perlfaq nodetype
faq_monk
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<FONT SIZE=-1>CPAN</FONT> stands for Comprehensive Perl Archive Network, a huge archive replicated on dozens of machines all over the world.
<FONT SIZE=-1>CPAN</FONT> contains source code, non-native ports, documentation, scripts, and many third-party modules and extensions, designed for everything from commercial database interfaces to keyboard/screen control to web walking and
<FONT SIZE=-1>CGI</FONT> scripts. The master machine for
<FONT SIZE=-1>CPAN</FONT> is <U>ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/,</U> but you can use the address <A HREF="http://www.perl.com/CPAN/CPAN.html">http://www.perl.com/CPAN/CPAN.html</A> to fetch a copy from a ``site near you''. See <A HREF="http://www.perl.com/CPAN">http://www.perl.com/CPAN</A> (without a slash at the end) for how this process works.
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CPAN/path/... is a naming convention for files available on
<FONT SIZE=-1>CPAN</FONT> sites.
<FONT SIZE=-1>CPAN</FONT> indicates the base directory of a
<FONT SIZE=-1>CPAN</FONT> mirror, and the rest of the path is the path from that directory to the file. For instance, if you're using <U>ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/languages/perl/CPAN</U> as your
<FONT SIZE=-1>CPAN</FONT> site, the file CPAN/misc/japh file is downloadable as <U>ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/languages/perl/CPAN/misc/japh</U> .
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Considering that there are hundreds of existing modules in the archive, one probably exists to do nearly anything you can think of. Current categories under CPAN/modules/by-category/ include perl core modules; development support; operating system interfaces; networking, devices, and interprocess communication; data type utilities; database interfaces; user interfaces; interfaces to other languages; filenames, file systems, and file locking; internationalization and locale; world wide web support; server and daemon utilities; archiving and compression; image manipulation; mail and news; control flow utilities; filehandle and
<FONT SIZE=-1>I/O;</FONT> Microsoft Windows modules; and miscellaneous modules.
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