Installing perl using dpkg

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

Hello monks!
I have a problem using apt-get and I think it's because system perl is broken:

sudo dpkg -l | grep -v ^ii

iFR linux-image-2.6.32-24-generic 2.6.32-24.41 Linux kernel image for 
+version 2.6.32 on x86
iF man-db 2.5.7-2 on-line manual pager
iF perl 5.10.1-8ubuntu2 Larry Wall's Practical Extraction and Report
pF tzdata 2011g-0ubuntu0.10.04 time zone and daylight-saving time data
iU tzdata-java 2011g-0ubuntu0.10.04 time zone and daylight-saving time
+ data for
[download]

which perl
/usr/local/bin/perl
[download]

perl -v 
This is perl 5, version 12, subversion 1 (v5.12.1) built for x86_64-li
+nux
[download]

sudo apt-get --reinstall perl
E: Felaktig åtgärd perl
[download]

Unfourtunately in swedish. It says "bad action" or something similar.

So apparently system perl is broken in some way. Can I reinstall using dpkg? In that case, how do I do? Thank you.

Comment on Installing perl using dpkg Select or Download Code

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Re: Installing perl using dpkg by Corion (Patriarch) on Jul 05, 2011 at 09:31 UTC
Also see the replies to broke my perl? :(, especially moritz' reply.	[reply]
Re: Installing perl using dpkg by salva (Canon) on Jul 05, 2011 at 09:25 UTC
`sudo apt-get --reinstall install perl` [download]	[reply] [d/l]
Re^2: Installing perl using dpkg by megnetz (Novice) on Jul 05, 2011 at 09:29 UTC
Thanks! It yeilds an error report ending like this: `/var/cache/apt/archives/linux-image-2.6.32-24-generic_2.6.32-24.43_amd +64.deb E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)` [download]	[reply] [d/l]
Re^3: Installing perl using dpkg by moritz (Cardinal) on Jul 05, 2011 at 09:35 UTC
It's not the end of the errors that are interesting, but rather the start. Perl 6 - second systems done right	[reply]
Re^4: Installing perl using dpkg by megnetz (Novice) on Jul 05, 2011 at 09:44 UTC
Re: Installing perl using dpkg by moritz (Cardinal) on Jul 05, 2011 at 09:31 UTC
You can try some steps: first manipulate your PATH to not contain the custom perl `PATH=/bin:/usr/bin:/sbin/:/usr/sbin` [download] then try again. Second, if aptitude doesn't work, use dpkg directly. Dowload the `perl` and `perl-modules` .deb packages directly from your mirror, and install them each with `dpkg -i $package_filename` If you get it fixed, remember not to touch your system perl at all - use App::perlbrew instead. Perl 6 - second systems done right	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^2: Installing perl using dpkg by megnetz (Novice) on Jul 05, 2011 at 09:39 UTC
Thanks! Changing my PATH didn't help. Can you direct me to instructions for downloading perl directly from my mirror it would be much appreciated.	[reply]
Re^3: Installing perl using dpkg by Corion (Patriarch) on Jul 05, 2011 at 09:44 UTC
This is purely a Debian OS issue and not at all related to Perl. Go to http://packages.debian.org, find the packages and download/install them.	[reply]
Re^4: Installing perl using dpkg by megnetz (Novice) on Jul 05, 2011 at 10:15 UTC
Re^5: Installing perl using dpkg by Corion (Patriarch) on Jul 05, 2011 at 10:17 UTC
Some notes below your chosen depth have not been shown here
Re^5: Installing perl using dpkg by moritz (Cardinal) on Jul 05, 2011 at 10:17 UTC
Re: Installing perl using dpkg by chrestomanci (Priest) on Jul 05, 2011 at 20:02 UTC
It is worth bearing in mind that perl is used internally by the apt packaging system in Debian and it's derivatives (eg Ubuntu), so if you manage to properly break perl on a Debian platform, you won't be able to re-install it within the packaging system. Instead you will have to copy files from a live CD or suchlike.	[reply]