On Monday, October 14, 2002, at 11:34 AM, Puneet Kishor wrote: > I definitely cannot go to 5.8.0 because there is stuff I need to run > that cannot run on 5.8.0. In any case, I'd rather not mess with Apple's > perl install. It is simply not worth the trouble it causes.
I agree, messing around with Apple's Perl install causes trouble and isn't worth it. For the most part, Apple's instructions on upgrading to 5.8.0 are quite good - the bit about exporting the LC_ALL_C variable to prevent warnings about it was particularly enlightening. But when it comes to choosing where to install it, they're brain-dead. The author says at the beginning that they've been tested only to upgrade a "clean" install - i.e. no CPAN modules are in /Library/Perl - and it shows. You can install 5.8.0 without touching Apple's 5.6.0 install in any way - you simply have to ignore Apple's suggestion of where to install it. Don't use the default, which installs it into /Library/Perl, and due to the fact that 5.6.0 puts its CPAN modules in /Library/Perl, creates a horrible mess in there, and don't use "-Dprefix=/usr" to entirely replace the stock Perl. Just install it elsewhere, so it doesn't conflict. Using "-Dprefix=/opt" will install it in /opt/lib/perl5, /opt/bin, and so on. You can use a variety of prefixes, keeping as many different versions of Perl on your system as you'd like. It's not voodoo, it simply takes a little forethought, organization, and planning. sherm--
