Installing Software

Sometimes you can find prebuilt versions of the components you need. This is so particularly under Linux, for which distributions tend to be available in RPM (RedHat Package Manager) format. Using prebuilt packages can be more convenient if you don’t want to mess around running a lot of build commands, but compiling from source has the advantage that you can put things where you want them, instead of where someone else assumes you want them. (A warning: For MySQL, RedHat’s own RPMs tend to be somewhat broken. If you’ve installed one of these, I recommend uninstalling it by running rpm -e mysql and then installing RPMs obtained from the MySQL site instead. Make sure you get all the RPM files you need; the full set includes server, client, and development RPMs.)

If you’re building from source, then with the exception of the Perl modules, installation procedures for the various pieces of software used in this book vary. You’ll need to read and follow the instructions for each component. For mod_perl especially, note the many INSTALL.* files in the main distribution directory. Read them, pick the one that offers a recipe that looks most likely to suit your system, and follow its instructions.

For Perl, most modules can be built and installed using the following sequence of commands (you’ll likely need to run the makeinstall command as root):

					% perl Makefile.PL
					% make
					% make test
					% make install
				

Alternatively, you may find it more convenient to download, build, and install modules using Perl’s CPAN module in interactive mode. (This too may need to be run as root.) Here’s an example:

					% perl -MCPAN -e shell 
cpan> install Mail::Sendmail
				

With ActiveState Perl under Windows, use the PPM tool to obtain and install Perl modules:

C:> ppm 
PPM> install Mail::Sendmail 
Install package 'Mail::Sendmail?' (y/N): y