=head1 DESCRIPTION
You can think of a module as the fundamental unit of reusable Perl
-code; See L<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 CPAN. CPAN is the Comprehensive Perl Archive
-Network and can be accessed at http://www.cpan.org/, or searched
-via http://cpan.perl.com/ and
-http://theory.uwinnipeg.ca/mod_perl/cpan-search.pl .
+code; see L<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.
=head2 PREAMBLE
-You have a file ending in F<.tar.gz> (or, less often, F<.zip>).
-You know there's a tasty module inside. You must now take four
-steps:
+First, are you sure that the module isn't already on your system? Try
+C<perl -MFoo -e 1>. (Replace "Foo" with the name of the module; for
+instance, C<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 C<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:
=over 5
=back
Here's how to perform each step for each operating system. This is
-I<not> a substitute for reading the README and INSTALL files that
+<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
+module into your system's repository of Perl modules -- but you can
install modules into any directory you wish. For instance, where I
-say C<perl Makefile.PL>, you can substitute C<perl
-Makefile.PL PREFIX=/my/perl_directory> to install the modules
-into C</my/perl_directory>. Then you can use the modules
-from your Perl programs with C<use lib
-"/my/perl_directory/lib/site_perl"> or sometimes just C<use
-"/my/perl_directory">.
+say C<perl Makefile.PL>, you can substitute C<perl Makefile.PL
+PREFIX=/my/perl_directory> to install the modules into
+C</my/perl_directory>. Then you can use the modules from your Perl
+programs with C<use lib "/my/perl_directory/lib/site_perl";> or
+sometimes just C<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 C<perl -e "print qq(@INC)">, you'll
+want to install them into a local directory (such as your home
+directory) and use this approach.
=over 4
=item *
-B<If you're on Unix,>
+B<If you're on a Unix or Linux system,>
You can use Andreas Koenig's CPAN module
-(which comes standard with Perl, or can itself be downloaded
-from http://www.cpan.org/modules/by-module/CPAN)
+( http://www.cpan.org/modules/by-module/CPAN )
to automate the following steps, from DECOMPRESS through INSTALL.
A. DECOMPRESS
Decompress the file with C<gzip -d yourmodule.tar.gz>
-You can get gzip from ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu.
+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:
Go into the newly-created directory and type:
perl Makefile.PL
- make
make test
+or
+
+ perl Makefile.PL PREFIX=/my/perl_directory
+
+to install it locally. (Remember that if you do this, you'll have to
+put C<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 appropriate permissions to install the module
+Make sure you have the appropriate permissions to install the module
in your Perl 5 library directory. Often, you'll need to be root.
-Perl maintains a record of all module installations. To look at
-this list, simply type:
-
- perldoc perllocal
-
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,
I<and> the
+Most Unix systems have dynamic linking -- if yours doesn't, or if for
+another reason you have a statically-linked perl,
B<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.
=item *
-B<If you're running Windows 95 or NT with the ActiveState port of Perl>
+B<If you're running ActivePerl (Win95/98/2K/NT/XP, Linux, Solaris)>
+
+First, type C<ppm> from a shell and see whether ActiveState's PPM
+repository has your module. If so, you can install it with C<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 B<Winzip> program ( http://www.winzip.com ) to
+You can use the shareware Winzip ( http://www.winzip.com ) to
decompress and unpack modules.
B. UNPACK
C. BUILD
-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, you're on
-your own. You can try compiling it yourself if you have a C compiler.
-If you're successful, consider uploading the resulting binary to
-CPAN for others to use. If it doesn't, go to INSTALL.
-
- D. INSTALL
-
-Copy the module into your Perl's I<lib> directory. That'll be one
-of the directories you see when you type
-
- perl -e 'print "@INC"'
-
-=item *
-
-B<If you're running Windows 95 or NT with the core Windows distribution of
-Perl,>
-
- A. DECOMPRESS
-
-When you download the module, make sure it ends in either
-F<.tar.gz> or F<.zip>. Windows browsers sometimes
-download C<.tar.gz> files as C<_tar.tar>, because
-early versions of Windows prohibited more than one dot in a filename.
+You'll need the C<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/
-You can use the shareware B<WinZip> program ( http://www.winzip.com ) to
-decompress and unpack modules.
-
-Or, you can use InfoZip's C<unzip> utility (
-http://www.cdrom.com/pub/infozip/ ) to uncompress C<.zip> files; type
-C<unzip yourmodule.zip> in your shell.
-
-Or, if you have a working C<tar> and C<gzip>, you can
-type
-
- gzip -cd yourmodule.tar.gz | tar xvf -
-
-in the shell to decompress C<yourmodule.tar.gz>. This will
-UNPACK your module as well.
-
- B. UNPACK
-
-The methods in DECOMPRESS will have done this for you.
-
- C. BUILD
+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
- dmake
- dmake test
+ nmake test
-Depending on your perl configuration, C<dmake> might not be
-available. You might have to substitute whatever C<perl
--V:make> says. (Usually, that will be C<nmake> or
-C<make>.)
D. INSTALL
While still in that directory, type:
- dmake install
+ nmake install
=item *
B<If you're using a Macintosh,>
+
A. DECOMPRESS
-First thing you should do is make sure you have the latest B<cpan-mac>
-distribution ( http://www.cpan.org/authors/id/CNANDOR/ ), which has
-utilities for doing all of the steps. Read the cpan-mac directions
-carefully and install it. If you choose not to use cpan-mac
-for some reason, there are alternatives listed here.
+First, make sure you have the latest B<cpan-mac> distribution (
+http://www.cpan.org/authors/id/CNANDOR/ ), which has utilities for
+doing all of the steps. Read the cpan-mac directions carefully and
+install it. If you choose not to use cpan-mac for some reason, there
+are alternatives listed here.
After installing cpan-mac, drop the module archive on the
B<untarzipme> droplet, which will decompress and unpack for you.
If a module does not work on MacPerl but should, or needs to be
compiled, see if the module exists already as a port on the
-MacPerl Module Porters site (http://pudge.net/mmp/).
+MacPerl Module Porters site ( http://pudge.net/mmp/ ).
For more information on doing XS with MacPerl yourself, see
-Arved Sandstrom's XS tutorial (http://macperl.com/depts/Tutorials/),
+Arved Sandstrom's XS tutorial ( http://macperl.com/depts/Tutorials/ ),
and then consider uploading your binary to the CPAN and
registering it on the MMP site.
Go into the newly-created directory and type:
perl Makefile.PL
- make
make test
You will need the packages mentioned in F<README.dos>
While still in that directory, type:
- make install
+ make install
You will need the packages mentioned in F<README.dos> in the Perl distribution.
B<If you're on VMS,>
-When downloading from CPAN, save your file with a F<.tgz>
-extension instead of F<.tar.gz>. All other periods in the
+When downloading from CPAN, save your file with a C<.tgz>
+extension instead of C<.tar.gz>. All other periods in the
filename should be replaced with underscores. For example,
C<Your-Module-1.33.tar.gz> should be downloaded as
C<Your-Module-1_33.tgz>.
unzip Your-Module.zip
-Executables for gzip, zip, and VMStar ( Alphas:
-http://www.openvms.digital.com/freeware/000TOOLS/ALPHA/ and Vaxen:
-http://www.openvms.digital.com/freeware/000TOOLS/VAX/ ).
+Executables for gzip, zip, and VMStar:
+
+ http://www.openvms.digital.com/freeware/
+ http://www.crinoid.com/utils/
-gzip and tar
-are also available at ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/VMS.
+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
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:
+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:
perl Makefile.PL
Now you're ready to build:
- mms
mms test
Substitute C<mmk> for C<mms> above if you're using MMK.
A. DECOMPRESS
- Decompress the file with C<gzip -d yourmodule.tar.gz>
+Decompress the file with C<gzip -d yourmodule.tar.gz>
- You can get gzip from
- http://www.s390.ibm.com/products/oe/bpxqp1.html.
+You can get gzip from
+http://www.s390.ibm.com/products/oe/bpxqp1.html
B. UNPACK
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/index.htm.
+available from http://www.mks.com/s390/gnu/
=back
-
=head1 PORTABILITY
Note that not all modules will work with on all platforms.
Jon Orwant
-orwant@tpj.com
-
-The Perl Journal, http://tpj.com
+orwant@medita.mit.edu
-with invaluable help from Brandon Allbery, Charles Bailey, Graham
-Barr, Dominic Dunlop, Jarkko Hietaniemi, Ben Holzman, Tom Horsley,
-Nick Ing-Simmons, Tuomas J. Lukka, Laszlo Molnar, Chris Nandor, Alan
-Olsen, Peter Prymmer, Gurusamy Sarathy, Christoph Spalinger, Dan
-Sugalski, Larry Virden, and Ilya Zakharevich.
+with invaluable help from Chris Nandor, and valuable help from Brandon
+Allbery, Charles Bailey, Graham Barr, Dominic Dunlop, Jarkko
+Hietaniemi, Ben Holzman, Tom Horsley, Nick Ing-Simmons, Tuomas
+J. Lukka, Laszlo Molnar, Alan Olsen, Peter Prymmer, Gurusamy Sarathy,
+Christoph Spalinger, Dan Sugalski, Larry Virden, and Ilya Zakharevich.
-First version July 22, 1998
-
-Last Modified August 22, 2000
+First version July 22, 1998; last revised November 21, 2001.
=head1 COPYRIGHT
-Copyright (C) 1998, 2000 Jon Orwant. All Rights Reserved.
+Copyright (C) 1998, 2002, 2003 Jon Orwant. All Rights Reserved.
Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
documentation provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this
documentation into another language, under the above conditions for
modified versions.
+
https://perl5.git.perl.org / perl5.git / blobdiff