beginner - can't load a module

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

I'm new to Perl and I'm trying to set up run some Perl scripts written by someone else. These scripts use a module and I can't get the module to be 'found' by my IDE. Here is the code

use lib qw( C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\Code\BioPe
+rl );

use bin::ExecuteConfigureBioMartBuilder;
[download]

Here is the error message in the IDE

Can't locate bin/ExecuteConfigureBioMartBuilder.pm in @INC (@INC conta
+ins: C:\Documents
 and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\Code\BioPerl C:/Perl/site/lib C:/P
+erl/lib
 .)
[download]

I added the use lib but to no avail. In the BioPerl directory there is a bin directory which contains a file called ExecuteConfigureBioMartBuilder which has this package definition: package bin::ExecuteConfigureBioMartBuilder; I thought this should work

thanks

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Re: beginner - can't load a module by Anonymous Monk on Oct 16, 2010 at 22:35 UTC
You probably don't want to use `qw()`, because that gives you three separate directories: `'C:\Documents' 'and' 'Settings\Administrator\Desktop\Code\BioPerl'` [download]	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re: beginner - can't load a module by lyklev (Pilgrim) on Oct 16, 2010 at 23:24 UTC
As mentioned before, `qw( )` will give you three directories, because it splits on space. Perl was created on Unix-like systems, so to make your life easier on windows: avoid spaces in path names, so create a directory 'c:\bioperl' (or whatever you want) and work there; keep in mind that the backslash '\' works as an escape character to get special characters (like tabs, newlines) and to get a real backslash, you have to use a double backslash. This will make your paths look weird ('c:\\bioperl\\project'). when referring to files, you can use a forward slash which you don't need to escape; these are automatically converted, so 'c:/bioperl/somefile.txt' works. So summarizing: work in 'c:\bioperl' (or similar), put your libraries in, say, 'c:\bioperl\modules', and add the lib-line to your programs: `use lib 'c:/bioperl/modules';` [download] Alternatively, add the directory to your PERL5LIB environment-variable.	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^2: beginner - can't load a module by JavaFan (Canon) on Oct 17, 2010 at 03:18 UTC
keep in mind that the backslash '\' works as an escape character to get special characters (like tabs, newlines) and to get a real backslash, you have to use a double backslash. This will make your paths look weird ('c:\\bioperl\\project'). You do not seem to understand the difference between single and double quoted. What you said is true for double quoted strings, but even in your example you use a single quoted string. No need to escape the backslash there - it would only need to be escaped if it's at the end of the string, or if followed by a backslash. None of that is happening in the OPs path.	[reply]
Re: beginner - can't load a module by Anonymous Monk on Oct 16, 2010 at 21:44 UTC
I posted the original question. I should have pointed out that the file ExecuteConfigureBioMartBuilder is in the bin directory along with the script I am trying to run. So the fact that the current working directory is in the @inc path means that this file should have been found doesnt it?	[reply]
Re^2: beginner - can't load a module by Corion (Patriarch) on Oct 16, 2010 at 21:53 UTC
Perl is looking for `bin/ExecuteConfigureBioMartBuilder.pm` in its error message. But there only is `./ExecuteConfigureBioMartBuilder.pm`. You need to put the module into a `bin/` directory or put both, the module and the script into a `bin/` directory and launch the script from one level higher.	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^3: beginner - can't load a module by Anonymous Monk on Oct 16, 2010 at 22:19 UTC
This is what i thought but I couldn't get it to work. I created a bin directory in my current directory and copied the file there and it still couldn't find it. I made a bin directory in c:\perl\site\lib and copied the file there and it could find it. I don't understand why the second option worked but the first option failed. The disturbing thing though is that the people who I got these files from are adamant in their installation instructions that you should not move/copy files under any circumstances	[reply]
Re^4: beginner - can't load a module by Corion (Patriarch) on Oct 16, 2010 at 22:37 UTC
Re: beginner - can't load a module by Anonymous Monk on Oct 17, 2010 at 06:21 UTC
`use lib join ' ', qw( C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\ +Code\BioPerl );` [download] Also see Simple Module Tutorial	[reply] [d/l]
Re^2: beginner - can't load a module by roboticus (Chancellor) on Oct 17, 2010 at 13:58 UTC
Tragically flawed! It's like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. It may stop the bleeding there, but it does nothing to solve the real problem. Using single quotes (as already mentioned) is a real fix. An illustration of one of the problems with the bit of code you've offered: `use lib join ' ', qw ( C:\Path with varying spaces between wor +ds );` [download] ...roboticus	[reply] [d/l]
Re^2: beginner - can't load a module by Anonymous Monk on Oct 17, 2010 at 08:25 UTC
Why not simply use single quotes (or `q()`)? `use lib 'C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Desktop\Code\BioPerl' +;` [download]	[reply] [d/l] [select]