Maybe you didn't see the synopsis for local::lib, but yes, there is such a tool, and its called cpan/cpanp/cpanm, local::lib isn't required or even necessary ...

Maybe I'm a little slow on the uptake or something but I don't see how an interactive cpan client this solves the problem. I was saying that a good solution would be something that would work automatically -- that is, without human intervention -- to download and compile some specified list of modules and log all errors on a particular target system.

Lots of times I get excited about a particular module until I get a list of target systems and then try to compile all of the existing modules and their dependencies. Sure enough, one or more of the modules' dependencies fails tests, so I need to roll up my sleeves and figure out whether the features that do not work are even going to be used. If not, I'll then see if I can get away with a forced install. Otherwise, I have to blacklist that module version for all of my target machines until the problem is fixed or I get around to fixing it.

What would help in this process is to have a 'helper' that runs off and compiles my modules in a safe directory and logs all errors in a nice format OR tells me that everything compiled cleanly. This should happen, I'm guessing, once per night and should check for the latest versions of all of my modules before it does this.

Now, specifically, how could I accomplish that?

Maybe I'm a little slow on the uptake or something but I don't see how an interactive cpan client this solves the problem. I was saying that a good solution would be something that would work automatically -- that is, without human intervention -- to download and compile some specified list of modules and log all errors on a particular target system.

All you have to do is not run cpan/cpanp/cpanm in interactive mode :)

Now, specifically, how could I accomplish that?

You configure cpan/cpanp/cpanm to

run non-interactive

keep logs

install modules in a certain perfix

...

then you run it, something like this:

set PERL_MM_USE_DEFAULT=1
set PERL5_CPANPLUS_TEST_VERBOSE=1
set TEST_VERBOSE=1
set PERL5LIB=/home/user/stuff/lib/perl5
set PERL_MB_OPT=--install_base /home/user/stuff
set PERL_MM_OPT=INSTALL_BASE=/home/user/stuff
set PERL_CPANM_HOME=/home/user/stuff/.cpanm

cpan-outdated -p | cpanm

cat /home/user/stuff/.cpanm/build.log
[download]

Crud! You know what I just realized...we can't really trust the tests that come from CPAN modules in all cases. Take the following example from GoogleProvisioningAPI:

Google-ProvisioningAPI-0.11/t/Google-ProvisioningAPI.t
# Before `make install' is performed this script should be runnable wi
+th
# `make test'. After `make install' it should work as `perl Google-Pro
+visioningA
PI.t'

#########################

# change 'tests => 1' to 'tests => last_test_to_print';

use Test::More tests => 1;
BEGIN { use_ok('Google::ProvisioningAPI') };

#########################

# Insert your test code below, the Test::More module is use()ed here s
+o read
# its man page ( perldoc Test::More ) for help writing this test scrip
+t.
[download]

That's it. Given such scant testing it is impossible to determine whether updates or changes to the module will break existing code.

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