I’m trying to install RTFM 2.4.2 and it’s trying to set up all sorts
of CPAN stuff. Why? I can tell you now that this isn’t going to
work. I’m only using a normal user account, and frankly I detest
CPAN and the whole “screw up all the perl-based software on your
system easily and automatically!” that is CPAN. If RTFM needs some
perl modules, I will evaluate and install them one by one,
carefully. Ad-hoc installs and upgrades only break things that have
differing dependancies.
I don’t mind having to upgrade a different piece of software to
resolve a version dependancy issue – but i hate having it broken for
me, before I am even aware there will be a problem. Auto-package-
install is guaranteed failure unless you limit yourself to one perl-
based software package per machine.
In the next update, please make it possible for a person to not use
CPAN. “make testdeps” should do the job just fine, thank you. You
can have “make fixdeps” use CPAN – I’ll never run it, and that way
people who want to swath/trash/destroy can do so at their leisure 
Jo Rhett
Net Consonance : consonant endings by net philanthropy, open source
and other randomness
I’m trying to install RTFM 2.4.2 and it’s trying to set up all sorts of CPAN stuff. Why? I
can tell you now that this isn’t going to work. I’m only using a normal user account, and
frankly I detest CPAN and the whole “screw up all the perl-based software on your system
easily and automatically!” that is CPAN. If RTFM needs some perl modules, I will evaluate and
install them one by one, carefully. Ad-hoc installs and upgrades only break things that have
differing dependancies.
I don’t mind having to upgrade a different piece of software to resolve a version dependancy
issue – but i hate having it broken for me, before I am even aware there will be a problem.
Auto-package-install is guaranteed failure unless you limit yourself to one perl-based
software package per machine.
In the next update, please make it possible for a person to not use CPAN. “make testdeps”
should do the job just fine, thank you. You can have “make fixdeps” use CPAN – I’ll never
run it, and that way people who want to swath/trash/destroy can do so at their leisure 
RTFM is a normal perl module, it does not have a make testdeps or make
fixdeps action
It sounds like when you ran perl Makefile.PL there were warnings about
missing perl modules that you ignored, and RTFM is configured to run
Module::AutoInstall. You can read the docs for that module and it
talks about arguments to Makefile.PL that will simulate testdeps or
fixdeps for you, and how to disable auto installation.
-kevin
It sounds like when you ran perl Makefile.PL there were warnings about
missing perl modules that you ignored, and RTFM is configured to run
Module::AutoInstall.
Nope. It couldn’t find the RT root, but I supplied that and then it
started running autoinstall.
[rtweb@kininvie ~/src/RTFM-2.4.2]$ perl -f Makefile.PL
Cannot determine author info from lib/RT/FM.pm
Cannot determine license info from lib/RT/FM.pm
Cannot find the location of RT.pm that defines $RT::LocalPath in: inc /
usr/local/lib/perl5/5.8.8/BSDPAN /usr/local/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.8/
mach /usr/local/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.8 /usr/local/lib/perl5/
site_perl /usr/local/lib/perl5/5.8.8/mach /usr/local/lib/
perl5/5.8.8 . /opt/rt3/lib /opt/lib/rt3 /opt/lib /usr/local/rt3/lib /
usr/local/lib/rt3 /usr/local/lib /home/rt3/lib /home/lib/rt3 /home/
lib /usr/rt3/lib /usr/lib/rt3 /usr/lib /sw/rt3/lib /sw/lib/rt3 /sw/lib
Path to your RT.pm: /u/rtweb/rt38/lib
Using RT configuration from /u/rtweb/rt38/lib/RT.pm:
./bin => /d/u/rtweb/rt38/local/plugins/RT-FM/bin
./etc => /d/u/rtweb/rt38/local/plugins/RT-FM/etc
./html => /d/u/rtweb/rt38/local/plugins/RT-FM/html
./lib => /d/u/rtweb/rt38/local/plugins/RT-FM/lib
./po => /d/u/rtweb/rt38/local/plugins/RT-FM/po
./sbin => /d/u/rtweb/rt38/local/plugins/RT-FM/sbin
For first-time installation, type ‘make initdb’.
Cannot determine author info from lib/RT/FM.pm
*** Module::AutoInstall version 1.03
*** Checking for Perl dependencies…
You can read the docs for that module and it
talks about arguments to Makefile.PL that will simulate testdeps or
fixdeps for you, and how to disable auto installation.
Ah yes, Perldoc. The greatest way to hide your documentation, so it
can only be read via less on the original doc.
[rtweb@kininvie ~/src/RTFM-2.4.2]$ find . -name AutoInstall.pm
./inc/Module/AutoInstall.pm
./inc/Module/Install/AutoInstall.pm
[rtweb@kininvie ~/src/RTFM-2.4.2]$ perldoc inc/Module/AutoInstall.pm
No documentation found for “inc/Module/AutoInstall.pm”.
[rtweb@kininvie ~/src/RTFM-2.4.2]$ perldoc inc/Module/Install/
AutoInstall.pm
No documentation found for “inc/Module/Install/AutoInstall.pm”.
Jo Rhett
Net Consonance : consonant endings by net philanthropy, open source
and other randomness
You can read the docs for that module and it
talks about arguments to Makefile.PL that will simulate testdeps or
fixdeps for you, and how to disable auto installation.
Ah yes, Perldoc. The greatest way to hide your documentation, so it
can only be read via less on the original doc.
Or even better – waste your time. There’s no documentation in these
modules. There’s no documentation on CPAN either.
Where exactly can one find docs for the module?
Jo Rhett
Net Consonance : consonant endings by net philanthropy, open source
and other randomness
Or even better – waste your time. There’s no documentation in these
modules. There’s no documentation on CPAN either.
Where exactly can one find docs for the module?
Kevin’s message didn’t say “look in inc and run perldoc on whatever you find”,
it said to read the documentation for Module::AutoInstall. Lo and behold:
Documentation.
hdp.
Kevin’s message didn’t say “look in inc and run perldoc on whatever
you find”,
it said to read the documentation for Module::AutoInstall. Lo and
behold:
Module::AutoInstall - Automatic install of dependencies via CPAN - metacpan.org
Documentation.
Hm. And when I google the module this link isn’t on the first page of
30 results.
I’m sorry, but “read the docs” is a pretty nasty reply if the docs
aren’t anywhere one would expect to find them.
Jo Rhett
Net Consonance : consonant endings by net philanthropy, open source
and other randomness
Module::AutoInstall - Automatic install of dependencies via CPAN - metacpan.org
Documentation.
Hm. And when I google the module this link isn’t on the first page of
30 results.
I googled for Module::AutoInstall and it was the very first hit. It’s a
different URL but it gets you to the same place.
I’m sorry, but “read the docs” is a pretty nasty reply if the docs
aren’t anywhere one would expect to find them.
Module::Install strips its own documentation from the bundled copy to
save space.
Shawn