How can I install a CPAN module into a local directory? - perl

I'm using a hosted Linux machine so I don't have permissions to write
into the /usr/lib directory.
When I try to install a CPAN module by doing the usual:
perl Makefile.PL
make test
make install
That module is extracted to a blib/lib/ folder. I have kept use
blib/lib/ModuleName but it still the compiler says module can not be
found. I have tried copying the .pm file into local directory and kept
require ModuleName but still it gives me some error.
How can I install a module into some other directory and use it?

Other answers already on Stackoverflow:
How do I install modules locally without root access...
How can I use a new Perl module without install permissions?
From perlfaq8:
How do I keep my own module/library directory?
When you build modules, tell Perl where to install the modules.
For Makefile.PL-based distributions, use the INSTALL_BASE option when generating Makefiles:
perl Makefile.PL INSTALL_BASE=/mydir/perl
You can set this in your CPAN.pm configuration so modules automatically install in your private library directory when you use the CPAN.pm shell:
% cpan
cpan> o conf makepl_arg INSTALL_BASE=/mydir/perl
cpan> o conf commit
For Build.PL-based distributions, use the --install_base option:
perl Build.PL --install_base /mydir/perl
You can configure CPAN.pm to automatically use this option too:
% cpan
cpan> o conf mbuildpl_arg '--install_base /mydir/perl'
cpan> o conf commit

I had a similar problem, where I couldn't even install local::lib
I created an installer that installed the module somewhere relative to the .pl files
The install goes like:
perl Makefile.PL PREFIX=./modulos
make
make install
Then, in the .pl file that requires the module, which is in ./
use lib qw(./modulos/share/perl/5.8.8/); # You may need to change this path
use module::name;
The rest of the files (makefile.pl, module.pm, etc) require no changes.
You can call the .pl file with just
perl file.pl

local::lib will help you. It will convince "make install" (and "Build install") to install to a directory you can write to, and it will tell perl how to get at those modules.
In general, if you want to use a module that is in a blib/ directory, you want to say perl -Mblib ... where ... is how you would normally invoke your script.

For Makefile.PL-based distributions, use the INSTALL_BASE option when generating Makefiles:
perl Makefile.PL INSTALL_BASE=/mydir/perl

I strongly recommend Perlbrew. It lets you run multiple versions of Perl, install packages, hack Perl internals if you want to, all regular user permissions.

Related

How can I install XML::DOM into my perl built from source?

I downloaded the source to Perl and compiled/installed into a shared directory for my team. By default, Perl doesn't include XML::DOM and I need to add it to the installation. How do I do this?
I tried cpan and it installs to ~/perl5 by default. I tried cpanm next (cpanm -l $install_path XML::DOM) but perl still can't find it in #INC. I'm using perl 5.32.0.
You have env var telling the module's installer to install it in an undesired place.
Unset the following env vars:
PERL_MM_OPT
PERL_MB_OPT
Don't call any cpan or cpanm, call cpan with your perl or inspect which perl is called with your tool by looking at the header.
/path/to/my/perl -S cpan XML::DOM

Installing Perl modules and dependencies with non-root and without CPAN

I have been writing Perl scripts for my work and the machine that I have been given to work on makes installing Perl modules difficult:
We cannot have gcc on my machine for security reasons, so I cannot use CPAN to install modules, for most modules.
I do not have access to the root account.
Usually, when I want to install a module, I put in a request and I have to wait a day or two before it gets installed. I know that nobody would have a problem with me installing them myself, so to save everyone's time and my sanity I would like to install them myself. It's just an issue of how to best do that. I have talked to various people and they said to use an RPM to install them (to get around not having gcc). However, when trying to install modules from RPMs, it does not handle the dependencies so I would manually need to handle the dependencies, which could take a while.
How can I best install Perl modules with these limitations?
On a similar machine with a similarly built Perl, install the module(s) using
mkdir ~/foo
cpan
o conf makepl_arg 'PREFIX=~/foo LIB=~/foo/lib/perl5'
o conf mbuildpl_arg '--prefix ~/foo --lib ~/foo/lib/perl5'
install Some::Module
As long as you don't do o conf commit, the configuration change will be temporary, so don't do that.
Copy ~/foo over, and set env var PERL5LIB to include the LIB directory. You can merge a newer ~/foo into an older one to add new modules.
This won't install any non-Perl libraries on which the modules depend.
See also How do I keep my own module/library directory? in section 8 of the Perl FAQ.
When you build modules, tell Perl where to install the modules.
For Makefile.PL-based distributions, use the INSTALL_BASE option when generating Makefiles:
perl Makefile.PL INSTALL_BASE=/mydir/perl
For Build.PL-based distributions, use the --install_base option:
perl Build.PL --install_base /mydir/perl
INSTALL_BASE tells these tools to put your modules into /mydir/perl/lib/perl5. See How do I add a directory to my include path (#INC) at runtime? for details on how to run your newly installed modules.
There is one caveat with INSTALL_BASE, though, since it acts differently from the PREFIX and LIB settings that older versions of ExtUtils::MakeMaker advocated. INSTALL_BASE does not support installing modules for multiple versions of Perl or different architectures under the same directory. You should consider whether you really want that and, if you do, use the older PREFIX and LIB settings. See the ExtUtils::Makemaker documentation for more details.

How can I install Perl modules without root privileges?

I am on a Linux machine where I have no root privileges. I want to install some packages through CPAN into my home directory so that when I run Perl, it will be able to see it.
I ran cpan, which asked for some coniguration options. It asked for some directory, which it suggested ~/perl "for non-root users". Still, when I try to install a package, it fails at the make install step, because I don't have write access to /usr/lib/perl5/whatever.
How can I configure CPAN so that I can install packages into my home directory?
See local::lib.
Once you have it installed, you can do:
perl -MCPAN -Mlocal::lib -e 'CPAN::install(LWP)'
There's the way documented in perlfaq8, which is what local::lib is doing for you.
It's also a frequently asked StackOverflow question:
Why does installing certain CPAN modules require root privilege?
How can I install CPAN modules locally without root access (DynaLoader.pm line 229 error)?
How do I tell CPAN.pm to install all modules in a specific directory?
How can I install a CPAN module into a local directory?
How can I use a new Perl module without install permissions?
How can I use CPAN as a non-root user?
How can I install local modules with the cpan tool?
Curiously, none of these are suggested when I use your original question title (which is one of the reasons a good title is very important in finding your answer).
How do I keep my own module/library directory?
When you build modules, tell Perl where to install the modules.
If you want to install modules for your own use, the easiest way might be local::lib, which you can download from CPAN. It sets various installation settings for you, and uses those same settings within your programs.
If you want more flexibility, you need to configure your CPAN client for your particular situation.
For Makefile.PL-based distributions, use the INSTALL_BASE option when generating Makefiles:
perl Makefile.PL INSTALL_BASE=/mydir/perl
You can set this in your CPAN.pm configuration so modules automatically install in your private library directory when you use the CPAN.pm shell:
% cpan
cpan> o conf makepl_arg INSTALL_BASE=/mydir/perl
cpan> o conf commit
For Build.PL-based distributions, use the --install_base option:
perl Build.PL --install_base /mydir/perl
You can configure CPAN.pm to automatically use this option too:
% cpan
cpan> o conf mbuild_arg "--install_base /mydir/perl"
cpan> o conf commit
INSTALL_BASE tells these tools to put your modules into /mydir/perl/lib/perl5. See How do I add a directory to my include path (#INC) at runtime? for details on how to run your newly installed modules.
There is one caveat with INSTALL_BASE, though, since it acts differently than the PREFIX and LIB settings that older versions of ExtUtils::MakeMaker advocated. INSTALL_BASE does not support installing modules for multiple versions of Perl or different architectures under the same directory. You should consider if you really want that, and if you do, use the older PREFIX and LIB settings. See the ExtUtils::Makemaker documentation for more details.
CPAN way
run cpan command. If you don't have CPAN configurated, do it first! Otherwise, you will see the cpan prompt. In this case, type look local::lib and you will have a new shell prompt. In this new shell, run the bootstrap command configuring and compiling the module at same time as at bellow.
user#host:~/.cpan/build/local-lib-1.004003-UyX2wf$ perl Makefile.PL --bootstrap && make test && make install
Now, export some variables:
Path where local::lib will install things
echo 'eval $(perl -I$index.t/perl5/lib/perl5 -Mlocal::lib)' >> ~/.bashrc
And Perl variable to avoid user input
echo 'export PERL_MM_USE_DEFAULT=1' >> ~/.bashrc
Now load your bashrc running
source ~/.bashrc
Try to install running cpan <SOME_VALID_MODULE_NAMESPACE>
That's it! Now you can install modules using cpan without root privileges. But, remember that this will work just for the CURRENT USER including the root user !
cpanminus way
If you have this installed your sys admin deserves a beer!
Just run
$ cpanm --local-lib=~/perl5 local::lib && eval $(perl -I ~/perl5/lib/perl5/ -Mlocal::lib)
Open another terminal and run
$ env |grep PERL
You should see something like this:
PERL5LIB=$HOME/perl5/lib/perl5 PERL_MB_OPT=--install_base "$HOME/perl5"
PERL_LOCAL_LIB_ROOT=$HOME/perl5
PERL_MM_OPT=INSTALL_BASE=$HOME/perl5
But if you're not, export variables like this:
$ echo "export PERL5LIB=\"$HOME/perl5/lib/perl5\"">>~/.bashrc && \
echo "export PERL_MB_OPT=\"--install_base '$HOME/perl5'\">>~/.bashrc && \
echo "export PERL_LOCAL_LIB_ROOT=$HOME/perl5">>~/.bashrc
Finally, load your bashrc file and try to install with commands
source ~/.bashrc
and
cpanm <SOME_VALID_MODULE_NAMESPACE>
Fim!

How can I tell cpan to change the target for the module installation?

When I installed perl from the source the first nice surprise was that without doing something all module installed from now on were available to the new perl. Since I didn't find one module on cpan that comes with my OS I have to use for some scripts the onboard-perl. For one of these scripts I would like to install Text::Format or Text::Autoformat (didn't find the docu for that module on cpan). My question: how can I tell cpan to install the module this one time for the OS-distro-perl?
There isn't a special way to tell cpan to install modules in a new location for just the one invocation. That feature, however, is on my to do list, along with local::lib support. I truly understand your pain and want the same feature. I just need the time (or the patch) to make it work.
Until then, you have to enter the CPAN.pm shell and change the values for mbuild_arg and makefilepl_arg as noted in perlfaq8: How do I keep my own module directory?:
When you build modules, tell Perl where to install the modules.
For Makefile.PL-based distributions, use the INSTALL_BASE option when generating Makefiles:
perl Makefile.PL INSTALL_BASE=/mydir/perl
You can set this in your CPAN.pm configuration so modules automatically install in your private library directory when you use the CPAN.pm shell:
% cpan
cpan> o conf makepl_arg INSTALL_BASE=/mydir/perl
cpan> o conf commit
For Build.PL-based distributions, use the --install_base option:
perl Build.PL --install_base /mydir/perl
You can configure CPAN.pm to automatically use this option too:
% cpan
cpan> o conf mbuild_arg "--install_base /mydir/perl"
cpan> o conf commit
Each Perl installation has its own idea of where libraries should "live", which the CPAN module uses as a guide for where to perform its installations. You can see what these values are by executing perl -V, and look for the value of #INC (at the bottom). If you invoke CPAN with a different Perl (e.g. your system-installed Perl), you will automatically install modules into that Perl's preferred location:
/usr/bin/perl -MCPAN -e shell
or to simply install one module without having to invoke the CPAN shell explicitly:
/usr/bin/cpan <modulename>
There are also CPAN configuration options available where you can temporarily or permanently change the install location, but this should not be necessary in your case.
/path/to/system/perl -MCPAN -e shell
I'm assuming you want to simply install modules to a different location and then run them from that location -- your question wasn't too clear to me.
Read the perldoc fully on local::lib. It would be a major failure on my part to try to write that better. This is also the most recent and advanced way to achieve this task. If another solution doesn't reference this module, then my personal suggestion would be to avoid it like the plague.

How can I use a new Perl module without install permissions?

Here is my situation: I know almost nothing about Perl but it is the only language available on a porting machine. I only have permissions to write in my local work area and not the Perl install location. I need to use the Parallel::ForkManager Perl module from CPAN
How do I use this Parallel::ForkManager without doing a central install? Is there an environment variable that I can set so it is located?
Thanks
JD
From perlfaq8: How do I keep my own module/library directory?:
When you build modules, tell Perl where to install the modules.
For C-based distributions, use the INSTALL_BASE option
when generating Makefiles:
perl Makefile.PL INSTALL_BASE=/mydir/perl
You can set this in your CPAN.pm configuration so modules automatically install
in your private library directory when you use the CPAN.pm shell:
% cpan
cpan> o conf makepl_arg INSTALL_BASE=/mydir/perl
cpan> o conf commit
For C-based distributions, use the --install_base option:
perl Build.PL --install_base /mydir/perl
You can configure CPAN.pm to automatically use this option too:
% cpan
cpan> o conf mbuild_arg --install_base /mydir/perl
cpan> o conf commit
INSTALL_BASE tells these tools to put your modules into
F. See L for details on how to run your newly
installed moudles.
There is one caveat with INSTALL_BASE, though, since it acts
differently than the PREFIX and LIB settings that older versions of
ExtUtils::MakeMaker advocated. INSTALL_BASE does not support
installing modules for multiple versions of Perl or different
architectures under the same directory. You should consider if you
really want that , and if you do, use the older PREFIX and LIB
settings. See the ExtUtils::Makemaker documentation for more details.
Download package form CPAN to a folder:
wget http://search.cpan.org/CPAN/authors/id/S/SZ/SZABGAB/Parallel-ForkManager-1.06.tar.gz
gunzip Parallel-ForkManager-1.06.tar.gz
tar -xvf Parallel-ForkManager-1.06.tar
before this create a folder in home to store your local modules, now go into downloaded folder and run follwing cmmands:
perl Makefile.PL PREFIX=/home/username/myModules
make
make test
make install
get the path to ForkManager from the installed folder,/home/username/myModules
and locate Parallel folder and get the full path to this.
Now in your perl file put these at the beggining
use lib '/home/username/myModules/bin.../Parallel';
use parallel::ForkManager;
--That should do it.
Check out this post from Mark Dominus
Excerpt:
Set PREFIX=X when building the Makefile
Set INSTALLDIRS=vendor and VENDORPREFIX=X when building the Makefile
Or maybe instead of VENDORPREFIX you need to set INSTALLVENDORLIB or something
Or maybe instead of setting them while building the Makefile you need to set them while running the make install target
Set LIB=X/lib when building the Makefile
Use PAR
Use local::lib
Mark also gives another solution in his blog which takes a bit more space to desribe but boils down to running make and make test but not make install and then using the stuff in blib/.
There's the PERL5LIB environment variable, and -I on the command line when it comes to using the module. There are mechanisms for telling CPAN and CPANPLUS.
There is information in question 5 of the CPAN manual (perldoc CPAN, or look at CPAN itself).
use lib 'directory';
use Parallel::ForkManager;
You can use the -I (capital i) command-line switch followed by the directory where you'll place the module; or try the "use lib" directive followed by the directory.
Yes Even You Can Use CPAN
perl Makefile.PL LIB=/my/perl_modules/lib/
make
make install
PERL5LIB=$PERL5LIB:/my/perl_modules/lib/
perl myperlcode.pl
use cpanm -l $DIR_NAME option.
perlbrew lets you use a local perl and installs it's packages to a local directory.
\curl -L https://install.perlbrew.pl | bash
perlbrew init # put this in .bash_profile etc
perlbrew install 5.27.11
perlbrew switch 5.27.11
See also https://opensource.com/article/18/7/perlbrew.
Consider using cpanminus, a suggested on this other thread