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 the C<nmake> utility, available at
143 L<http://download.microsoft.com/download/vc15/Patch/1.52/W95/EN-US/nmake15.exe>
144 or dmake, available on CPAN.
145 L<https://search.cpan.org/dist/dmake/>
147 Does the module require compilation (i.e. does it have files that end
148 in .xs, .c, .h, .y, .cc, .cxx, or .C)? If it does, life is now
149 officially tough for you, because you have to compile the module
150 yourself (no easy feat on Windows). You'll need a compiler such as
151 Visual C++. Alternatively, you can download a pre-built PPM package
153 L<http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Downloads/ActivePerl/PPM/>
155 Go into the newly-created directory and type:
163 While still in that directory, type:
169 B<If you're on the DJGPP port of DOS,>
173 djtarx ( L<ftp://ftp.delorie.com/pub/djgpp/current/v2/> )
174 will both uncompress and unpack.
182 Go into the newly-created directory and type:
187 You will need the packages mentioned in F<README.dos>
188 in the Perl distribution.
192 While still in that directory, type:
196 You will need the packages mentioned in F<README.dos> in the Perl distribution.
200 B<If you're on OS/2,>
202 Get the EMX development suite and gzip/tar from Hobbes (
203 L<http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/h-browse.php?dir=/pub/os2/dev/emx/v0.9d> ), and then follow
204 the instructions for Unix.
210 When downloading from CPAN, save your file with a C<.tgz>
211 extension instead of C<.tar.gz>. All other periods in the
212 filename should be replaced with underscores. For example,
213 C<Your-Module-1.33.tar.gz> should be downloaded as
214 C<Your-Module-1_33.tgz>.
220 gzip -d Your-Module.tgz
222 or, for zipped modules, type
224 unzip Your-Module.zip
226 Executables for gzip, zip, and VMStar:
228 http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/
230 and their source code:
232 http://www.fsf.org/order/ftp.html
234 Note that GNU's gzip/gunzip is not the same as Info-ZIP's zip/unzip
235 package. The former is a simple compression tool; the latter permits
236 creation of multi-file archives.
240 If you're using VMStar:
242 VMStar xf Your-Module.tar
244 Or, if you're fond of VMS command syntax:
246 tar/extract/verbose Your_Module.tar
250 Make sure you have MMS (from Digital) or the freeware MMK ( available
251 from MadGoat at L<http://www.madgoat.com> ). Then type this to create
252 the DESCRIP.MMS for the module:
256 Now you're ready to build:
260 Substitute C<mmk> for C<mms> above if you're using MMK.
268 Substitute C<mmk> for C<mms> above if you're using MMK.
274 Introduce the F<.tar.gz> file into an HFS as binary; don't translate from
279 Decompress the file with C<gzip -d yourmodule.tar.gz>
281 You can get gzip from
282 L<http://www.s390.ibm.com/products/oe/bpxqp1.html>
286 Unpack the result with
288 pax -o to=IBM-1047,from=ISO8859-1 -r < yourmodule.tar
290 The BUILD and INSTALL steps are identical to those for Unix. Some
291 modules generate Makefiles that work better with GNU make, which is
292 available from L<http://www.mks.com/s390/gnu/>
298 Note that not all modules will work with on all platforms.
299 See L<perlport> for more information on portability issues.
300 Read the documentation to see if the module will work on your
301 system. There are basically three categories
302 of modules that will not work "out of the box" with all
303 platforms (with some possibility of overlap):
309 B<Those that should, but don't.> These need to be fixed; consider
310 contacting the author and possibly writing a patch.
314 B<Those that need to be compiled, where the target platform
315 doesn't have compilers readily available.> (These modules contain
316 F<.xs> or F<.c> files, usually.) You might be able to find
317 existing binaries on the CPAN or elsewhere, or you might
318 want to try getting compilers and building it yourself, and then
319 release the binary for other poor souls to use.
323 B<Those that are targeted at a specific platform.>
324 (Such as the Win32:: modules.) If the module is targeted
325 specifically at a platform other than yours, you're out
326 of luck, most likely.
332 Check the CPAN Testers if a module should work with your platform
333 but it doesn't behave as you'd expect, or you aren't sure whether or
334 not a module will work under your platform. If the module you want
335 isn't listed there, you can test it yourself and let CPAN Testers know,
336 you can join CPAN Testers, or you can request it be tested.
338 https://cpantesters.org/
343 If you have any suggested changes for this page, let me know. Please
344 don't send me mail asking for help on how to install your modules.
345 There are too many modules, and too few Orwants, for me to be able to
346 answer or even acknowledge all your questions. Contact the module
347 author instead, ask someone familiar with Perl on your operating
348 system, or if all else fails, file a ticket at L<https://rt.cpan.org/>.
354 orwant@medita.mit.edu
356 with invaluable help from Chris Nandor, and valuable help from Brandon
357 Allbery, Charles Bailey, Graham Barr, Dominic Dunlop, Jarkko
358 Hietaniemi, Ben Holzman, Tom Horsley, Nick Ing-Simmons, Tuomas
359 J. Lukka, Laszlo Molnar, Alan Olsen, Peter Prymmer, Gurusamy Sarathy,
360 Christoph Spalinger, Dan Sugalski, Larry Virden, and Ilya Zakharevich.
362 First version July 22, 1998; last revised November 21, 2001.
366 Copyright (C) 1998, 2002, 2003 Jon Orwant. All Rights Reserved.
368 This document may be distributed under the same terms as Perl itself.