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PERLMODINSTALL(1) Perl Programmers Reference Guide PERLMODINSTALL(1)
NAME
perlmodinstall - Installing CPAN Modules
DESCRIPTION
You can think of a module as the fundamental unit of reusable Perl
code; see perlmod for details. Whenever anyone creates a chunk of Perl
code that they think will be useful to the world, they register as a
Perl developer at http://www.cpan.org/modules/04pause.html so that they
can then upload their code to the CPAN. The CPAN is the Comprehensive
Perl Archive Network and can be accessed at http://www.cpan.org/ , and
searched at http://search.cpan.org/ .
This documentation is for people who want to download CPAN modules and
install them on their own computer.
PREAMBLE
First, are you sure that the module isn't already on your system? Try
"perl -MFoo -e 1". (Replace "Foo" with the name of the module; for
instance, "perl -MCGI::Carp -e 1".
If you don't see an error message, you have the module. (If you do see
an error message, it's still possible you have the module, but that
it's not in your path, which you can display with "perl -e "print
qq(@INC)"".) For the remainder of this document, we'll assume that you
really honestly truly lack an installed module, but have found it on
the CPAN.
So now you have a file ending in .tar.gz (or, less often, .zip). You
know there's a tasty module inside. There are four steps you must now
take:
DECOMPRESS the file
UNPACK the file into a directory
BUILD the module (sometimes unnecessary)
INSTALL the module.
Here's how to perform each step for each operating system. This is
a substitute for reading the README and INSTALL files that might
have come with your module!
Also note that these instructions are tailored for installing the mod-
ule into your system's repository of Perl modules -- but you can
install modules into any directory you wish. For instance, where I say
"perl Makefile.PL", you can substitute "perl Makefile.PL PRE-
FIX=/my/perl_directory" to install the modules into "/my/perl_direc-
tory". Then you can use the modules from your Perl programs with "use
lib "/my/perl_directory/lib/site_perl";" or sometimes just "use
"/my/perl_directory";". If you're on a system that requires supe-
ruser/root access to install modules into the directories you see when
you type "perl -e "print qq(@INC)"", you'll want to install them into a
local directory (such as your home directory) and use this approach.
o If you're on a Unix or Unix-like system,
You can use Andreas Koenig's CPAN module ( http://www.cpan.org/mod-
ules/by-module/CPAN ) to automate the following steps, from DECOM-
PRESS through INSTALL.
A. DECOMPRESS
Decompress the file with "gzip -d yourmodule.tar.gz"
You can get gzip from ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/
Or, you can combine this step with the next to save disk space:
gzip -dc yourmodule.tar.gz | tar -xof -
B. UNPACK
Unpack the result with "tar -xof yourmodule.tar"
C. BUILD
Go into the newly-created directory and type:
perl Makefile.PL
make test
or
perl Makefile.PL PREFIX=/my/perl_directory
to install it locally. (Remember that if you do this, you'll have
to put "use lib "/my/perl_directory";" near the top of the program
that is to use this module.
D. INSTALL
While still in that directory, type:
make install
Make sure you have the appropriate permissions to install the mod-
ule in your Perl 5 library directory. Often, you'll need to be
root.
That's all you need to do on Unix systems with dynamic linking.
Most Unix systems have dynamic linking -- if yours doesn't, or if
for another reason you have a statically-linked perl, and the mod-
ule requires compilation, you'll need to build a new Perl binary
that includes the module. Again, you'll probably need to be root.
o If you're running ActivePerl (Win95/98/2K/NT/XP, Linux, Solaris)
First, type "ppm" from a shell and see whether ActiveState's PPM
repository has your module. If so, you can install it with "ppm"
and you won't have to bother with any of the other steps here. You
might be able to use the CPAN instructions from the "Unix or Linux"
section above as well; give it a try. Otherwise, you'll have to
follow the steps below.
A. DECOMPRESS
You can use the shareware Winzip ( http://www.winzip.com ) to
decompress and unpack modules.
B. UNPACK
If you used WinZip, this was already done for you.
C. BUILD
You'll need the "nmake" utility, available at http://down-
load.microsoft.com/download/vc15/Patch/1.52/W95/EN-US/nmake15.exe
or dmake, available on CPAN. http://search.cpan.org/dist/dmake/
Does the module require compilation (i.e. does it have files that
end in .xs, .c, .h, .y, .cc, .cxx, or .C)? If it does, life is now
officially tough for you, because you have to compile the module
yourself -- no easy feat on Windows. You'll need a compiler such
as Visual C++. Alternatively, you can download a pre-built PPM
package from ActiveState. http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Down-
loads/ActivePerl/PPM/
Go into the newly-created directory and type:
perl Makefile.PL
nmake test
D. INSTALL
While still in that directory, type:
nmake install
o If you're using a Macintosh with "Classic" MacOS and MacPerl,
A. DECOMPRESS
First, make sure you have the latest cpan-mac distribution (
http://www.cpan.org/authors/id/CNANDOR/ ), which has utilities for
doing all of the steps. Read the cpan-mac directions carefully and
install it. If you choose not to use cpan-mac for some reason,
there are alternatives listed here.
After installing cpan-mac, drop the module archive on the
untarzipme droplet, which will decompress and unpack for you.
Or, you can either use the shareware StuffIt Expander program (
http://www.aladdinsys.com/expander/ ) in combination with DropStuff
with Expander Enhancer ( http://www.aladdinsys.com/dropstuff/ ) or
the freeware MacGzip program ( http://persephone.cps.unizar.es/gen-
eral/gente/spd/gzip/gzip.html ).
B. UNPACK
If you're using untarzipme or StuffIt, the archive should be
extracted now. Or, you can use the freeware suntar or Tar (
http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/cmp/ ).
C. BUILD
Check the contents of the distribution. Read the module's documen-
tation, looking for reasons why you might have trouble using it
with MacPerl. Look for .xs and .c files, which normally denote
that the distribution must be compiled, and you cannot install it
"out of the box." (See "PORTABILITY".)
If a module does not work on MacPerl but should, or needs to be
compiled, see if the module exists already as a port on the MacPerl
Module Porters site ( http://pudge.net/mmp/ ). For more informa-
tion on doing XS with MacPerl yourself, see Arved Sandstrom's XS
tutorial ( http://macperl.com/depts/Tutorials/ ), and then consider
uploading your binary to the CPAN and registering it on the MMP
site.
D. INSTALL
If you are using cpan-mac, just drop the folder on the installme
droplet, and use the module.
Or, if you aren't using cpan-mac, do some manual labor.
Make sure the newlines for the modules are in Mac format, not Unix
format. If they are not then you might have decompressed them
incorrectly. Check your decompression and unpacking utilities set-
tings to make sure they are translating text files properly.
As a last resort, you can use the perl one-liner:
perl -i.bak -pe 's/(?:\015)?\012/\015/g'
on the source files.
Then move the files (probably just the .pm files, though there may
be some additional ones, too; check the module documentation) to
their final destination: This will most likely be in
"$ENV{MACPERL}site_lib:" (i.e., "HD:MacPerl folder:site_lib:").
You can add new paths to the default @INC in the Preferences menu
item in the MacPerl application ("$ENV{MACPERL}site_lib:" is added
automagically). Create whatever directory structures are required
(i.e., for "Some::Module", create "$ENV{MACPERL}site_lib:Some:" and
put "Module.pm" in that directory).
Then run the following script (or something like it):
#!perl -w
use AutoSplit;
my $dir = "${MACPERL}site_perl";
autosplit("$dir:Some:Module.pm", "$dir:auto", 0, 1, 1);
o If you're on the DJGPP port of DOS,
A. DECOMPRESS
djtarx ( ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/gnu/djgpp/v2/ ) will
both uncompress and unpack.
B. UNPACK
See above.
C. BUILD
Go into the newly-created directory and type:
perl Makefile.PL
make test
You will need the packages mentioned in README.dos in the Perl dis-
tribution.
D. INSTALL
While still in that directory, type:
make install
You will need the packages mentioned in README.dos in the Perl dis-
tribution.
o If you're on OS/2,
Get the EMX development suite and gzip/tar, from either Hobbes (
http://hobbes.nmsu.edu ) or Leo ( http://www.leo.org ), and then
follow the instructions for Unix.
o If you're on VMS,
When downloading from CPAN, save your file with a ".tgz" extension
instead of ".tar.gz". All other periods in the filename should be
replaced with underscores. For example, "Your-Module-1.33.tar.gz"
should be downloaded as "Your-Module-1_33.tgz".
A. DECOMPRESS
Type
gzip -d Your-Module.tgz
or, for zipped modules, type
unzip Your-Module.zip
Executables for gzip, zip, and VMStar:
http://www.openvms.digital.com/freeware/
http://www.crinoid.com/utils/
and their source code:
http://www.fsf.org/order/ftp.html
Note that GNU's gzip/gunzip is not the same as Info-ZIP's zip/unzip
package. The former is a simple compression tool; the latter per-
mits creation of multi-file archives.
B. UNPACK
If you're using VMStar:
VMStar xf Your-Module.tar
Or, if you're fond of VMS command syntax:
tar/extract/verbose Your_Module.tar
C. BUILD
Make sure you have MMS (from Digital) or the freeware MMK ( avail-
able from MadGoat at http://www.madgoat.com ). Then type this to
create the DESCRIP.MMS for the module:
perl Makefile.PL
Now you're ready to build:
mms test
Substitute "mmk" for "mms" above if you're using MMK.
D. INSTALL
Type
mms install
Substitute "mmk" for "mms" above if you're using MMK.
o If you're on MVS,
Introduce the .tar.gz file into an HFS as binary; don't translate
from ASCII to EBCDIC.
A. DECOMPRESS
Decompress the file with "gzip -d yourmodule.tar.gz"
You can get gzip from http://www.s390.ibm.com/prod-
ucts/oe/bpxqp1.html
B. UNPACK
Unpack the result with
pax -o to=IBM-1047,from=ISO8859-1 -r < yourmodule.tar
The BUILD and INSTALL steps are identical to those for Unix. Some
modules generate Makefiles that work better with GNU make, which is
available from http://www.mks.com/s390/gnu/
PORTABILITY
Note that not all modules will work with on all platforms. See perl-
port for more information on portability issues. Read the documenta-
tion to see if the module will work on your system. There are basi-
cally three categories of modules that will not work "out of the box"
with all platforms (with some possibility of overlap):
o Those that should, but don't. These need to be fixed; consider
contacting the author and possibly writing a patch.
o Those that need to be compiled, where the target platform doesn't
have compilers readily available. (These modules contain .xs or .c
files, usually.) You might be able to find existing binaries on
the CPAN or elsewhere, or you might want to try getting compilers
and building it yourself, and then release the binary for other
poor souls to use.
o Those that are targeted at a specific platform. (Such as the
Win32:: modules.) If the module is targeted specifically at a
platform other than yours, you're out of luck, most likely.
Check the CPAN Testers if a module should work with your platform but
it doesn't behave as you'd expect, or you aren't sure whether or not a
module will work under your platform. If the module you want isn't
listed there, you can test it yourself and let CPAN Testers know, you
can join CPAN Testers, or you can request it be tested.
http://testers.cpan.org/
HEY
If you have any suggested changes for this page, let me know. Please
don't send me mail asking for help on how to install your modules.
There are too many modules, and too few Orwants, for me to be able to
answer or even acknowledge all your questions. Contact the module
author instead, or post to comp.lang.perl.modules, or ask someone
familiar with Perl on your operating system.
AUTHOR
Jon Orwant
orwant@medita.mit.edu
with invaluable help from Chris Nandor, and valuable help from Brandon
Allbery, Charles Bailey, Graham Barr, Dominic Dunlop, Jarkko
Hietaniemi, Ben Holzman, Tom Horsley, Nick Ing-Simmons, Tuomas J.
Lukka, Laszlo Molnar, Alan Olsen, Peter Prymmer, Gurusamy Sarathy,
Christoph Spalinger, Dan Sugalski, Larry Virden, and Ilya Zakharevich.
First version July 22, 1998; last revised November 21, 2001.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (C) 1998, 2002, 2003 Jon Orwant. All Rights Reserved.
Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
documentation provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
are preserved on all copies.
Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
documentation under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also
that they are marked clearly as modified versions, that the authors'
names and title are unchanged (though subtitles and additional authors'
names may be added), and that the entire resulting derived work is dis-
tributed under the terms of a permission notice identical to this one.
Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this docu-
mentation into another language, under the above conditions for modi-
fied versions.
perl v5.8.8 2006-01-07 PERLMODINSTALL(1)
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