the GUI.

A good tool assists judgment. It does not demand the surrender of judgment.

For current details, see [[Developing and Distributing wxPerl Applications on Windows#Martha - A lightweight wxPerl helper for packaging Perl applications on Windows|Martha's role in the documented workflow]].