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The following is an overview of the ways to download PDL and get it up and running. Much information is available on the PDL web-site (pdl.perl.org), and in various other places. Where possible, we will provide pointers to the information, but not repeat the information here.
There are primarily two methods to Download/Install the PDL package; Installing from pre-built executable files, or building from the source code. Installing from pre-built executables is usually faster and more convenient for most users. Building from source is more complicated, but gets you the greatest configuration flexibility (Add on packages, graphics options, etc)
Other pre-built executables are being added all the time (BSD, Solaris, etc.) Check the download page at pdl.perl.org for the latest list.
Try one of the pre-built binaries first, if you can. You will get going quicker. Building from source is an option for those who want a custom configuration, or who want to examine the workings of the source code.
For most all Unix flavors, building from source is a matter of following the standard Perl package build procedure:
The INSTALL file in the source distribution describes the installation procedure in detail, along with some common problems and solutions.
For Win32 platforms, building from source is possible, but not recommended at the time of this writing. Again, using one of the pre-built executables is the way to go for this platform.
The download page of the PDL Web-site (pdl.perl.org) contains the complete list of places you can get PDL. Additionally, CPAN (the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network, at http://www.perl.com/CPAN-local/modules/by-module/PDL/ ) contains the official release of the source code.
PDL can be configured to use external analysis and graphical libraries. Some of the more popular examples are PGPLOT (for 2D Plotting), OpenGL (for 3-D Plotting), Slatec (Fortran Analysis Library). The DEPENDENCIES file in the source distribution contains a complete list of possible add-ons for PDL.