I am having a helluva time trying to use GDBM_File.pm. I am using Ubuntu Linux. Perl 5.8.7 came with the system, and GDBM_File came with that: 

[t] 512 $ find /usr/lib/perl/5.8.7 -name '*GDBM_File*'
/usr/lib/perl/5.8.7/GDBM_File.pm
/usr/lib/perl/5.8.7/auto/GDBM_File
/usr/lib/perl/5.8.7/auto/GDBM_File/GDBM_File.so
/usr/lib/perl/5.8.7/auto/GDBM_File/GDBM_File.bs

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Almost as soon as I started working with this system, I upgraded to Perl 5.8.8, building from source. Today, for the first time, I needed to use GDBM_File.pm in a job. Whenever I try to use it, I get this failure message: 

[t] 508 $ perl -MGDBM_File -e 'print "Hello world\n";'
Can't locate GDBM_File.pm in @INC (@INC contains: /home/jimk/lib/perl 
+/usr/local/lib/perl5/5.8.8/i686-linux /usr/local/lib/perl5/5.8.8 /usr
+/local/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.8/i686-linux /usr/local/lib/perl5/site
+_perl/5.8.8 /usr/local/lib/perl5/site_perl .).
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted.

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When I include the vendor's Perl path, I get a different error message: 

[t] 511 $ perl -I/usr/lib/perl/5.8.7 -MGDBM_File -e 'print "Hello worl
+d\n";'
Can't load '/usr/lib/perl/5.8.7/auto/GDBM_File/GDBM_File.so' for modul
+e GDBM_File: /usr/lib/perl/5.8.7/auto/GDBM_File/GDBM_File.so: undefin
+ed symbol: Perl_croak_nocontext at /usr/lib/perl/5.8.7/XSLoader.pm li
+ne 68.
 at /usr/lib/perl/5.8.7/GDBM_File.pm line 83
Compilation failed in require.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted.

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With the help of an experienced Perl hacker, I have rebuilt Perl 5.8.8 three times today -- to no avail. The GDBM_File-related files seem simply to get trashed: 

[t] 514 $ find ~/.Trash/perl-5.8.8/ -name '*GDBM_File*'
/home/jimk/.Trash/perl-5.8.8/ext/GDBM_File
/home/jimk/.Trash/perl-5.8.8/ext/GDBM_File/GDBM_File.pm
/home/jimk/.Trash/perl-5.8.8/ext/GDBM_File/GDBM_File.xs

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Also, while watching the steps in the installation process scroll by, it seemed that when it was going through the ext/ directory, it was skipping from 'F' (as in File) to 'I' (as in IO) without touching on any files beginning with 'G'.

Does anyone know what's going wrong? TIA.

Jim Keenan

In reply to Can't Install/Use GDBM_File.pm by jkeenan1

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