[Switched2Mac]

Do I need to install the Developer Tools to get the make file?

-MCPAN -e shell

took me through the setup, but it did not find the make file.

Naturally, that puts a cramp on my installing any Perl mods.

[RevEvs]

Im sure Perl and CPAN are all installed by default, or at least after you install the dev tools. Pretty sure i just ran CPAN the other day without having to compile/make it..

[Switched2Mac]

I found the answer.

But it brings up more questions.

Make is not installed in OSX until you install the Developers Package.

After that, I deleted the .cpan/CPAN/MyConfig.pm file and reran the shell. I did the manual installation again and it found the make utility no problems.

But I am now getting other problems compiling Perl modules.

What is the directory structure of Perl in OSX?

It does not follow the normal UNIX structure that I can tell.

[Paul McCann]

perl -V

will show you what you're after: 5.8.1 core modules are in /System/Library/Perl/5.8.1 and user installed stuff will be in /Library/Perl/5.8.1 (There are subdirectories in each location that indicate Apple's choice to compile a threaded version. Hmm. You might like to simply download 5.8.4 in toto and to install it in a different location. I seem to recall that /usr/local is the default prefix, so that will give you something very familiar to work with. Leave Apple's perl in place as it's sometimes needed for updates and the like.)

Cheers,
Paul

[Switched2Mac]

I found the perl executable in /usr/bin.

Why are there two locations for perl in OSX?

Also, why doesn't the finder search the entire hard drive. It did not return the perl executable during a search.

I had to locate.updatedb and then use locate to find the file.

When I use CPAN, does it update the lib folders in those 2 spots or does it only do it in my .cpan folder in my home folder?

My comfort zone is ActiveState Perl on Windows. I know where everything is and what is going on. The PPM is far better than anything CPAN has.

I want to begin developing on the Mac, but need to get that same warm fuzzy on locations and behavior. I have read through volumes of man pages and such but am still unclear.

I'll go thru them again, but was hoping someone could clear it up for me.

[Paul McCann]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Switched2Mac:
I found the perl executable in /usr/bin.

Why are there two locations for perl in OSX?

Not sure what you mean here: for the binary? For the modules?

Also, why doesn't the finder search the entire hard drive. It did not return the perl executable during a search.

The finder "hides" certain portions of the file system in order to present a clean face to the novice user. If you really want to "see" what's on the filesystem proper you're going to want to make friends with the terminal pretty quickly. Aah, I see you have (with "locate"). If you want the Finder to show you the whole kit and caboodle you can edit the file ".hidden" that's hidden at the root of the filesystem. (ie, it's the file /.hidden that controls what's visible in the Finder)

When I use CPAN, does it update the lib folders in those 2 spots or does it only do it in my .cpan folder in my home folder?

The .cpan directory is just a staging area: everything is thrown into the standard locations (/Library/Perl/5.8.1/whatever... for additional modules that you're installing: this is just like "site_perl" in a standard unix install.

My comfort zone is ActiveState Perl on Windows. I know where everything is and what is going on. The PPM is far better than anything CPAN has.

Maybe: depends whether someone has a ppm for the version of the module that you're interested in using. If not then you're SOL unless it's either a pure perl module or you happen to possess the same C compiler as has been used to compile your version of perl. There's often a significant lag between the versions in ppm repositories and the current versions on CPAN (particularly for some of the modules with XS components (ie, that need compiling with a C compiler).) With OS X or linux (etc) you're completely in command of your installation: the compiler used to construct perl etc is on-board (via the dev tools).

Cheers,
Paul