perlmodinstall
Current Perl documentation can be found at
perldoc.perl.org.
Here is our local, out-dated (pre-5.6) version:
perlmodinstall - Installing
CPAN Modules
You can think of a module as the fundamental unit of reusable Perl code;
see the perlmod manpage 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.perl.com/CPAN/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.perl.com/CPAN/.
This documentation is for people who want to download
CPAN modules and install them on their own computer.
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 module 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 PREFIX=/my/perl_directory to install the modules into /my/perl_directory . 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 Unix,
You can use Andreas Koenig's
CPAN module ( http://www.perl.com/CPAN/modules/by-module/CPAN ) to automate the following steps, from
DECOMPRESS 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
make test
D.
INSTALL
While still in that directory, type:
make install
Make sure you have the appropriate permissions to install the module 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 module requires compilation, you'll need to build a new Perl binary
that includes the module. Again, you'll probably need to be root.
-
If you're running Windows 95 or NT with the ActiveState port of Perl
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
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, you're on your own. You can try compiling it yourself if you have a
C compiler. If you're successful, consider uploading the resulting binary to the
CPAN for others to use. If it doesn't, go to
INSTALL.
D. INSTALL
Copy the module into your Perl's lib directory. That'll be one of the directories you see when you type
perl -e 'print "@INC"'
-
If you're running Windows 95 or NT with the core Windows distribution of Perl,
A. DECOMPRESS
When you download the module, make sure it ends in either
.tar.gz or .zip . Windows browsers sometimes download .tar.gz files as _tar.tar , because early versions of Windows prohibited more than one dot in a
filename.
You can use the shareware WinZip ( http://www.winzip.com ) to decompress and
unpack modules.
Or, you can use InfoZip's unzip utility ( http://www.cdrom.com/pub/infozip/Info-Zip.html
) to uncompress
.zip files; type unzip yourmodule.zip in your shell.
Or, if you have a working tar and gzip , you can type
gzip -cd yourmodule.tar.gz | tar xvf -
in the shell to decompress yourmodule.tar.gz . This will
UNPACK your module as well.
B. UNPACK
All of the methods in
DECOMPRESS will have done this for you.
C. BUILD
Go into the newly-created directory and type:
perl Makefile.PL
dmake
dmake test
Depending on your perl configuration, dmake might not be available. You might have to substitute whatever perl
-V:make says. (Usually, that will be nmake or
make .)
D. INSTALL
While still in that directory, type:
dmake install
-
If you're using a Macintosh,
A.
DECOMPRESS
You can either use StuffIt Expander ( http://www.aladdinsys.com/ ) in
combination with DropStuff with Expander Enhancer
(shareware), or the freeware MacGzip ( http://persephone.cps.unizar.es/general/gente/spd/gzip/gzip.html
).
B.
UNPACK
If you're using DropStuff or Stuffit, you can just extract the tar archive.
Otherwise, you can use the freeware suntar ( http://www.cirfid.unibo.it/~speranza
).
C.
BUILD
Does the module require compilation?
1. If it does,
Overview: You need
MPW and a combination of new and old CodeWarrior compilers for
MPW and libraries. Makefiles created for building under
MPW use the Metrowerks compilers. It's most likely possible to build without other compilers, but it has not been done successfully, to our knowledge. Read the documentation in MacPerl: Power and Ease ( http://www.ptf.com/macperl/ ) on porting/building extensions, or find an existing precompiled binary, or hire someone to build it for you.
Or, ask someone on the mac-perl mailing list (mac-perl@iis.ee.ethz.ch) to build
it for you. To subscribe to the mac-perl mailing list, send mail to mac-perl-request@iis.ee.ethz.ch.
2. If the module doesn't require compilation, go to
INSTALL.
D.
INSTALL
Make sure the newlines for the modules are in Mac format, not Unix format.
Move the files manually into the correct folders.
Move the files 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).
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);
Eventually there should be a way to automate the installation process; some
solutions exist, but none are ready for the general public yet.
-
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
make test
You will need the packages mentioned in Readme.dos
in the Perl distribution.
D. INSTALL
While still in that directory, type:
make install
You will need the packages mentioned in Readme.dos in the Perl distribution.
-
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.
-
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 ( Alphas: http://www.openvms.digital.com/cd/000TOOLS/ALPHA/
and Vaxen: http://www.openvms.digital.com/cd/000TOOLS/VAX/
).
gzip and tar are also available at ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/VMS.
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 permits
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 ( available 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
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.
-
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 C<gzip -d yourmodule.tar.gz>
You can get gzip from
http://www.s390.ibm.com/products/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/index.htm.
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.
Jon Orwant
orwant@tpj.com
The Perl Journal, http://tpj.com
with invaluable help from Brandon Allbery, Charles Bailey, Graham Barr, Dominic Dunlop, Jarkko Hietaniemi, Ben Holzman, Tom Horsley, Nick Ing-Simmons, Tuomas
J. Lukka, Laszlo Molnar, Chris Nandor, Alan Olsen, Peter Prymmer, Gurusamy Sarathy, Christoph Spalinger, Dan Sugalski, Larry Virden, and Ilya Zakharevich.
July 22, 1998
Copyright
(C) 1998 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 distributed under the
terms of a permission notice identical to this one.
Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this
documentation into another language, under the above conditions for
modified versions.
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