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Installing a Perl module

What to do once you've downloaded a Module from the CPAN Network, or somewhere else

You have a file ending in .tar.gz, or .zip. You know there's a tasty module inside. But how to install it, so you can actually make use of it?

Here are steps you must now take:

DECOMPRESS/UNPACK the file into a directory
BUILD the module (if required)
INSTALL 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 should 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 may also 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 – where PREFIX=/my/perl_directory represents an additional, or alternate path you use to install the modules into. Then you'll be able to 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 UNIX
1. DECOMPRESS/UNPACK
  Decompress the file with tar -xvzf yourmodule.tar.gz
  All modern UNIX, and UNIX-like Operating Systems install tar, and GNU gzip as part of their base system. But should your system not have gzip, you can get gzip from ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu.
2. BUILD
  Go into the newly-created directory and type:
  perl Makefile.PL
  make
  make test
3. INSTALL
  While you're still in that directory, type:
  make install
  Make sure you have the appropriate permissions to install the module in your Perl 5 library directory. In many cases, you'll need to be root.
  
  That's all you need to do on UNIX, or UNIX-like 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, 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.
NOTE: You can also use Andreas König's CPAN module to automate the entire process, from DECOMPRESS through INSTALL.
If you're running Windows 95 or NT with the ActiveState port of Perl,
1. DECOMPRESS/UNPACK
  You can use WinZip (shareware) to decompress and unpack modules.
2. 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 the CPAN for others to use. If it doesn't, go to INSTALL.
3. INSTALL
  Copy the module into your Perl's lib directory. That'll be one of the directories you see when you type perl -e "print qq(@INC)".
If you're running Windows 95 or NT with the core Windows distribution of Perl,
1. DECOMPRESS/UNPACK
  When you download the module, make sure it ends in either .tar.gz, or .zip. Windows browsers sometimes download .tar.gz files as _tar.tar, because early versions of Windows prohibited more than one dot in a filename.
  
  You can use WinZip (shareware) to decompress and unpack modules.
  
  Or, you can use InfoZIP's unzip utility to uncompress .zip files;
  type:
  unzip yourmodule.zip
  in your shell.
  
  Or, if you have a working tar and gzip, you can type
  gzip -cd yourmodule.tar.gz | tar xvf -
  in the shell to decompress yourmodule.tar.gz. This will UNPACK your module as well.
2. BUILD
  Go into the newly-created directory and type:
  perl Makefile.PL
  dmake
  dmake test
  
  Depending on your perl configuration, dmake might not be available. You might have to substitute whatever perl -V:make says. (Usually, that will be nmake or make.)
3. INSTALL
  While you're still in that directory, type:
  dmake install – substituting dmake for for the version of make available on your system
If you're using a Macintosh – for Mac OSX, see: UNIX
1. DECOMPRESS
  You can either use MacGzip (freeware),
  
  or Stuffit Expander in combination with DropStuff with Expander Enhancer (shareware).
2. UNPACK
  If you're using DropStuff or Stuffit, you can just extract the tar archive. Otherwise, you can use suntar (freeware).
3. BUILD
  Does the module require compilation?
  - If it does,
    
    Overview: You need MPW and a combination of new and old CodeWarrior compilers for MPW and libraries. Makefiles created for building under MPW use the Metrowerks compilers. It's quite possible to build without other compilers, but it has not been done successfully, to our knowledge. Reading the documentation in MacPerl: Power And Ease on porting/building extensions, or find an existing precompiled binary. You might also condider hiring someone to build it for you.
    Another possibility would be to ask someone on the mac-perl mailing list to build it for you. To subscribe to the mac-perl mailing list, send mail to mac-perl-request@iis.ee.ethz.ch.
  - If the module doesn't require compilation, go to INSTALL.
4. INSTALL
  Make sure the newlines for the modules are in Mac format, not UNIX format. Move the files manually into the correct folders.
  
  Move the files to their final destination: This will most likely be in $ENV{MACPERL}site_lib: (i.e., HD:MacPerl folder:site_lib:). You can add new paths to the default @INC in the Preferences menu item in the MacPerl application ($ENV{MACPERL}site_lib: is added automagically). Create whatever directory structures are required (i.e., for Some::Module, create $ENV{MACPERL}site_lib:Some: and put Module.pm in that directory).
  Run the following script (or something like it):
```
	#!perl -w
	use AutoSplit;
	my $dir = "${MACPERL}site_perl";
	autosplit("$dir:Some:Module.pm", "$dir:auto", 0, 1, 1);
```
  Eventually there should be a way to automate the installation process; some solutions exist, but none are ready for the general public yet.
If you're on DOS (the DJGPP port),
1. DECOMPRESS/UNPACK
  djtarx will both uncompress and unpack.
2. BUILD
  Go into the newly-created directory and type:
  perl Makefile.PL
  make
  make test
  You will need the packages mentioned in Readme.dos in the Perl distribution.
3. INSTALL
  While still in that directory, type:
  make install
  You will need the packages mentioned in Readme.dos in the Perl distribution.
If you're on OS/2,
Get the EMX development suite and gzip/tar, from either Hobbes or LEO, and then follow the instructions for UNIX.
If you're on VMS,
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 saved as Your-Module-1_33.tgz.
1. DECOMPRESS
  Type:
  gzip -d Your-Module.tgz
  
  or, for zipped modules, type:
  
  unzip Your-Module.zip
  
  Executables for gzip, zip, and VMStar:
  Alphas, Vaxen.
  gzip and tar are also available at ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/VMS.
  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.
2. 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
3. BUILD
  Make sure you have MMS (from Digital) or MMK (freeware from MadGoat). Then type this to create the DESCRIP.MMS for th emodule:
  perl Makefile.PL
  
  Now you're ready to build:
  mms
  mms test
  
  Substitute mmk for mms above if you're using MMK.
4. INSTALL
  Type:
  mms install
  
  Substitute mmk for mms above if you're using MMK.
If you're on MVS, Introduce the .tar.gz file into an HFS as binary; don't translate from ASCII to EBCDIC.
1. DECOMPRESS
  Decompress the file with
  gzip -d yourmodule.tar.gz
  You can get gzip from http://www.s390.ibm.com/products/oe/bpxqp1.html.
2. 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/index.htm.

Installing a Perl module

What to do once you've downloaded a Module from the CPAN Network, or somewhere else

See also:

Development