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

I am working alone on a Mac OS 10.6.4 with Perl 5.10.0. I need a module to refresh open files from my script. I have downloaded Jesse Vincent's Module::Refresh, which seems to me will do what I want. As a result of the download, there is a Module-Refresh-0.13.tar file in my HD/Users/myname/Downloads. From that, I got a Module-Refresh-0.13 folder that includes three folders (inc, lib, and t) and five files (Changes, Makefile.PL, Manifest, Signature, and Meta.yml). I am, however, too inexperienced to implement the various (to me, complex) instructions on the web to get all this to where I can use it. What do I do next? Please note the word 'inexperienced'.

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Re: Install and use module
by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Aug 09, 2010 at 16:29 UTC
    What do I do next?
    1. Open a console session and cd into the Module-Refresh-0.13 folder.
    2. Type: perl Makefile.pl
    3. Type: make
    4. Type: make test
    5. Type: make install
    Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
    "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".
    In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.
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      Note there are two situations where the above will not work:

      First one, if it's a Module::Build module, in which case you need 'Build.pl' instead of 'Makefile' and './Build' instead of 'make'.

      Second one: If you have yet to install the Developer Tools from Apple, you won't have 'make'. (Or a compiler, or several other very useful things for developing software.)

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        First one, if it's a Module::Build module, in which case you need 'Build.pl' instead of 'Makefile' and './Build' instead of 'make'.

        In that case, I generally just wipe the module directory and ditch the .tar. 9 times out of 10, it won't build on my system anyway.

        In several cases, if I hand compile&link any XS code, and then install manually, the modules work fine.

        But Module::Build is so broken, and such a convoluted morass of O'Woe's OO-spaghetti, that life is just too short. It's usually quicker to write my own.

        Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
        "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".
        In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.
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      The first four steps from BrowserUK worked well, thank you! Kit complete, tests successful, etc. Took some time for me to find the Apple Dev Tools (my problem). However, step 5 reports: "ERROR: Can't create '/usr/local/share/man/man3: Permission denied at /System/Library/Perl/5.10.0/ExtUtils/Install.pm line 479." And adds "Error 13". I've looked at, and tried to change(!), some Permissions on my Mac. And I've looked for help on the web. But I really don't know what I'm doing so, of course, nothing tried so far has worked. So now, how do I get permission for 'make install'?
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Re: Install and use module
by Fletch (Bishop) on Aug 09, 2010 at 16:52 UTC

    Read perlmodinstall.

    The cake is a lie.
    The cake is a lie.
    The cake is a lie.

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Re: Install and use module
by Your Mother (Archbishop) on Aug 09, 2010 at 16:53 UTC

    And you will probably, depending on how you set-up your box, need to alter step five slightly.

    5) Type: sudo make install

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