3 perlmodinstall - Installing CPAN Modules
7 You can think of a module as the fundamental unit of reusable Perl
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
10 as a Perl developer at L<https://www.cpan.org/modules/04pause.html>
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
13 L<https://www.cpan.org/> , and searched at L<https://metacpan.org/> .
15 This documentation is for people who want to download CPAN modules
16 and install them on their own computer.
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
22 instance, C<perl -MCGI::Carp -e 1>.)
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
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
37 =item B<DECOMPRESS> the file
39 =item B<UNPACK> the file into a directory
41 =item B<BUILD> the module (sometimes unnecessary)
43 =item B<INSTALL> the module.
47 Here's how to perform each step for each operating system. This is
48 <not> a substitute for reading the README and INSTALL files that
49 might have come with your module!
51 Also note that these instructions are tailored for installing the
52 module into your system's repository of Perl modules, but you can
53 install modules into any directory you wish. For instance, where I
54 say C<perl Makefile.PL>, you can substitute C<perl Makefile.PL
55 PREFIX=/my/perl_directory> to install the modules into
56 F</my/perl_directory>. Then you can use the modules from your Perl
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
62 directory) and use this approach.
68 B<If you're on a Unix or Unix-like system,>
70 You can use Andreas Koenig's CPAN module
71 ( L<https://metacpan.org/release/CPAN> )
72 to automate the following steps, from DECOMPRESS through INSTALL.
76 Decompress the file with C<gzip -d yourmodule.tar.gz>
78 You can get gzip from L<ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/>
80 Or, you can combine this step with the next to save disk space:
82 gzip -dc yourmodule.tar.gz | tar -xof -
86 Unpack the result with C<tar -xof yourmodule.tar>
90 Go into the newly-created directory and type:
97 perl Makefile.PL PREFIX=/my/perl_directory
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.
105 While still in that directory, type:
109 Make sure you have the appropriate permissions to install the module
110 in your Perl 5 library directory. Often, you'll need to be root.
112 That's all you need to do on Unix systems with dynamic linking.
113 Most Unix systems have dynamic linking. If yours doesn't, or if for
114 another reason you have a statically-linked perl, B<and> the
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.
120 B<If you're running ActivePerl (Win95/98/2K/NT/XP, Linux, Solaris),>
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
132 open source 7-zip ( L<https://www.7-zip.org/> )
133 or the shareware Winzip ( L<https://www.winzip.com> ) to
134 decompress and unpack modules.
138 If you used WinZip, this was already done for you.
142 You'll need either C<nmake> or C<gmake>.
144 Does the module require compilation (i.e. does it have files that end
145 in .xs, .c, .h, .y, .cc, .cxx, or .C)? If it does, life is now
146 officially tough for you, because you have to compile the module
147 yourself (no easy feat on Windows). You'll need a compiler such as
148 Visual C++. Alternatively, you can download a pre-built PPM package
150 L<http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Downloads/ActivePerl/PPM/>
152 Go into the newly-created directory and type:
160 While still in that directory, type:
166 B<If you're on the DJGPP port of DOS,>
170 djtarx ( L<ftp://ftp.delorie.com/pub/djgpp/current/v2/> )
171 will both uncompress and unpack.
179 Go into the newly-created directory and type:
184 You will need the packages mentioned in F<README.dos>
185 in the Perl distribution.
189 While still in that directory, type:
193 You will need the packages mentioned in F<README.dos> in the Perl distribution.
197 B<If you're on OS/2,>
199 Get the EMX development suite and gzip/tar from Hobbes (
200 L<http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/h-browse.php?dir=/pub/os2/dev/emx/v0.9d> ), and then follow
201 the instructions for Unix.
207 When downloading from CPAN, save your file with a C<.tgz>
208 extension instead of C<.tar.gz>. All other periods in the
209 filename should be replaced with underscores. For example,
210 C<Your-Module-1.33.tar.gz> should be downloaded as
211 C<Your-Module-1_33.tgz>.
217 gzip -d Your-Module.tgz
219 or, for zipped modules, type
221 unzip Your-Module.zip
223 Executables for gzip, zip, and VMStar:
225 http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/
227 and their source code:
229 http://www.fsf.org/order/ftp.html
231 Note that GNU's gzip/gunzip is not the same as Info-ZIP's zip/unzip
232 package. The former is a simple compression tool; the latter permits
233 creation of multi-file archives.
237 If you're using VMStar:
239 VMStar xf Your-Module.tar
241 Or, if you're fond of VMS command syntax:
243 tar/extract/verbose Your_Module.tar
247 Make sure you have MMS (from Digital) or the freeware MMK ( available
248 from MadGoat at L<http://www.madgoat.com> ). Then type this to create
249 the DESCRIP.MMS for the module:
253 Now you're ready to build:
257 Substitute C<mmk> for C<mms> above if you're using MMK.
265 Substitute C<mmk> for C<mms> above if you're using MMK.
271 Introduce the F<.tar.gz> file into an HFS as binary; don't translate from
276 Decompress the file with C<gzip -d yourmodule.tar.gz>
278 You can get gzip from
279 L<http://www.s390.ibm.com/products/oe/bpxqp1.html>
283 Unpack the result with
285 pax -o to=IBM-1047,from=ISO8859-1 -r < yourmodule.tar
287 The BUILD and INSTALL steps are identical to those for Unix. Some
288 modules generate Makefiles that work better with GNU make, which is
289 available from L<http://www.mks.com/s390/gnu/>
295 Note that not all modules will work with on all platforms.
296 See L<perlport> for more information on portability issues.
297 Read the documentation to see if the module will work on your
298 system. There are basically three categories
299 of modules that will not work "out of the box" with all
300 platforms (with some possibility of overlap):
306 B<Those that should, but don't.> These need to be fixed; consider
307 contacting the author and possibly writing a patch.
311 B<Those that need to be compiled, where the target platform
312 doesn't have compilers readily available.> (These modules contain
313 F<.xs> or F<.c> files, usually.) You might be able to find
314 existing binaries on the CPAN or elsewhere, or you might
315 want to try getting compilers and building it yourself, and then
316 release the binary for other poor souls to use.
320 B<Those that are targeted at a specific platform.>
321 (Such as the Win32:: modules.) If the module is targeted
322 specifically at a platform other than yours, you're out
323 of luck, most likely.
329 Check the CPAN Testers if a module should work with your platform
330 but it doesn't behave as you'd expect, or you aren't sure whether or
331 not a module will work under your platform. If the module you want
332 isn't listed there, you can test it yourself and let CPAN Testers know,
333 you can join CPAN Testers, or you can request it be tested.
335 https://cpantesters.org/
340 If you have any suggested changes for this page, let me know. Please
341 don't send me mail asking for help on how to install your modules.
342 There are too many modules, and too few Orwants, for me to be able to
343 answer or even acknowledge all your questions. Contact the module
344 author instead, ask someone familiar with Perl on your operating
345 system, or if all else fails, file a ticket at L<https://rt.cpan.org/>.
351 orwant@medita.mit.edu
353 with invaluable help from Chris Nandor, and valuable help from Brandon
354 Allbery, Charles Bailey, Graham Barr, Dominic Dunlop, Jarkko
355 Hietaniemi, Ben Holzman, Tom Horsley, Nick Ing-Simmons, Tuomas
356 J. Lukka, Laszlo Molnar, Alan Olsen, Peter Prymmer, Gurusamy Sarathy,
357 Christoph Spalinger, Dan Sugalski, Larry Virden, and Ilya Zakharevich.
359 First version July 22, 1998; last revised November 21, 2001.
363 Copyright (C) 1998, 2002, 2003 Jon Orwant. All Rights Reserved.
365 This document may be distributed under the same terms as Perl itself.