1CPAN::FirstTime(3)    User Contributed Perl Documentation   CPAN::FirstTime(3)
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NAME

6       CPAN::FirstTime - Utility for CPAN::Config file Initialization
7

SYNOPSIS

9       CPAN::FirstTime::init()
10

DESCRIPTION

12       The init routine asks a few questions and writes a CPAN/Config.pm or
13       CPAN/MyConfig.pm file (depending on what it is currently using).
14
15       In the following all questions and explanations regarding config
16       variables are collected.
17
18       auto_commit
19         Normally CPAN.pm keeps config variables in memory and changes need to
20         be saved in a separate 'o conf commit' command to make them permanent
21         between sessions. If you set the 'auto_commit' option to true,
22         changes to a config variable are always automatically committed to
23         disk.
24
25         Always commit changes to config variables to disk?
26
27       build_cache
28         CPAN.pm can limit the size of the disk area for keeping the build
29         directories with all the intermediate files.
30
31         Cache size for build directory (in MB)?
32
33       build_dir
34         Directory where the build process takes place?
35
36       build_dir_reuse
37         Until version 1.88 CPAN.pm never trusted the contents of the
38         build_dir directory between sessions. Since 1.88_58 CPAN.pm has a
39         YAML-based mechanism that makes it possible to share the contents of
40         the build_dir/ directory between different sessions with the same
41         version of perl. People who prefer to test things several days before
42         installing will like this feature because it saves a lot of time.
43
44         If you say yes to the following question, CPAN will try to store
45         enough information about the build process so that it can pick up in
46         future sessions at the same state of affairs as it left a previous
47         session.
48
49         Store and re-use state information about distributions between
50         CPAN.pm sessions?
51
52       build_requires_install_policy
53         When a module declares another one as a 'build_requires' prerequisite
54         this means that the other module is only needed for building or
55         testing the module but need not be installed permanently. In this
56         case you may wish to install that other module nonetheless or just
57         keep it in the 'build_dir' directory to have it available only
58         temporarily.  Installing saves time on future installations but makes
59         the perl installation bigger.
60
61         You can choose if you want to always install (yes), never install
62         (no) or be always asked. In the latter case you can set the default
63         answer for the question to yes (ask/yes) or no (ask/no).
64
65         Policy on installing 'build_requires' modules (yes, no, ask/yes,
66         ask/no)?
67
68       cache_metadata
69         To considerably speed up the initial CPAN shell startup, it is
70         possible to use Storable to create a cache of metadata. If Storable
71         is not available, the normal index mechanism will be used.
72
73         Note: this mechanism is not used when use_sqlite is on and SQLLite is
74         running.
75
76         Cache metadata (yes/no)?
77
78       check_sigs
79         CPAN packages can be digitally signed by authors and thus verified
80         with the security provided by strong cryptography. The exact
81         mechanism is defined in the Module::Signature module. While this is
82         generally considered a good thing, it is not always convenient to the
83         end user to install modules that are signed incorrectly or where the
84         key of the author is not available or where some prerequisite for
85         Module::Signature has a bug and so on.
86
87         With the check_sigs parameter you can turn signature checking on and
88         off. The default is off for now because the whole tool chain for the
89         functionality is not yet considered mature by some. The author of
90         CPAN.pm would recommend setting it to true most of the time and
91         turning it off only if it turns out to be annoying.
92
93         Note that if you do not have Module::Signature installed, no
94         signature checks will be performed at all.
95
96         Always try to check and verify signatures if a SIGNATURE file is in
97         the package and Module::Signature is installed (yes/no)?
98
99       cleanup_after_install
100         Users who install modules and do not intend to look back, can free
101         occupied disk space quickly by letting CPAN.pm cleanup each build
102         directory immediately after a successful install.
103
104         Remove build directory after a successful install? (yes/no)?
105
106       colorize_output
107         When you have Term::ANSIColor installed, you can turn on colorized
108         output to have some visual differences between normal CPAN.pm output,
109         warnings, debugging output, and the output of the modules being
110         installed. Set your favorite colors after some experimenting with the
111         Term::ANSIColor module.
112
113         Please note that on Windows platforms colorized output also requires
114         the Win32::Console::ANSI module.
115
116         Do you want to turn on colored output?
117
118       colorize_print
119         Color for normal output?
120
121       colorize_warn
122         Color for warnings?
123
124       colorize_debug
125         Color for debugging messages?
126
127       commandnumber_in_prompt
128         The prompt of the cpan shell can contain the current command number
129         for easier tracking of the session or be a plain string.
130
131         Do you want the command number in the prompt (yes/no)?
132
133       connect_to_internet_ok
134         If you have never defined your own "urllist" in your configuration
135         then "CPAN.pm" will be hesitant to use the built in default sites for
136         downloading. It will ask you once per session if a connection to the
137         internet is OK and only if you say yes, it will try to connect. But
138         to avoid this question, you can choose your favorite download sites
139         once and get away with it. Or, if you have no favorite download sites
140         answer yes to the following question.
141
142         If no urllist has been chosen yet, would you prefer CPAN.pm to
143         connect to the built-in default sites without asking? (yes/no)?
144
145       ftp_passive
146         Shall we always set the FTP_PASSIVE environment variable when dealing
147         with ftp download (yes/no)?
148
149       ftpstats_period
150         Statistics about downloads are truncated by size and period
151         simultaneously.
152
153         How many days shall we keep statistics about downloads?
154
155       ftpstats_size
156         Statistics about downloads are truncated by size and period
157         simultaneously.
158
159         How many items shall we keep in the statistics about downloads?
160
161       getcwd
162         CPAN.pm changes the current working directory often and needs to
163         determine its own current working directory. Per default it uses
164         Cwd::cwd but if this doesn't work on your system for some reason,
165         alternatives can be configured according to the following table:
166
167             cwd         Cwd::cwd
168             getcwd      Cwd::getcwd
169             fastcwd     Cwd::fastcwd
170             getdcwd     Cwd::getdcwd
171             backtickcwd external command cwd
172
173         Preferred method for determining the current working directory?
174
175       halt_on_failure
176         Normally, CPAN.pm continues processing the full list of targets and
177         dependencies, even if one of them fails.  However, you can specify
178         that CPAN should halt after the first failure.  (Note that optional
179         recommended or suggested modules that fail will not cause a halt.)
180
181         Do you want to halt on failure (yes/no)?
182
183       histfile
184         If you have one of the readline packages (Term::ReadLine::Perl,
185         Term::ReadLine::Gnu, possibly others) installed, the interactive CPAN
186         shell will have history support. The next two questions deal with the
187         filename of the history file and with its size. If you do not want to
188         set this variable, please hit SPACE ENTER to the following question.
189
190         File to save your history?
191
192       histsize
193         Number of lines to save?
194
195       inactivity_timeout
196         Sometimes you may wish to leave the processes run by CPAN alone
197         without caring about them. Because the Makefile.PL or the Build.PL
198         sometimes contains question you're expected to answer, you can set a
199         timer that will kill a 'perl Makefile.PL' process after the specified
200         time in seconds.
201
202         If you set this value to 0, these processes will wait forever. This
203         is the default and recommended setting.
204
205         Timeout for inactivity during {Makefile,Build}.PL?
206
207       index_expire
208         The CPAN indexes are usually rebuilt once or twice per hour, but the
209         typical CPAN mirror mirrors only once or twice per day. Depending on
210         the quality of your mirror and your desire to be on the bleeding
211         edge, you may want to set the following value to more or less than
212         one day (which is the default). It determines after how many days
213         CPAN.pm downloads new indexes.
214
215         Let the index expire after how many days?
216
217       inhibit_startup_message
218         When the CPAN shell is started it normally displays a greeting
219         message that contains the running version and the status of readline
220         support.
221
222         Do you want to turn this message off?
223
224       keep_source_where
225         Unless you are accessing the CPAN on your filesystem via a file: URL,
226         CPAN.pm needs to keep the source files it downloads somewhere. Please
227         supply a directory where the downloaded files are to be kept.
228
229         Download target directory?
230
231       load_module_verbosity
232         When CPAN.pm loads a module it needs for some optional feature, it
233         usually reports about module name and version. Choose 'v' to get this
234         message, 'none' to suppress it.
235
236         Verbosity level for loading modules (none or v)?
237
238       makepl_arg
239         Every Makefile.PL is run by perl in a separate process. Likewise we
240         run 'make' and 'make install' in separate processes. If you have any
241         parameters (e.g. PREFIX, UNINST or the like) you want to pass to the
242         calls, please specify them here.
243
244         If you don't understand this question, just press ENTER.
245
246         Typical frequently used settings:
247
248             PREFIX=~/perl    # non-root users (please see manual for more hints)
249
250         Parameters for the 'perl Makefile.PL' command?
251
252       make_arg
253         Parameters for the 'make' command? Typical frequently used setting:
254
255             -j3              # dual processor system (on GNU make)
256
257         Your choice:
258
259       make_install_arg
260         Parameters for the 'make install' command?  Typical frequently used
261         setting:
262
263             UNINST=1         # to always uninstall potentially conflicting files
264                              # (but do NOT use with local::lib or INSTALL_BASE)
265
266         Your choice:
267
268       make_install_make_command
269         Do you want to use a different make command for 'make install'?
270         Cautious people will probably prefer:
271
272             su root -c make
273          or
274             sudo make
275          or
276             /path1/to/sudo -u admin_account /path2/to/make
277
278         or some such. Your choice:
279
280       mbuildpl_arg
281         A Build.PL is run by perl in a separate process. Likewise we run
282         './Build' and './Build install' in separate processes. If you have
283         any parameters you want to pass to the calls, please specify them
284         here.
285
286         Typical frequently used settings:
287
288             --install_base /home/xxx             # different installation directory
289
290         Parameters for the 'perl Build.PL' command?
291
292       mbuild_arg
293         Parameters for the './Build' command? Setting might be:
294
295             --extra_linker_flags -L/usr/foo/lib  # non-standard library location
296
297         Your choice:
298
299       mbuild_install_arg
300         Parameters for the './Build install' command? Typical frequently used
301         setting:
302
303             --uninst 1       # uninstall conflicting files
304                              # (but do NOT use with local::lib or INSTALL_BASE)
305
306         Your choice:
307
308       mbuild_install_build_command
309         Do you want to use a different command for './Build install'? Sudo
310         users will probably prefer:
311
312             su root -c ./Build
313          or
314             sudo ./Build
315          or
316             /path1/to/sudo -u admin_account ./Build
317
318         or some such. Your choice:
319
320       pager
321         What is your favorite pager program?
322
323       prefer_installer
324         When you have Module::Build installed and a module comes with both a
325         Makefile.PL and a Build.PL, which shall have precedence?
326
327         The main two standard installer modules are the old and well
328         established ExtUtils::MakeMaker (for short: EUMM) which uses the
329         Makefile.PL. And the next generation installer Module::Build (MB)
330         which works with the Build.PL (and often comes with a Makefile.PL
331         too). If a module comes only with one of the two we will use that one
332         but if both are supplied then a decision must be made between EUMM
333         and MB. See also http://rt.cpan.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=29235 for
334         a discussion about the right default.
335
336         Or, as a third option you can choose RAND which will make a random
337         decision (something regular CPAN testers will enjoy).
338
339         In case you can choose between running a Makefile.PL or a Build.PL,
340         which installer would you prefer (EUMM or MB or RAND)?
341
342       prefs_dir
343         CPAN.pm can store customized build environments based on regular
344         expressions for distribution names. These are YAML files where the
345         default options for CPAN.pm and the environment can be overridden and
346         dialog sequences can be stored that can later be executed by an
347         Expect.pm object. The CPAN.pm distribution comes with some prefab
348         YAML files that cover sample distributions that can be used as
349         blueprints to store your own prefs. Please check out the distroprefs/
350         directory of the CPAN.pm distribution to get a quick start into the
351         prefs system.
352
353         Directory where to store default options/environment/dialogs for
354         building modules that need some customization?
355
356       prerequisites_policy
357         The CPAN module can detect when a module which you are trying to
358         build depends on prerequisites. If this happens, it can build the
359         prerequisites for you automatically ('follow'), ask you for
360         confirmation ('ask'), or just ignore them ('ignore').  Choosing
361         'follow' also sets PERL_AUTOINSTALL and PERL_EXTUTILS_AUTOINSTALL for
362         "--defaultdeps" if not already set.
363
364         Please set your policy to one of the three values.
365
366         Policy on building prerequisites (follow, ask or ignore)?
367
368       randomize_urllist
369         CPAN.pm can introduce some randomness when using hosts for download
370         that are configured in the urllist parameter. Enter a numeric value
371         between 0 and 1 to indicate how often you want to let CPAN.pm try a
372         random host from the urllist. A value of one specifies to always use
373         a random host as the first try. A value of zero means no randomness
374         at all. Anything in between specifies how often, on average, a random
375         host should be tried first.
376
377         Randomize parameter
378
379       recommends_policy
380         (Experimental feature!) Some CPAN modules recommend additional,
381         optional dependencies.  These should generally be installed except in
382         resource constrained environments.  When this policy is true,
383         recommended modules will be included with required modules.
384
385         Included recommended modules?
386
387       scan_cache
388         By default, each time the CPAN module is started, cache scanning is
389         performed to keep the cache size in sync ('atstart'). Alternatively,
390         scanning and cleanup can happen when CPAN exits ('atexit'). To
391         prevent any cache cleanup, answer 'never'.
392
393         Perform cache scanning ('atstart', 'atexit' or 'never')?
394
395       shell
396         What is your favorite shell?
397
398       show_unparsable_versions
399         During the 'r' command CPAN.pm finds modules without version number.
400         When the command finishes, it prints a report about this. If you want
401         this report to be very verbose, say yes to the following variable.
402
403         Show all individual modules that have no $VERSION?
404
405       show_upload_date
406         The 'd' and the 'm' command normally only show you information they
407         have in their in-memory database and thus will never connect to the
408         internet. If you set the 'show_upload_date' variable to true, 'm' and
409         'd' will additionally show you the upload date of the module or
410         distribution. Per default this feature is off because it may require
411         a net connection to get at the upload date.
412
413         Always try to show upload date with 'd' and 'm' command (yes/no)?
414
415       show_zero_versions
416         During the 'r' command CPAN.pm finds modules with a version number of
417         zero. When the command finishes, it prints a report about this. If
418         you want this report to be very verbose, say yes to the following
419         variable.
420
421         Show all individual modules that have a $VERSION of zero?
422
423       suggests_policy
424         (Experimental feature!) Some CPAN modules suggest additional,
425         optional dependencies.  These 'suggest' dependencies provide enhanced
426         operation.  When this policy is true, suggested modules will be
427         included with required modules.
428
429         Included suggested modules?
430
431       tar_verbosity
432         When CPAN.pm uses the tar command, which switch for the verbosity
433         shall be used? Choose 'none' for quiet operation, 'v' for file name
434         listing, 'vv' for full listing.
435
436         Tar command verbosity level (none or v or vv)?
437
438       term_is_latin
439         The next option deals with the charset (a.k.a. character set) your
440         terminal supports. In general, CPAN is English speaking territory, so
441         the charset does not matter much but some CPAN have names that are
442         outside the ASCII range. If your terminal supports UTF-8, you should
443         say no to the next question. If it expects ISO-8859-1 (also known as
444         LATIN1) then you should say yes. If it supports neither, your answer
445         does not matter because you will not be able to read the names of
446         some authors anyway. If you answer no, names will be output in UTF-8.
447
448         Your terminal expects ISO-8859-1 (yes/no)?
449
450       term_ornaments
451         When using Term::ReadLine, you can turn ornaments on so that your
452         input stands out against the output from CPAN.pm.
453
454         Do you want to turn ornaments on?
455
456       test_report
457         The goal of the CPAN Testers project (http://testers.cpan.org/) is to
458         test as many CPAN packages as possible on as many platforms as
459         possible.  This provides valuable feedback to module authors and
460         potential users to identify bugs or platform compatibility issues and
461         improves the overall quality and value of CPAN.
462
463         One way you can contribute is to send test results for each module
464         that you install.  If you install the CPAN::Reporter module, you have
465         the option to automatically generate and deliver test reports to CPAN
466         Testers whenever you run tests on a CPAN package.
467
468         See the CPAN::Reporter documentation for additional details and
469         configuration settings.  If your firewall blocks outgoing traffic,
470         you may need to configure CPAN::Reporter before sending reports.
471
472         Generate test reports if CPAN::Reporter is installed (yes/no)?
473
474       perl5lib_verbosity
475         When CPAN.pm extends @INC via PERL5LIB, it prints a list of
476         directories added (or a summary of how many directories are added).
477         Choose 'v' to get this message, 'none' to suppress it.
478
479         Verbosity level for PERL5LIB changes (none or v)?
480
481       prefer_external_tar
482         Per default all untar operations are done with the perl module
483         Archive::Tar; by setting this variable to true the external tar
484         command is used if available; on Unix this is usually preferred
485         because they have a reliable and fast gnutar implementation.
486
487         Use the external tar program instead of Archive::Tar?
488
489       trust_test_report_history
490         When a distribution has already been tested by CPAN::Reporter on this
491         machine, CPAN can skip the test phase and just rely on the test
492         report history instead.
493
494         Note that this will not apply to distributions that failed tests
495         because of missing dependencies.  Also, tests can be run regardless
496         of the history using "force".
497
498         Do you want to rely on the test report history (yes/no)?
499
500       use_prompt_default
501         When this is true, CPAN will set PERL_MM_USE_DEFAULT to a true value.
502         This causes ExtUtils::MakeMaker (and compatible) prompts to use
503         default values instead of stopping to prompt you to answer questions.
504         It also sets NONINTERACTIVE_TESTING to a true value to signal more
505         generally that distributions should not try to interact with you.
506
507         Do you want to use prompt defaults (yes/no)?
508
509       use_sqlite
510         CPAN::SQLite is a layer between the index files that are downloaded
511         from the CPAN and CPAN.pm that speeds up metadata queries and reduces
512         memory consumption of CPAN.pm considerably.
513
514         Use CPAN::SQLite if available? (yes/no)?
515
516       version_timeout
517         This timeout prevents CPAN from hanging when trying to parse a
518         pathologically coded $VERSION from a module.
519
520         The default is 15 seconds.  If you set this value to 0, no timeout
521         will occur, but this is not recommended.
522
523         Timeout for parsing module versions?
524
525       yaml_load_code
526         Both YAML.pm and YAML::Syck are capable of deserialising code. As
527         this requires a string eval, which might be a security risk, you can
528         use this option to enable or disable the deserialisation of code via
529         CPAN::DeferredCode. (Note: This does not work under perl 5.6)
530
531         Do you want to enable code deserialisation (yes/no)?
532
533       yaml_module
534         At the time of this writing (2009-03) there are three YAML
535         implementations working: YAML, YAML::Syck, and YAML::XS. The latter
536         two are faster but need a C compiler installed on your system. There
537         may be more alternative YAML conforming modules. When I tried two
538         other players, YAML::Tiny and YAML::Perl, they seemed not powerful
539         enough to work with CPAN.pm. This may have changed in the meantime.
540
541         Which YAML implementation would you prefer?
542

LICENSE

544       This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
545       under the same terms as Perl itself.
546
547
548
549perl v5.26.3                      2019-05-14                CPAN::FirstTime(3)
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