PERLMODINSTALL(1) Perl Programmers Reference Guide PERLMODINSTALL(1) #

PERLMODINSTALL(1) Perl Programmers Reference Guide PERLMODINSTALL(1)

NNAAMMEE #

 perlmodinstall - Installing CPAN Modules

DDEESSCCRRIIPPTTIIOONN #

 You can think of a module as the fundamental unit of reusable Perl code;
 see 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 <https://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 <https://www.cpan.org/> , and
 searched at <https://metacpan.org/> .

 This documentation is for people who want to download CPAN modules and
 install them on their own computer.

PPRREEAAMMBBLLEE #

 First, are you sure that the module isn't already on your system?  Try
 "perl -MFoo -e 1".  (Replace "Foo" with the name of the module; for
 instance, "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 "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:

 DDEECCOOMMPPRREESSSS the file
 UUNNPPAACCKK the file into a directory
 BBUUIILLDD the module (sometimes unnecessary)
 IINNSSTTAALLLL the module.

 Here's how to perform each step for each operating system.  This is <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 install
 modules into any directory you wish.  For instance, where I say "perl
 Makefile.PL", you can substitute "perl Makefile.PL
 PREFIX=/my/perl_directory" to install the modules into
 _/_m_y_/_p_e_r_l___d_i_r_e_c_t_o_r_y.  Then you can use the modules from your Perl programs
 with "use lib "/my/perl_directory/lib/site_perl";" or sometimes just "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 "perl -e "print qq(@INC)"", you'll want to install them
 into a local directory (such as your home directory) and use this
 approach.

 •   IIff yyoouu''rree oonn aa UUnniixx oorr UUnniixx--lliikkee ssyysstteemm,,

     You can use Andreas Koenig's CPAN module (
     <https://metacpan.org/release/CPAN> ) to automate the following
     steps, from DECOMPRESS through INSTALL.

A. DECOMPRESS #

     Decompress the file with "gzip -d yourmodule.tar.gz"

     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:

          gzip -dc yourmodule.tar.gz | tar -xf -

B. UNPACK #

     Unpack the result with "tar -xf yourmodule.tar"

C. BUILD #

     Go into the newly-created directory and type:

           perl Makefile.PL
           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 "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 the appropriate permissions to install the module
     in your Perl 5 library directory.  Often, you'll need to be root.

     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, aanndd 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.

 •   IIff yyoouu''rree rruunnnniinngg AAccttiivveePPeerrll ((WWiinn9955//9988//22KK//NNTT//XXPP,, LLiinnuuxx,, SSoollaarriiss)),,

     First, type "ppm" from a shell and see whether ActiveState's PPM
     repository has your module.  If so, you can install it with "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 open source 7-zip ( <https://www.7-zip.org/> ) or the
     shareware Winzip ( <https://www.winzip.com> ) to decompress and
     unpack modules.

B. UNPACK #

     If you used WinZip, this was already done for you.

C. BUILD #

     You'll need either "nmake" or "gmake".

     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
           nmake test

D. INSTALL #

     While still in that directory, type:

           nmake install

 •   IIff yyoouu''rree oonn OOSS//22,,

     Get the EMX development suite and gzip/tar from Hobbes (
     <http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/h-browse.php?dir=/pub/os2/dev/emx/v0.9d> ),
     and then follow the instructions for Unix.

 •   IIff yyoouu''rree oonn VVMMSS,,

     When downloading from CPAN, save your file with a ".tgz" extension
     instead of ".tar.gz".  All other periods in the filename should be
     replaced with underscores.  For example, "Your-Module-1.33.tar.gz"
     should be downloaded as "Your-Module-1_33.tgz".

A. DECOMPRESS #

     Type

         gzip -d Your-Module.tgz

     or, for zipped modules, type

         unzip Your-Module.zip

     Executables for gzip, zip, and VMStar:

         http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/

     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
     creation of multi-file archives.

B. UNPACK #

     If you're using VMStar:

          VMStar xf Your-Module.tar

     Or, if you're fond of VMS command syntax:

          tar/extract/verbose Your_Module.tar

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:

         perl Makefile.PL

     Now you're ready to build:

         mms test

     Substitute "mmk" for "mms" above if you're using MMK.

D. INSTALL #

     Type

         mms install

     Substitute "mmk" for "mms" above if you're using MMK.

 •   IIff yyoouu''rree oonn MMVVSS,

     Introduce the _._t_a_r_._g_z file into an HFS as binary; don't translate
     from ASCII to EBCDIC.

A. DECOMPRESS #

     Decompress the file with "gzip -d yourmodule.tar.gz"

     You can get gzip from
     <http://www.s390.ibm.com/products/oe/bpxqp1.html>

B. UNPACK #

     Unpack the result with

          pax -o to=IBM-1047,from=ISO8859-1 -r < yourmodule.tar

     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/>

PPOORRTTAABBIILLIITTYY #

 Note that not all modules will work with on all platforms.  See perlport
 for more information on portability issues.  Read the documentation to
 see if the module will work on your system.  There are basically three
 categories of modules that will not work "out of the box" with all
 platforms (with some possibility of overlap):

 •   TThhoossee tthhaatt sshhoouulldd,, bbuutt ddoonn''tt..  These need to be fixed; consider
     contacting the author and possibly writing a patch.

 •   TThhoossee tthhaatt nneeeedd ttoo bbee ccoommppiilleedd,, wwhheerree tthhee ttaarrggeett ppllaattffoorrmm ddooeessnn''tt
     hhaavvee ccoommppiilleerrss rreeaaddiillyy aavvaaiillaabbllee..  (These modules contain _._x_s or _._c
     files, usually.)  You might be able to find existing binaries on the
     CPAN or elsewhere, or you might want to try getting compilers and
     building it yourself, and then release the binary for other poor
     souls to use.

 •   TThhoossee tthhaatt aarree ttaarrggeetteedd aatt aa ssppeecciiffiicc ppllaattffoorrmm.. (Such as the Win32::
     modules.)  If the module is targeted specifically at a platform other
     than yours, you're out of luck, most likely.

 Check the CPAN Testers if a module should work with your platform but it
 doesn't behave as you'd expect, or you aren't sure whether or not a
 module will work under your platform.  If the module you want isn't
 listed there, you can test it yourself and let CPAN Testers know, you can
 join CPAN Testers, or you can request it be tested.

     https://cpantesters.org/

HHEEYY #

 If you have any suggested changes for this page, let me know.  Please
 don't send me mail asking for help on how to install your modules.  There
 are too many modules, and too few Orwants, for me to be able to answer or
 even acknowledge all your questions.  Contact the module author instead,
 ask someone familiar with Perl on your operating system, or if all else
 fails, file a ticket at <https://rt.cpan.org/>.

AAUUTTHHOORR #

 Jon Orwant

 orwant@medita.mit.edu

 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 revised November 21, 2001.

CCOOPPYYRRIIGGHHTT #

 Copyright (C) 1998, 2002, 2003 Jon Orwant.  All Rights Reserved.

 This document may be distributed under the same terms as Perl itself.

perl v5.36.3 2023-02-15 PERLMODINSTALL(1)