Anonymous Monk has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Hi All, I'm trying to download some PERL modules that I need to use urgently. I am having trouble with the download procedure. My OS is Windows 2000. The module I need is dependant upon another module. I am entering the commands from the command prompt. Can anyone please give me a straight forward explanation on how to download a PERL Module on a Windows 2000 OS. Please respond asap-it would be greatly appreciated Cheers, Val

Replies are listed 'Best First'.
Re: Perl module downloading
by dda (Friar) on Jul 08, 2002 at 10:26 UTC
    Hi,

    Do you have ActiveState perl? If yes, it has a tool named PPM - try to type 'ppm' at your command line.

    --dda

[reply]
Re: Perl module downloading
by CodeHound (Beadle) on Jul 08, 2002 at 13:13 UTC
    Since I suppose you are using activestate's activeperl, you will use ppm, as stated in the previous post.

    When you are sure that perl installation folder is in your path variable of the operating system, typing ppm help in the command line from the dos prompt issues the following lines:
    Commands:
    exit              - leave the program.
    help [command]    - prints this screen, or help on 'command'.
    install PACKAGES  - installs specified PACKAGES.
    quit              - leave the program.
    query [options]   - query information about installed packages.
    remove PACKAGES   - removes the specified PACKAGES from the system
    search [options]  - search information about available packages.
    set [options]     - set/display current options.
    verify [options]  - verifies current install is up to date.
    version           - displays PPM version number

    [download]
    Pay attention to the fact that you need the exact module name, as given by the module creator.
    You can issue the search command to look up for a specific package.
    Hope I've been of help :)
[reply]
[d/l]
Re: Perl module downloading
by AcidHawk (Vicar) on Jul 08, 2002 at 14:05 UTC
    I have had some trouble with this also, I am using ActiveState perl so use the ppm util to load the modules I need. Firstly I connect ot the folowing site to download the zips from. Behind a Firewall and cannot use the ppm directly to the Activestate repository.
    http://www.activestate.com/PPMPackages/zips/6xx-builds-only/

    when I have downloaded the zip I modify ppm to remove the activestate repository that is default and change the repository to my temp dir. Like so...

    ppm
    set repository --remove ActiveState Package Repository
    set repository Temp C:\Temp
    set save

    I then unzip the package into my C:\temp dir making sure I use path names...

    to install the package is then simple. I run ppm..

    ppm
    install Module-Name


    -----
    Of all the things I've lost in my life, its my mind I miss the most.

[reply]
      You don't need to do all that if you simply get your proxy settings right as described in perldoc ppm:

      ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
   
HTTP_proxy
If the environment variable 'HTTP_proxy' is set, then it will be used 
+as the address of a proxy server for accessing the Internet.
The value should be of the form: 'http://proxy:port'.

      [download]
      You can set this in Control Panel - System.

      This is probably "Perl's Most Frequently Asked Question", with the possible exception of something related to Unix versus PC type linebreaks.

      Regards,
      Helgi Briem

[reply]
[d/l]
        Yes, this is a whole lot easier than downloading the module and customising the ppm tool. But there are other reasons why I would still choose the download way.

        1. Personally I like to keep all the modules I need on a cd that I move around with me. If I come to a site/customer/machine I have quick access to them.(Possible stand alone machine not connected to a network/the internet.

        2. I am still busy trying this but I am sure that if I set the HTTP_Proxy setting in the environment on my machine that is behind the office firewall, I will still be asked for authentication.(I am not loggin onto the NT domain.)

        However I am only a mere initiate and hope I am not way off the mark.(Although I do know that downloading the modules works for me)

        -----
        Of all the things I've lost in my life, its my mind I miss the most.

        UPDATE: Appologies! I should have read first..

        If your proxy or firewall requires a username and password, you will also need to set the environment variables 'HTTP_proxy_user' and 'HTTP_proxy_pass'.

        This is why I am still an INITIATE...;)

        Regards

[reply]

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