Commit | Line | Data |
---|---|---|
fb9cefb4 GS |
1 | =head1 NAME |
2 | ||
3 | perlmodinstall - Installing CPAN Modules | |
4 | ||
5 | =head1 DESCRIPTION | |
6 | ||
7 | You can think of a module as the fundamental unit of reusable Perl | |
b3539c74 JH |
8 | code; see L<perlmod> for details. Whenever anyone creates a chunk of |
9 | Perl code that they think will be useful to the world, they register | |
4b05bc8e | 10 | as a Perl developer at L<http://www.cpan.org/modules/04pause.html> |
b3539c74 JH |
11 | so that they can then upload their code to the CPAN. The CPAN is the |
12 | Comprehensive Perl Archive Network and can be accessed at | |
4b05bc8e | 13 | L<http://www.cpan.org/> , and searched at L<http://search.cpan.org/> . |
fb9cefb4 GS |
14 | |
15 | This documentation is for people who want to download CPAN modules | |
16 | and install them on their own computer. | |
17 | ||
18 | =head2 PREAMBLE | |
19 | ||
b3539c74 JH |
20 | First, are you sure that the module isn't already on your system? Try |
21 | C<perl -MFoo -e 1>. (Replace "Foo" with the name of the module; for | |
6c1c521a | 22 | instance, C<perl -MCGI::Carp -e 1>.) |
b3539c74 JH |
23 | |
24 | If you don't see an error message, you have the module. (If you do | |
25 | see an error message, it's still possible you have the module, but | |
26 | that it's not in your path, which you can display with C<perl -e | |
27 | "print qq(@INC)">.) For the remainder of this document, we'll assume | |
28 | that you really honestly truly lack an installed module, but have | |
29 | found it on the CPAN. | |
30 | ||
31 | So now you have a file ending in .tar.gz (or, less often, .zip). You | |
32 | know there's a tasty module inside. There are four steps you must now | |
33 | take: | |
fb9cefb4 GS |
34 | |
35 | =over 5 | |
36 | ||
37 | =item B<DECOMPRESS> the file | |
637e9122 | 38 | |
fb9cefb4 | 39 | =item B<UNPACK> the file into a directory |
637e9122 | 40 | |
fb9cefb4 | 41 | =item B<BUILD> the module (sometimes unnecessary) |
637e9122 | 42 | |
fb9cefb4 GS |
43 | =item B<INSTALL> the module. |
44 | ||
45 | =back | |
46 | ||
47 | Here's how to perform each step for each operating system. This is | |
91826056 | 48 | <not> a substitute for reading the README and INSTALL files that |
fb9cefb4 GS |
49 | might have come with your module! |
50 | ||
51 | Also note that these instructions are tailored for installing the | |
ac036724 | 52 | module into your system's repository of Perl modules, but you can |
fb9cefb4 | 53 | install modules into any directory you wish. For instance, where I |
b3539c74 JH |
54 | say C<perl Makefile.PL>, you can substitute C<perl Makefile.PL |
55 | PREFIX=/my/perl_directory> to install the modules into | |
f703fc96 | 56 | F</my/perl_directory>. Then you can use the modules from your Perl |
b3539c74 JH |
57 | programs with C<use lib "/my/perl_directory/lib/site_perl";> or |
58 | sometimes just C<use "/my/perl_directory";>. If you're on a system | |
59 | that requires superuser/root access to install modules into the | |
60 | directories you see when you type C<perl -e "print qq(@INC)">, you'll | |
61 | want to install them into a local directory (such as your home | |
91826056 | 62 | directory) and use this approach. |
fb9cefb4 GS |
63 | |
64 | =over 4 | |
65 | ||
66 | =item * | |
67 | ||
8e30f651 | 68 | B<If you're on a Unix or Unix-like system,> |
fb9cefb4 | 69 | |
91826056 | 70 | You can use Andreas Koenig's CPAN module |
4b05bc8e | 71 | ( L<http://www.cpan.org/modules/by-module/CPAN> ) |
fb9cefb4 GS |
72 | to automate the following steps, from DECOMPRESS through INSTALL. |
73 | ||
91826056 | 74 | A. DECOMPRESS |
fb9cefb4 GS |
75 | |
76 | Decompress the file with C<gzip -d yourmodule.tar.gz> | |
77 | ||
4b05bc8e | 78 | You can get gzip from L<ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/> |
fb9cefb4 GS |
79 | |
80 | Or, you can combine this step with the next to save disk space: | |
81 | ||
82 | gzip -dc yourmodule.tar.gz | tar -xof - | |
83 | ||
84 | B. UNPACK | |
85 | ||
86 | Unpack the result with C<tar -xof yourmodule.tar> | |
87 | ||
88 | C. BUILD | |
89 | ||
90 | Go into the newly-created directory and type: | |
91 | ||
92 | perl Makefile.PL | |
fb9cefb4 GS |
93 | make test |
94 | ||
91826056 | 95 | or |
b3539c74 JH |
96 | |
97 | perl Makefile.PL PREFIX=/my/perl_directory | |
98 | ||
99 | to install it locally. (Remember that if you do this, you'll have to | |
100 | put C<use lib "/my/perl_directory";> near the top of the program that | |
101 | is to use this module. | |
102 | ||
fb9cefb4 GS |
103 | D. INSTALL |
104 | ||
105 | While still in that directory, type: | |
106 | ||
107 | make install | |
108 | ||
b3539c74 | 109 | Make sure you have the appropriate permissions to install the module |
fb9cefb4 GS |
110 | in your Perl 5 library directory. Often, you'll need to be root. |
111 | ||
112 | That's all you need to do on Unix systems with dynamic linking. | |
ac036724 | 113 | Most Unix systems have dynamic linking. If yours doesn't, or if for |
b3539c74 | 114 | another reason you have a statically-linked perl, B<and> the |
fb9cefb4 GS |
115 | module requires compilation, you'll need to build a new Perl binary |
116 | that includes the module. Again, you'll probably need to be root. | |
117 | ||
118 | =item * | |
119 | ||
f321be7e | 120 | B<If you're running ActivePerl (Win95/98/2K/NT/XP, Linux, Solaris),> |
b3539c74 JH |
121 | |
122 | First, type C<ppm> from a shell and see whether ActiveState's PPM | |
123 | repository has your module. If so, you can install it with C<ppm> and | |
124 | you won't have to bother with any of the other steps here. You might | |
125 | be able to use the CPAN instructions from the "Unix or Linux" section | |
126 | above as well; give it a try. Otherwise, you'll have to follow the | |
127 | steps below. | |
fb9cefb4 GS |
128 | |
129 | A. DECOMPRESS | |
130 | ||
4b05bc8e | 131 | You can use the shareware Winzip ( L<http://www.winzip.com> ) to |
fb9cefb4 GS |
132 | decompress and unpack modules. |
133 | ||
134 | B. UNPACK | |
135 | ||
136 | If you used WinZip, this was already done for you. | |
137 | ||
138 | C. BUILD | |
139 | ||
376270a4 | 140 | You'll need the C<nmake> utility, available at |
4b05bc8e | 141 | L<http://download.microsoft.com/download/vc15/Patch/1.52/W95/EN-US/nmake15.exe> |
376270a4 | 142 | or dmake, available on CPAN. |
4b05bc8e | 143 | L<http://search.cpan.org/dist/dmake/> |
376270a4 MS |
144 | |
145 | Does the module require compilation (i.e. does it have files that end | |
146 | in .xs, .c, .h, .y, .cc, .cxx, or .C)? If it does, life is now | |
147 | officially tough for you, because you have to compile the module | |
ac036724 | 148 | yourself (no easy feat on Windows). You'll need a compiler such as |
376270a4 MS |
149 | Visual C++. Alternatively, you can download a pre-built PPM package |
150 | from ActiveState. | |
4b05bc8e | 151 | L<http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Downloads/ActivePerl/PPM/> |
376270a4 MS |
152 | |
153 | Go into the newly-created directory and type: | |
154 | ||
155 | perl Makefile.PL | |
156 | nmake test | |
157 | ||
fb9cefb4 GS |
158 | |
159 | D. INSTALL | |
160 | ||
376270a4 | 161 | While still in that directory, type: |
fb9cefb4 | 162 | |
376270a4 | 163 | nmake install |
fb9cefb4 GS |
164 | |
165 | =item * | |
166 | ||
fb9cefb4 GS |
167 | B<If you're on the DJGPP port of DOS,> |
168 | ||
169 | A. DECOMPRESS | |
170 | ||
4b05bc8e | 171 | djtarx ( L<ftp://ftp.delorie.com/pub/djgpp/current/v2/> ) |
91826056 | 172 | will both uncompress and unpack. |
fb9cefb4 GS |
173 | |
174 | B. UNPACK | |
175 | ||
176 | See above. | |
177 | ||
178 | C. BUILD | |
179 | ||
180 | Go into the newly-created directory and type: | |
181 | ||
182 | perl Makefile.PL | |
fb9cefb4 GS |
183 | make test |
184 | ||
91826056 | 185 | You will need the packages mentioned in F<README.dos> |
fb9cefb4 GS |
186 | in the Perl distribution. |
187 | ||
188 | D. INSTALL | |
189 | ||
190 | While still in that directory, type: | |
191 | ||
b3539c74 | 192 | make install |
91826056 JH |
193 | |
194 | You will need the packages mentioned in F<README.dos> in the Perl distribution. | |
fb9cefb4 GS |
195 | |
196 | =item * | |
197 | ||
198 | B<If you're on OS/2,> | |
199 | ||
200 | Get the EMX development suite and gzip/tar, from either Hobbes ( | |
4b05bc8e | 201 | L<http://hobbes.nmsu.edu> ) or Leo ( L<http://www.leo.org> ), and then follow |
fb9cefb4 GS |
202 | the instructions for Unix. |
203 | ||
204 | =item * | |
205 | ||
206 | B<If you're on VMS,> | |
207 | ||
b3539c74 JH |
208 | When downloading from CPAN, save your file with a C<.tgz> |
209 | extension instead of C<.tar.gz>. All other periods in the | |
fb9cefb4 GS |
210 | filename should be replaced with underscores. For example, |
211 | C<Your-Module-1.33.tar.gz> should be downloaded as | |
212 | C<Your-Module-1_33.tgz>. | |
213 | ||
214 | A. DECOMPRESS | |
215 | ||
91826056 | 216 | Type |
fb9cefb4 GS |
217 | |
218 | gzip -d Your-Module.tgz | |
219 | ||
91826056 | 220 | or, for zipped modules, type |
fb9cefb4 GS |
221 | |
222 | unzip Your-Module.zip | |
223 | ||
91826056 JH |
224 | Executables for gzip, zip, and VMStar: |
225 | ||
05e8c65e | 226 | http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/ |
fb9cefb4 | 227 | |
91826056 JH |
228 | and their source code: |
229 | ||
230 | http://www.fsf.org/order/ftp.html | |
fb9cefb4 GS |
231 | |
232 | Note that GNU's gzip/gunzip is not the same as Info-ZIP's zip/unzip | |
233 | package. The former is a simple compression tool; the latter permits | |
234 | creation of multi-file archives. | |
235 | ||
236 | B. UNPACK | |
237 | ||
238 | If you're using VMStar: | |
239 | ||
240 | VMStar xf Your-Module.tar | |
241 | ||
242 | Or, if you're fond of VMS command syntax: | |
243 | ||
244 | tar/extract/verbose Your_Module.tar | |
245 | ||
91826056 | 246 | C. BUILD |
fb9cefb4 | 247 | |
91826056 | 248 | Make sure you have MMS (from Digital) or the freeware MMK ( available |
4b05bc8e | 249 | from MadGoat at L<http://www.madgoat.com> ). Then type this to create |
91826056 | 250 | the DESCRIP.MMS for the module: |
fb9cefb4 GS |
251 | |
252 | perl Makefile.PL | |
253 | ||
254 | Now you're ready to build: | |
255 | ||
fb9cefb4 GS |
256 | mms test |
257 | ||
258 | Substitute C<mmk> for C<mms> above if you're using MMK. | |
259 | ||
260 | D. INSTALL | |
261 | ||
91826056 | 262 | Type |
fb9cefb4 GS |
263 | |
264 | mms install | |
265 | ||
266 | Substitute C<mmk> for C<mms> above if you're using MMK. | |
267 | ||
268 | =item * | |
269 | ||
270 | B<If you're on MVS>, | |
271 | ||
91826056 | 272 | Introduce the F<.tar.gz> file into an HFS as binary; don't translate from |
fb9cefb4 GS |
273 | ASCII to EBCDIC. |
274 | ||
91826056 | 275 | A. DECOMPRESS |
fb9cefb4 | 276 | |
07698885 | 277 | Decompress the file with C<gzip -d yourmodule.tar.gz> |
fb9cefb4 | 278 | |
07698885 | 279 | You can get gzip from |
4b05bc8e | 280 | L<http://www.s390.ibm.com/products/oe/bpxqp1.html> |
fb9cefb4 GS |
281 | |
282 | B. UNPACK | |
283 | ||
91826056 | 284 | Unpack the result with |
fb9cefb4 GS |
285 | |
286 | pax -o to=IBM-1047,from=ISO8859-1 -r < yourmodule.tar | |
287 | ||
288 | The BUILD and INSTALL steps are identical to those for Unix. Some | |
289 | modules generate Makefiles that work better with GNU make, which is | |
4b05bc8e | 290 | available from L<http://www.mks.com/s390/gnu/> |
fb9cefb4 GS |
291 | |
292 | =back | |
293 | ||
24dc5443 JH |
294 | =head1 PORTABILITY |
295 | ||
296 | Note that not all modules will work with on all platforms. | |
297 | See L<perlport> for more information on portability issues. | |
298 | Read the documentation to see if the module will work on your | |
299 | system. There are basically three categories | |
300 | of modules that will not work "out of the box" with all | |
301 | platforms (with some possibility of overlap): | |
302 | ||
303 | =over 4 | |
304 | ||
305 | =item * | |
306 | ||
307 | B<Those that should, but don't.> These need to be fixed; consider | |
308 | contacting the author and possibly writing a patch. | |
309 | ||
310 | =item * | |
311 | ||
312 | B<Those that need to be compiled, where the target platform | |
313 | doesn't have compilers readily available.> (These modules contain | |
314 | F<.xs> or F<.c> files, usually.) You might be able to find | |
315 | existing binaries on the CPAN or elsewhere, or you might | |
316 | want to try getting compilers and building it yourself, and then | |
317 | release the binary for other poor souls to use. | |
318 | ||
319 | =item * | |
320 | ||
321 | B<Those that are targeted at a specific platform.> | |
322 | (Such as the Win32:: modules.) If the module is targeted | |
323 | specifically at a platform other than yours, you're out | |
324 | of luck, most likely. | |
325 | ||
326 | =back | |
327 | ||
328 | ||
329 | ||
330 | Check the CPAN Testers if a module should work with your platform | |
331 | but it doesn't behave as you'd expect, or you aren't sure whether or | |
332 | not a module will work under your platform. If the module you want | |
333 | isn't listed there, you can test it yourself and let CPAN Testers know, | |
334 | you can join CPAN Testers, or you can request it be tested. | |
335 | ||
336 | http://testers.cpan.org/ | |
337 | ||
338 | ||
fb9cefb4 GS |
339 | =head1 HEY |
340 | ||
341 | If you have any suggested changes for this page, let me know. Please | |
342 | don't send me mail asking for help on how to install your modules. | |
343 | There are too many modules, and too few Orwants, for me to be able to | |
344 | answer or even acknowledge all your questions. Contact the module | |
32356571 | 345 | author instead, ask someone familiar with Perl on your operating |
a1c583ca | 346 | system, or if all else fails, file a ticket at L<http://rt.cpan.org/>. |
fb9cefb4 GS |
347 | |
348 | =head1 AUTHOR | |
349 | ||
91826056 | 350 | Jon Orwant |
fb9cefb4 | 351 | |
8eabb633 | 352 | orwant@medita.mit.edu |
fb9cefb4 | 353 | |
b3539c74 JH |
354 | with invaluable help from Chris Nandor, and valuable help from Brandon |
355 | Allbery, Charles Bailey, Graham Barr, Dominic Dunlop, Jarkko | |
356 | Hietaniemi, Ben Holzman, Tom Horsley, Nick Ing-Simmons, Tuomas | |
357 | J. Lukka, Laszlo Molnar, Alan Olsen, Peter Prymmer, Gurusamy Sarathy, | |
358 | Christoph Spalinger, Dan Sugalski, Larry Virden, and Ilya Zakharevich. | |
fb9cefb4 | 359 | |
b3539c74 | 360 | First version July 22, 1998; last revised November 21, 2001. |
fb9cefb4 GS |
361 | |
362 | =head1 COPYRIGHT | |
363 | ||
376270a4 | 364 | Copyright (C) 1998, 2002, 2003 Jon Orwant. All Rights Reserved. |
fb9cefb4 | 365 | |
608704e1 | 366 | This document may be distributed under the same terms as Perl itself. |