Re: Can't install XML::Mini from CPAN on Woody
On Fri, May 23, 2003 at 12:06:52AM -0400, Kevin Mark wrote:
> <snip>
> > First: although it ought to be clear by today as I author this
> > follow-up, you (Kevin Mark) do not seem to have read the O.P.'s posting.
> >
> Yes, I thought that was inplied by my orignial post. But your subject
> line. from my reading, said 'from CPAN', not 'from
> stable/testing/unstable'.
Right, but *I* am not the O.P., and therefore did not create the
original Subject:.
> > Second: "why not use [...]": because apt / dpkg (the Debian package
> > management system) will not know that you've installed that module.
> > That's very obvious to anyone who thinks about it for even a few
> > moments.
> Yes I am aware of the idea of package managment. But a) its not perfect
> and b) there are times when one may not care/need/want to use it.
No, not perfect, but there are many Debian users who (I think) would
argue that Debian's package management is the best in the Linux world
(maybe the best in the world, period, although I've never used a *BSD
and so cannot speak about those systems). And that, therefore, the
Debian package management is the primary reason to use Debian vs. some
other Linux distro (i.e. Slackware, SUSe, etc). As to (b), yep, I guess
that's what /usr/local/*/ is for ;-). And that's where modules built and
installed using CPAN.pm go: into /usr/local... . So one can easily end
up with a version of say Compress::Zlib in /usr/local/lib/perl/5.6.1/...
and another version under /usr/lib/perl5/ ... That's somewhat nasty and
unclean but, like you, I let it happen on occasion.
> > I am not saying "don't ever use CPAN.pm" to install Perl modules to
> > Debian (who am I, anyway?). Other actual *experts* have undoubtedly said
> > it already in the past, probably many times. It's up to each individual
> > to decide how they want to administer their Debian system. *I* use
> > CPAN.pm to install, sometimes. It's just that I know what I am doing
> > when I do so, I know what the drawback is.
> >
> That was my assumption, that you were not a total beginner, and that you
> knew what you were doing. So, I answer in accordance with this.
Yet, just to wrap up with clarity, the O.P. seemed to be a novice with
perl and therefore I thought I'd better try to explain as fully as
possible, and state that while he *could* use CPAN.pm (IF he could get
it to work on installing that module, which he cannot), he might not
*want* to once he understood the larger ramifications. Or if he did so
on *this* occasion, he might not want to let it become a mindless habit.
It's my feeling that this is an interesting discussion but significantly
specialized and that ideally I'd want to see it continue over on
debian-perl rather than here in debian-user, what with this List's
already ponderous traffic volume. I re-subscribed to debian-perl
yesterday (story told in another of my recent, er rants/postings), and
maybe I'll seek to start mixing it up over there on this general topic,
soon.
Best Regards,
Soren Andersen
--
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