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 OS/2,>
168 Get the EMX development suite and gzip/tar from Hobbes (
169 L<http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/h-browse.php?dir=/pub/os2/dev/emx/v0.9d> ), and then follow
170 the instructions for Unix.
176 When downloading from CPAN, save your file with a C<.tgz>
177 extension instead of C<.tar.gz>. All other periods in the
178 filename should be replaced with underscores. For example,
179 C<Your-Module-1.33.tar.gz> should be downloaded as
180 C<Your-Module-1_33.tgz>.
186 gzip -d Your-Module.tgz
188 or, for zipped modules, type
190 unzip Your-Module.zip
192 Executables for gzip, zip, and VMStar:
194 http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/
196 and their source code:
198 http://www.fsf.org/order/ftp.html
200 Note that GNU's gzip/gunzip is not the same as Info-ZIP's zip/unzip
201 package. The former is a simple compression tool; the latter permits
202 creation of multi-file archives.
206 If you're using VMStar:
208 VMStar xf Your-Module.tar
210 Or, if you're fond of VMS command syntax:
212 tar/extract/verbose Your_Module.tar
216 Make sure you have MMS (from Digital) or the freeware MMK ( available
217 from MadGoat at L<http://www.madgoat.com> ). Then type this to create
218 the DESCRIP.MMS for the module:
222 Now you're ready to build:
226 Substitute C<mmk> for C<mms> above if you're using MMK.
234 Substitute C<mmk> for C<mms> above if you're using MMK.
240 Introduce the F<.tar.gz> file into an HFS as binary; don't translate from
245 Decompress the file with C<gzip -d yourmodule.tar.gz>
247 You can get gzip from
248 L<http://www.s390.ibm.com/products/oe/bpxqp1.html>
252 Unpack the result with
254 pax -o to=IBM-1047,from=ISO8859-1 -r < yourmodule.tar
256 The BUILD and INSTALL steps are identical to those for Unix. Some
257 modules generate Makefiles that work better with GNU make, which is
258 available from L<http://www.mks.com/s390/gnu/>
264 Note that not all modules will work with on all platforms.
265 See L<perlport> for more information on portability issues.
266 Read the documentation to see if the module will work on your
267 system. There are basically three categories
268 of modules that will not work "out of the box" with all
269 platforms (with some possibility of overlap):
275 B<Those that should, but don't.> These need to be fixed; consider
276 contacting the author and possibly writing a patch.
280 B<Those that need to be compiled, where the target platform
281 doesn't have compilers readily available.> (These modules contain
282 F<.xs> or F<.c> files, usually.) You might be able to find
283 existing binaries on the CPAN or elsewhere, or you might
284 want to try getting compilers and building it yourself, and then
285 release the binary for other poor souls to use.
289 B<Those that are targeted at a specific platform.>
290 (Such as the Win32:: modules.) If the module is targeted
291 specifically at a platform other than yours, you're out
292 of luck, most likely.
298 Check the CPAN Testers if a module should work with your platform
299 but it doesn't behave as you'd expect, or you aren't sure whether or
300 not a module will work under your platform. If the module you want
301 isn't listed there, you can test it yourself and let CPAN Testers know,
302 you can join CPAN Testers, or you can request it be tested.
304 https://cpantesters.org/
309 If you have any suggested changes for this page, let me know. Please
310 don't send me mail asking for help on how to install your modules.
311 There are too many modules, and too few Orwants, for me to be able to
312 answer or even acknowledge all your questions. Contact the module
313 author instead, ask someone familiar with Perl on your operating
314 system, or if all else fails, file a ticket at L<https://rt.cpan.org/>.
320 orwant@medita.mit.edu
322 with invaluable help from Chris Nandor, and valuable help from Brandon
323 Allbery, Charles Bailey, Graham Barr, Dominic Dunlop, Jarkko
324 Hietaniemi, Ben Holzman, Tom Horsley, Nick Ing-Simmons, Tuomas
325 J. Lukka, Laszlo Molnar, Alan Olsen, Peter Prymmer, Gurusamy Sarathy,
326 Christoph Spalinger, Dan Sugalski, Larry Virden, and Ilya Zakharevich.
328 First version July 22, 1998; last revised November 21, 2001.
332 Copyright (C) 1998, 2002, 2003 Jon Orwant. All Rights Reserved.
334 This document may be distributed under the same terms as Perl itself.