I shamelessly run the unstable, but what I'd do to maintain consistency is uninstall all the perl MODULE debs (keeping the base install, of course) and use the CPAN shell (important: set to 'follow' dependencies (i.e. auto-install 'em)) for Perl module maintenance (ok, installation). Of course, I have a nice fast connection so I don't need to worry about how long the downloading will take ...
Philosophy can be made out of anything. Or less -- Jerry A. Fodor
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My puzzlement is more with the external libraries that some Perl modules require: should I use down-level Debian-package or current code directly from author or SourceForge.
Sorry if this question isn't really Perlish. Forgive me or unleash the --hounds, as you see fit. {grin}
cheers,
Don
stumbling toward Perl Adept
(it's pronounced "why-bick") | [reply] |
This is the Dark Side of package managing schemes; when the packages get out of sync with what's available fresh from the sources of the Source, you have to figure out what's more important to you: using the latest and greatest (in which case you *can* run unstable Debian, which is closer to the bleeding edge) or having a system that "knows what's installed" at all times? I *tend to* do a mixture of both (is that the worst of both worlds?) For software I know and love, or that I need to customize, I nab a tarball and compile it. For software I don't know, or need to Just Work, I use the packaging system (dpkg, rpm). As long as I don't put too much on my plate and start installing packages that look for the packaged version of software I manually installed, my system doesn't get into inconsistent states. But this can happen once you leave the safety of your package management system; it really is up to you to figure out whether the risks are worth it.
A happy medium is often available when the software maintainer, or the distribution 'vendor' provides source packages -- SRPMS and source .debs; you can get the latest, compile it for your system, and have all the package management goodies. I use this wherever possible (just yesterday I installed AxKit with XML::Sablotron on RedHat, and compiled Sablotron from the source RPM.) I haven't used src debs, but it's probably just as simple. And you always *can* download a package manually if apt-get won't get it for you =)
With the perl modules themselves, CPAN.pm provides decent package management, so you can offset the problems of the mixed system.
update Let me insert a plug for FreeBSD's ports system (which IIRC is available for other BSDs). It works in a manner similar to SRPMs, the BSD team maintains the ports (which may include various patches, and uses a fairly consistent scheme for binary placement etc.), and they're usually pretty up-to-date.
Did that help? Well, I didn't say much, but I tried to say why I can't say much =)
Philosophy can be made out of anything. Or less -- Jerry A. Fodor
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I ended up installing expat from current code, then installs of XML::Parser and XML::Simple from CPAN went flawlessly.
/me is a happy boy. Thanks to arturo for good advice, and epoptai for the excellent framechat - it's more than worth the effort of a installing a couple modules and libraries.
cheers,
Don
bumbling toward Perl Adept
(it's pronounced "why-bick") | [reply] |