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perlmodinstall

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
       <not> 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 Linux 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,

           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' <filenames>

           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 v5.8.6                       2004-11-05                 PERLMODINSTALL(1)