PERLMODINSTALL(1) Perl Programmers Reference Guide PERLMODINSTALL(1)
NAME
perlmodinstall - Installing CPAN Modules
DESCRIPTION
You can think of a module as the fundamental unit of reusable Perl code; see perlmod for details. Whenever
anyone creates a chunk of Perl code that they think will be useful to the world, they register as a Perl
developer at http://www.cpan.org/modules/04pause.html so that they can then upload their code to the CPAN.
The CPAN is the Comprehensive Perl Archive Network and can be accessed at http://www.cpan.org/ , and searched
at http://search.cpan.org/ .
This documentation is for people who want to download CPAN modules and install them on their own computer.
PREAMBLE
First, are you sure that the module isn't already on your system? Try "perl -MFoo -e 1". (Replace "Foo" with
the name of the module; for instance, "perl -MCGI::Carp -e 1".
If you don't see an error message, you have the module. (If you do see an error message, it's still possible
you have the module, but that it's not in your path, which you can display with "perl -e "print qq(@INC)"".)
For the remainder of this document, we'll assume that you really honestly truly lack an installed module, but
have found it on the CPAN.
So now you have a file ending in .tar.gz (or, less often, .zip). You know there's a tasty module inside.
There are four steps you must now take:
DECOMPRESS the file
UNPACK the file into a directory
BUILD the module (sometimes unnecessary)
INSTALL the module.
Here's how to perform each step for each operating system. This is <not> a substitute for reading the README
and INSTALL files that might have come with your module!
Also note that these instructions are tailored for installing the module into your system's repository of Perl
modules, but you can install modules into any directory you wish. For instance, where I say "perl
Makefile.PL", you can substitute "perl Makefile.PL PREFIX=/my/perl_directory" to install the modules into
"/my/perl_directory". Then you can use the modules from your Perl programs with "use lib
"/my/perl_directory/lib/site_perl";" or sometimes just "use "/my/perl_directory";". If you're on a system
that requires superuser/root access to install modules into the directories you see when you type "perl -e
"print qq(@INC)"", you'll want to install them into a local directory (such as your home directory) and use
this approach.
· If you're on a Unix or Unix-like system,
You can use Andreas Koenig's CPAN module ( http://www.cpan.org/modules/by-module/CPAN ) to automate the
following steps, from DECOMPRESS through INSTALL.
A. DECOMPRESS
Decompress the file with "gzip -d yourmodule.tar.gz"
You can get gzip from ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/
Or, you can combine this step with the next to save disk space:
gzip -dc yourmodule.tar.gz | tar -xof -
perl Makefile.PL PREFIX=/my/perl_directory
to install it locally. (Remember that if you do this, you'll have to put "use lib "/my/perl_directory";"
near the top of the program that is to use this module.
D. INSTALL
While still in that directory, type:
make install
Make sure you have the appropriate permissions to install the module in your Perl 5 library directory.
Often, you'll need to be root.
That's all you need to do on Unix systems with dynamic linking. Most Unix systems have dynamic linking.
If yours doesn't, or if for another reason you have a statically-linked perl, and the module requires
compilation, you'll need to build a new Perl binary that includes the module. Again, you'll probably need
to be root.
· If you're running ActivePerl (Win95/98/2K/NT/XP, Linux, Solaris)
First, type "ppm" from a shell and see whether ActiveState's PPM repository has your module. If so, you
can install it with "ppm" and you won't have to bother with any of the other steps here. You might be
able to use the CPAN instructions from the "Unix or Linux" section above as well; give it a try.
Otherwise, you'll have to follow the steps below.
A. DECOMPRESS
You can use the shareware Winzip ( http://www.winzip.com ) to decompress and unpack modules.
B. UNPACK
If you used WinZip, this was already done for you.
C. BUILD
You'll need the "nmake" utility, available at
http://download.microsoft.com/download/vc15/Patch/1.52/W95/EN-US/nmake15.exe or dmake, available on CPAN.
http://search.cpan.org/dist/dmake/
Does the module require compilation (i.e. does it have files that end in .xs, .c, .h, .y, .cc, .cxx, or
.C)? If it does, life is now officially tough for you, because you have to compile the module yourself
(no easy feat on Windows). You'll need a compiler such as Visual C++. Alternatively, you can download a
pre-built PPM package from ActiveState. http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Downloads/ActivePerl/PPM/
Go into the newly-created directory and type:
perl Makefile.PL
nmake test
D. INSTALL
After installing cpan-mac, drop the module archive on the untarzipme droplet, which will decompress and
unpack for you.
Or, you can either use the shareware StuffIt Expander program ( http://my.smithmicro.com/mac/stuffit/ ) or
the freeware MacGzip program ( http://persephone.cps.unizar.es/general/gente/spd/gzip/gzip.html ).
B. UNPACK
If you're using untarzipme or StuffIt, the archive should be extracted now. Or, you can use the freeware
suntar or Tar ( http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive/Archive/cmp/ ).
C. BUILD
Check the contents of the distribution. Read the module's documentation, looking for reasons why you
might have trouble using it with MacPerl. Look for .xs and .c files, which normally denote that the
distribution must be compiled, and you cannot install it "out of the box." (See "PORTABILITY".)
D. INSTALL
If you are using cpan-mac, just drop the folder on the installme droplet, and use the module.
Or, if you aren't using cpan-mac, do some manual labor.
Make sure the newlines for the modules are in Mac format, not Unix format. If they are not then you might
have decompressed them incorrectly. Check your decompression and unpacking utilities settings to make
sure they are translating text files properly.
As a last resort, you can use the perl one-liner:
perl -i.bak -pe 's/(?:\015)?\012/\015/g' <filenames>
on the source files.
Then move the files (probably just the .pm files, though there may be some additional ones, too; check the
module documentation) to their final destination: This will most likely be in "$ENV{MACPERL}site_lib:"
(i.e., "HD:MacPerl folder:site_lib:"). You can add new paths to the default @INC in the Preferences menu
item in the MacPerl application ("$ENV{MACPERL}site_lib:" is added automagically). Create whatever
directory structures are required (i.e., for "Some::Module", create "$ENV{MACPERL}site_lib:Some:" and put
"Module.pm" in that directory).
Then run the following script (or something like it):
#!perl -w
use AutoSplit;
my $dir = "${MACPERL}site_perl";
autosplit("$dir:Some:Module.pm", "$dir:auto", 0, 1, 1);
· If you're on the DJGPP port of DOS,
A. DECOMPRESS
djtarx ( ftp://ftp.delorie.com/pub/djgpp/current/v2/ ) will both uncompress and unpack.
B. UNPACK
D. INSTALL
While still in that directory, type:
make install
You will need the packages mentioned in README.dos in the Perl distribution.
· If you're on OS/2,
Get the EMX development suite and gzip/tar, from either Hobbes ( http://hobbes.nmsu.edu ) or Leo (
http://www.leo.org ), and then follow the instructions for Unix.
· If you're on VMS,
When downloading from CPAN, save your file with a ".tgz" extension instead of ".tar.gz". All other
periods in the filename should be replaced with underscores. For example, "Your-Module-1.33.tar.gz"
should be downloaded as "Your-Module-1_33.tgz".
A. DECOMPRESS
Type
gzip -d Your-Module.tgz
or, for zipped modules, type
unzip Your-Module.zip
Executables for gzip, zip, and VMStar:
http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/
and their source code:
http://www.fsf.org/order/ftp.html
Note that GNU's gzip/gunzip is not the same as Info-ZIP's zip/unzip package. The former is a simple
compression tool; the latter permits creation of multi-file archives.
B. UNPACK
If you're using VMStar:
VMStar xf Your-Module.tar
Or, if you're fond of VMS command syntax:
tar/extract/verbose Your_Module.tar
C. BUILD
Make sure you have MMS (from Digital) or the freeware MMK ( available from MadGoat at
http://www.madgoat.com ). Then type this to create the DESCRIP.MMS for the module:
mms install
Substitute "mmk" for "mms" above if you're using MMK.
· If you're on MVS,
Introduce the .tar.gz file into an HFS as binary; don't translate from ASCII to EBCDIC.
A. DECOMPRESS
Decompress the file with "gzip -d yourmodule.tar.gz"
You can get gzip from http://www.s390.ibm.com/products/oe/bpxqp1.html
B. UNPACK
Unpack the result with
pax -o to=IBM-1047,from=ISO8859-1 -r < yourmodule.tar
The BUILD and INSTALL steps are identical to those for Unix. Some modules generate Makefiles that work
better with GNU make, which is available from http://www.mks.com/s390/gnu/
PORTABILITY
Note that not all modules will work with on all platforms. See perlport for more information on portability
issues. Read the documentation to see if the module will work on your system. There are basically three
categories of modules that will not work "out of the box" with all platforms (with some possibility of
overlap):
· Those that should, but don't. These need to be fixed; consider contacting the author and possibly writing
a patch.
· Those that need to be compiled, where the target platform doesn't have compilers readily available.
(These modules contain .xs or .c files, usually.) You might be able to find existing binaries on the CPAN
or elsewhere, or you might want to try getting compilers and building it yourself, and then release the
binary for other poor souls to use.
· Those that are targeted at a specific platform. (Such as the Win32:: modules.) If the module is targeted
specifically at a platform other than yours, you're out of luck, most likely.
Check the CPAN Testers if a module should work with your platform but it doesn't behave as you'd expect, or
you aren't sure whether or not a module will work under your platform. If the module you want isn't listed
there, you can test it yourself and let CPAN Testers know, you can join CPAN Testers, or you can request it be
tested.
http://testers.cpan.org/
HEY
If you have any suggested changes for this page, let me know. Please don't send me mail asking for help on
how to install your modules. There are too many modules, and too few Orwants, for me to be able to answer or
even acknowledge all your questions. Contact the module author instead, or post to comp.lang.perl.modules, or
ask someone familiar with Perl on your operating system.
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (C) 1998, 2002, 2003 Jon Orwant. All Rights Reserved.
This document may be distributed under the same terms as Perl itself.
perl v5.16.3 2013-03-04 PERLMODINSTALL(1)
Back to main site | Back to man page index