in reply to OS X module installation

You should might use Fink to install DBDs and DBI on OS X. It's the easiest way to install it and a lot more software like XFree86, vim, emacs, etc. Just go over to the Fink site and install it. Then from your terminal, you can use apt-cache search TERM to find the package (with "TERM" in its title or description) you need. The DBD package is also listed on the Fink site. After you get the package name, use apt-get install packagename to install it.

Fink is a project that wants to bring the full world of Unix Open Source software to Darwin and Mac OS X. As a result, we have two main goals. First, to modify existing Open Source software so that it will compile and run on Mac OS X. (This process is called porting.) Second, to make the results available to casual users as a coherent, comfortable distribution that matches what Linux users are used to. (This process is called packaging.) The project offers precompiled binary packages as well as a fully automated build-from-source system.

To achieve these goals, Fink relies on the excellent package management tools produced by the Debian project - dpkg, dselect and apt-get. On top of that, Fink adds its own package manager, named (surprise!) fink. You can view fink as a build engine - it takes package descriptions and produces binary .deb packages from that. In the process, it downloads the original source code from the Internet, patches it as necessary, then goes through the whole process of configuring and building the package. Finally, it wraps the results up in a package archive that is ready to be installed by dpkg.

Since Fink sits on top of Mac OS X, it has a strict policy to avoid interference with the base system. As a result, Fink manages a separate directory tree and provides the infrastructure to make it easy to use.

In general, for Perl modules you should use the CPAN installation module. This is the installation method that works on all systems that run Perl. Open the terminal and do perl -MCPAN -e'shell' Once you've loaded and configured CPAN, you can then use the install command to install all the modules you need.

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Allolex

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Re: Re: OS X module installation
by simonm (Vicar) on Dec 08, 2003 at 18:34 UTC
    You should use Fink to install DBDs and DBI on OS X.

    This is a good recommendation if you'll be installing a lot of open-source software, or if you want to avoid touching the vendor-provided Perl that's already installed.

    However, if you don't want to install a separate copy of Perl, you're probably better off using the regular CPAN command line, perl -MCPAN -e shell and install DBI.

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      The version of Perl Apple included with Jaguar is 5.6.0, so I would recommend using Fink to install at least 5.6.1, but even better 5.8.0, both of which Fink has on offer. (Maybe the situation with Panther has improved.) I think, without restriction, that Fink is worth the trouble even for the comparatively small task of installing DBI. :)

      Update: Looks like I'll soon be installing Panther and using CPAN ;) For some reason, I overlooked simonm's point about compilation.

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      Allolex

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        I think, without restriction, that Fink is worth the trouble even for the comparatively small task of installing DBI. :)

        Again, yes, but with the caveat that this also means getting Fink installed, then using it to compile and install a new version of Perl, and never using the default Perl.

        While I understand that you might not view this as a restriction, people who are looking for a minimal level of modification might still prefer to use the CPAN software they already have installed, and just maintain one version of Perl. (As noted elsewhere, upgrading to Mac OS X 10.3 gives you Perl 5.8.1.)

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        Panther comes with 5.8.1.
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