=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.perl.com/CPAN/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.perl.com/CPAN/.
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
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)
+You can use Andreas Koenig's CPAN module
+( http://www.perl.com/CPAN/modules/by-module/CPAN )
to automate the following steps, from DECOMPRESS through INSTALL.
-A. DECOMPRESS
+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:
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.
+Does the module require compilation (i.e. does it have files that end
+in .xs, .c, .h, .y, .cc, .cxx, or .C)? If it doesn't, go to INSTALL.
+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
+the C<nmake> utility, available at
+ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/Softlib/MSLFILES/nmake15.exe.
D. INSTALL
Copy the module into your Perl's I<lib> directory. That'll be one
-of the directories you see when you type
+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 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
-
-Go into the newly-created directory and type:
-
- perl Makefile.PL
- dmake
- dmake 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
-
-=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.
A. DECOMPRESS
djtarx ( ftp://ftp.simtel.net/pub/simtelnet/gnu/djgpp/v2/ )
-will both uncompress and unpack.
+will both uncompress and unpack.
B. UNPACK
make
make test
-You will need the packages mentioned in F<README.dos>
+You will need the packages mentioned in C<Readme.dos>
in the Perl distribution.
D. INSTALL
While still in that directory, type:
- make install
-
-You will need the packages mentioned in F<README.dos> in the Perl distribution.
+ make install
+
+You will need the packages mentioned in Readme.dos in the Perl distribution.
=item *
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>.
A. DECOMPRESS
-Type
+Type
gzip -d Your-Module.tgz
-or, for zipped modules, type
+or, for zipped modules, type
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/ ).
+http://www.openvms.digital.com/cd/000TOOLS/ALPHA/ and Vaxen:
+http://www.openvms.digital.com/cd/000TOOLS/VAX/ ).
gzip and tar
are also available at ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/VMS.
tar/extract/verbose Your_Module.tar
-C. BUILD
+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
D. INSTALL
-Type
+Type
mms install
B<If you're on MVS>,
-Introduce the F<.tar.gz> file into an HFS as binary; don't translate from
+Introduce the .tar.gz file into an HFS as binary; don't translate from
ASCII to EBCDIC.
-A. DECOMPRESS
+A. DECOMPRESS
Decompress the file with C<gzip -d yourmodule.tar.gz>
- You can get gzip from
+ You can get gzip from
http://www.s390.ibm.com/products/oe/bpxqp1.html.
B. UNPACK
-Unpack the result with
+Unpack the result with
pax -o to=IBM-1047,from=ISO8859-1 -r < yourmodule.tar
=back
-
=head1 PORTABILITY
Note that not all modules will work with on all platforms.
=head1 AUTHOR
-Jon Orwant
+Jon Orwant
orwant@tpj.com
The Perl Journal, http://tpj.com
-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, 2001 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.
+