1PERLMODINSTALL(1) Perl Programmers Reference Guide PERLMODINSTALL(1)
2
6 perlmodinstall - Installing CPAN Modules
7
9 You can think of a module as the fundamental unit of reusable Perl
10 code; see perlmod for details. Whenever anyone creates a chunk of Perl
11 code that they think will be useful to the world, they register as a
12 Perl developer at <https://www.cpan.org/modules/04pause.html> so that
13 they can then upload their code to the CPAN. The CPAN is the
14 Comprehensive Perl Archive Network and can be accessed at
15 <https://www.cpan.org/> , and searched at <https://metacpan.org/> .
16 This documentation is for people who want to download CPAN modules and
18 install them on their own computer.
19 PREAMBLE
21 First, are you sure that the module isn't already on your system? Try
22 "perl -MFoo -e 1". (Replace "Foo" with the name of the module; for
23 instance, "perl -MCGI::Carp -e 1".)
24 If you don't see an error message, you have the module. (If you do see
26 an error message, it's still possible you have the module, but that
27 it's not in your path, which you can display with perl -e "print
28 qq(@INC)".) For the remainder of this document, we'll assume that you
29 really honestly truly lack an installed module, but have found it on
30 the CPAN.
31 So now you have a file ending in .tar.gz (or, less often, .zip). You
33 know there's a tasty module inside. There are four steps you must now
34 take:
35 DECOMPRESS the file
37 UNPACK the file into a directory
38 BUILD the module (sometimes unnecessary)
39 INSTALL the module.
40 Here's how to perform each step for each operating system. This is
42 <not> a substitute for reading the README and INSTALL files that might
43 have come with your module!
44 Also note that these instructions are tailored for installing the
46 module into your system's repository of Perl modules, but you can
47 install modules into any directory you wish. For instance, where I say
48 "perl Makefile.PL", you can substitute "perl Makefile.PL
49 PREFIX=/my/perl_directory" to install the modules into
50 /my/perl_directory. Then you can use the modules from your Perl
51 programs with "use lib "/my/perl_directory/lib/site_perl";" or
52 sometimes just "use "/my/perl_directory";". If you're on a system that
53 requires superuser/root access to install modules into the directories
54 you see when you type "perl -e "print qq(@INC)"", you'll want to
55 install them into a local directory (such as your home directory) and
56 use this approach.
57 • If you're on a Unix or Unix-like system,
59 You can use Andreas Koenig's CPAN module (
61 <https://metacpan.org/release/CPAN> ) to automate the following
62 steps, from DECOMPRESS through INSTALL.
63 A. DECOMPRESS
65 Decompress the file with "gzip -d yourmodule.tar.gz"
67 You can get gzip from <ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/>
69 Or, you can combine this step with the next to save disk space:
71 gzip -dc yourmodule.tar.gz | tar -xof -
73 B. UNPACK
75 Unpack the result with "tar -xof yourmodule.tar"
77 C. BUILD
79 Go into the newly-created directory and type:
81 perl Makefile.PL
83 make test
84 or
86 perl Makefile.PL PREFIX=/my/perl_directory
88 to install it locally. (Remember that if you do this, you'll have
90 to put "use lib "/my/perl_directory";" near the top of the program
91 that is to use this module.
92 D. INSTALL
94 While still in that directory, type:
96 make install
98 Make sure you have the appropriate permissions to install the
100 module in your Perl 5 library directory. Often, you'll need to be
101 root.
102 That's all you need to do on Unix systems with dynamic linking.
104 Most Unix systems have dynamic linking. If yours doesn't, or if for
105 another reason you have a statically-linked perl, and the module
106 requires compilation, you'll need to build a new Perl binary that
107 includes the module. Again, you'll probably need to be root.
108 • If you're running ActivePerl (Win95/98/2K/NT/XP, Linux, Solaris),
110 First, type "ppm" from a shell and see whether ActiveState's PPM
112 repository has your module. If so, you can install it with "ppm"
113 and you won't have to bother with any of the other steps here. You
114 might be able to use the CPAN instructions from the "Unix or Linux"
115 section above as well; give it a try. Otherwise, you'll have to
116 follow the steps below.
117 A. DECOMPRESS
119 You can use the open source 7-zip ( <https://www.7-zip.org/> ) or
121 the shareware Winzip ( <https://www.winzip.com> ) to decompress and
122 unpack modules.
123 B. UNPACK
125 If you used WinZip, this was already done for you.
127 C. BUILD
129 You'll need either "nmake" or "gmake".
131 Does the module require compilation (i.e. does it have files that
133 end in .xs, .c, .h, .y, .cc, .cxx, or .C)? If it does, life is now
134 officially tough for you, because you have to compile the module
135 yourself (no easy feat on Windows). You'll need a compiler such as
136 Visual C++. Alternatively, you can download a pre-built PPM
137 package from ActiveState.
138 <http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Downloads/ActivePerl/PPM/>
139 Go into the newly-created directory and type:
141 perl Makefile.PL
143 nmake test
144 D. INSTALL
147 While still in that directory, type:
149 nmake install
151 • If you're on OS/2,
153 Get the EMX development suite and gzip/tar from Hobbes (
155 <http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/h-browse.php?dir=/pub/os2/dev/emx/v0.9d> ),
156 and then follow the instructions for Unix.
157 • If you're on VMS,
159 When downloading from CPAN, save your file with a ".tgz" extension
161 instead of ".tar.gz". All other periods in the filename should be
162 replaced with underscores. For example, "Your-Module-1.33.tar.gz"
163 should be downloaded as "Your-Module-1_33.tgz".
164 A. DECOMPRESS
166 Type
168 gzip -d Your-Module.tgz
170 or, for zipped modules, type
172 unzip Your-Module.zip
174 Executables for gzip, zip, and VMStar:
176 http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/
178 and their source code:
180 http://www.fsf.org/order/ftp.html
182 Note that GNU's gzip/gunzip is not the same as Info-ZIP's zip/unzip
184 package. The former is a simple compression tool; the latter
185 permits creation of multi-file archives.
186 B. UNPACK
188 If you're using VMStar:
190 VMStar xf Your-Module.tar
192 Or, if you're fond of VMS command syntax:
194 tar/extract/verbose Your_Module.tar
196 C. BUILD
198 Make sure you have MMS (from Digital) or the freeware MMK (
200 available from MadGoat at <http://www.madgoat.com> ). Then type
201 this to create the DESCRIP.MMS for the module:
202 perl Makefile.PL
204 Now you're ready to build:
206 mms test
208 Substitute "mmk" for "mms" above if you're using MMK.
210 D. INSTALL
212 Type
214 mms install
216 Substitute "mmk" for "mms" above if you're using MMK.
218 • If you're on MVS,
220 Introduce the .tar.gz file into an HFS as binary; don't translate
222 from ASCII to EBCDIC.
223 A. DECOMPRESS
225 Decompress the file with "gzip -d yourmodule.tar.gz"
227 You can get gzip from
229 <http://www.s390.ibm.com/products/oe/bpxqp1.html>
230 B. UNPACK
232 Unpack the result with
234 pax -o to=IBM-1047,from=ISO8859-1 -r < yourmodule.tar
236 The BUILD and INSTALL steps are identical to those for Unix. Some
238 modules generate Makefiles that work better with GNU make, which is
239 available from <http://www.mks.com/s390/gnu/>
240
242 Note that not all modules will work with on all platforms. See
243 perlport for more information on portability issues. Read the
244 documentation to see if the module will work on your system. There are
245 basically three categories of modules that will not work "out of the
246 box" with all platforms (with some possibility of overlap):
247 • Those that should, but don't. These need to be fixed; consider
249 contacting the author and possibly writing a patch.
250 • Those that need to be compiled, where the target platform doesn't
252 have compilers readily available. (These modules contain .xs or .c
253 files, usually.) You might be able to find existing binaries on
254 the CPAN or elsewhere, or you might want to try getting compilers
255 and building it yourself, and then release the binary for other
256 poor souls to use.
257 • Those that are targeted at a specific platform. (Such as the
259 Win32:: modules.) If the module is targeted specifically at a
260 platform other than yours, you're out of luck, most likely.
261 Check the CPAN Testers if a module should work with your platform but
263 it doesn't behave as you'd expect, or you aren't sure whether or not a
264 module will work under your platform. If the module you want isn't
265 listed there, you can test it yourself and let CPAN Testers know, you
266 can join CPAN Testers, or you can request it be tested.
267 https://cpantesters.org/
269
271 If you have any suggested changes for this page, let me know. Please
272 don't send me mail asking for help on how to install your modules.
273 There are too many modules, and too few Orwants, for me to be able to
274 answer or even acknowledge all your questions. Contact the module
275 author instead, ask someone familiar with Perl on your operating
276 system, or if all else fails, file a ticket at <https://rt.cpan.org/>.
277
279 Jon Orwant
280 orwant@medita.mit.edu
282 with invaluable help from Chris Nandor, and valuable help from Brandon
284 Allbery, Charles Bailey, Graham Barr, Dominic Dunlop, Jarkko
285 Hietaniemi, Ben Holzman, Tom Horsley, Nick Ing-Simmons, Tuomas J.
286 Lukka, Laszlo Molnar, Alan Olsen, Peter Prymmer, Gurusamy Sarathy,
287 Christoph Spalinger, Dan Sugalski, Larry Virden, and Ilya Zakharevich.
288 First version July 22, 1998; last revised November 21, 2001.
290
292 Copyright (C) 1998, 2002, 2003 Jon Orwant. All Rights Reserved.
293 This document may be distributed under the same terms as Perl itself.
295perl v5.38.2 2023-11-30 PERLMODINSTALL(1)