INSTALL(1)						User Contributed Perl Documentation						INSTALL(1)

NAME

       INSTALL - How to install and configure DBD::mysql

SYNOPSIS

	 perl Makefile.PL [options]
	 make
	 make test
	 make install

DESCRIPTION

       This document describes the installation and configuration of DBD::mysql, the Perl DBI driver for the MySQL database. Before reading on,
       make sure that you have the prerequisites available: Perl, MySQL and DBI. For details see the separate section.	"PREREQUISITES".

       Depending on your version of Perl, it might be possible to use a binary distribution of DBD::mysql. If possible, this is recommended. Oth-
       erwise you need to install from the sources.  If so, you will definitely need a C compiler. Installation from binaries and sources are both
       described in separate sections. "BINARY INSTALLATION". "SOURCE INSTALLATION".

       Finally, if you encounter any problems, do not forget to read the section on known problems. "KNOWN PROBLEMS". If that doesn't help, you
       should look into the archive of the mailing list msql-mysql-modules@lists.mysql.com. See http://www.mysql.com for archive locations. And if
       that still doesn't help, please post a question on this mailing list.

PREREQUISITES

       Perl
	   Preferrably a version of Perl, that comes preconfigured with your system. For example, all Linux and FreeBSD distributions come with
	   Perl. For Windows, ActivePerl is recommended, see http://www.activestate.com for details.

       MySQL
	   You need not install the actual MySQL database server, the client files and the devlopment files are sufficient. For example, the Red
	   Hat Linux distribution comes with RPM files mysql-client and mysql-devel. These are sufficient, if the MySQL server is located on a
	   foreign machine. You may also create client files by compiling from the MySQL source distribution and using

	     configure --without-server

	   If you are using Windows and need to compile from sources (which is only the case if you are not using ActivePerl), then you must
	   ensure that the header and library files are installed. This may require choosing a "Custom installation" and selecting the appropriate
	   option when running the MySQL setup program.

       DBI DBD::mysql is a DBI driver, hence you need DBI. It is available from the same source where you got the DBD::mysql distribution from.

       C compiler
	   A C compiler is only required, if you install from source. In most cases there are binary distributions of DBD::mysql available. How-
	   ever, if you need a C compiler, make sure, that it is the same C compiler that was used for compiling Perl and MySQL! Otherwise you
	   will almost definitely encounter problems because of differences in the underlying C runtime libraries.

	   In the worst case, this might mean to compile Perl and MySQL yourself. But believe me, experience shows that a lot of problems are
	   fixed this way.

       Gzip libraries
	   Late versions of MySQL come with support for compression. Thus it may be required that you have install an RPM package like libz-devel,
	   libgz-devel or something similar.

BINARY INSTALLATION

       Binary installation is possible in the most cases, depending on your system. I give some examples:

       Windows

       ActivePerl offers a PPM archive of DBD::mysql. All you need to do is typing

	 ppm
	 install DBI
	 install DBD-mysql

       This will fetch the modules via HTTP and install them. If you need to use a WWW proxy server, the environment variable HTTP_proxy must be
       set:

	 set HTTP_proxy=http://my.proxy.server:8000/
	 ppm
	 install DBI
	 install DBD-mysql

       Of course you need to replace the host name "my.proxy.server" and the port number 8000 with your local values.

       If the above procedure doesn't work, please upgrade to the latest version of ActivePerl. Versions before build 623 are known to have prob-
       lems.

       PPM 3 is said to miss DBD::mysql in the repository. Thus use of PPM 3 is discouraged, in favour of PPM 2. If you need to use PPM 3, try

	 ppm
	 rep add PPM2 http://ppm.activestate.com/PPMPackages/5.6plus/
	 rep 2
	 install DBI
	 install DBD-mysql

       Red Hat Linux

       As of version 7.1, Red Hat Linux comes with MySQL and DBD::mysql.  You need to ensure that the following RPM's are installed:

	 mysql
	 perl-DBI
	 perl-DBD-MySQL

       For installation from source the following RPM's are required

	 mysql-devel
	 libz-devel

       Optional are

	 mysql-server

       Other systems

       In the case of Linux or FreeBSD distributions it is very likely that all you need comes with your distribution, as in the case of Red Hat
       Linux. I just cannot give you names, as I am not using these systems.

       Please let me know if you find the files in your SuSE Linux, Debian Linux or FreeBSD distribution so that I can extend the above list.

SOURCE INSTALLATION

       So you need to install from sources. If you are lucky, the Perl module "CPAN" will do all for you, thanks to the excellent work of Andreas
       Koenig. Otherwise you will need to do a manual installation. Some of you, in particular system administrators of multiple sites, will
       choose automatic installation. All of these installation types have an own section. "CPAN installation".  "Manual installation". "Configu-
       ration".

       CPAN installation

       Installation of DBD::mysql can be incredibly easy:

	 cpan
	 install DBD::mysql

       If you are using the CPAN module for the first time, just answer the questions by accepting the defaults which are fine in most cases. If
       you are using an older version of Perl, you might instead need a

	 perl -MCPAN -e shell
	 install DBD::mysql

       If you cannot get the CPAN module working, you might try manual installation. If installation with CPAN fails because the your local set-
       tings have been guessed wrong, you might try to create a script called "mysql_config". This is described in more details later. "Configura-
       tion".

       Manual installation

       For a manual installation you need to fetch the DBD::mysql source distribution. The latest version is always available from

	 http://www.cpan.org/modules/by-module/DBD/

       The name is typically something like

	 DBD-mysql-1.2216.tar.gz

       The archive needs to be extracted. On Windows you may use a tool like WinZip, on Unix you type

	 gzip -cd DBD-mysql-1.2216.tar.gz | tar xf -

       This will create a subdirectory DBD-mysql-1.2216. Enter this subdirectory and type

	 perl Makefile.PL
	 make
	 make test

       (On Windows you may need to replace "make" with "nmake" or "dmake".) If the tests seem to look fine, you may continue with

	 make install

       If the tests fail, you might need to configure some settings.  For example you might choose a different database, the C compiler or the
       linker might need some flags. "Configuration".  "C Compiler flags". "Linker flags".

       Configuration

       The install script "Makefile.PL" can be configured via a lot of switches. All switches can be used on the command line. For example, the
       test database:

	 perl Makefile.PL --testdb=<db>

       If you do not like configuring these switches on the command line, you may alternatively create a script called "mysql_config".	This is
       described later on.

       Available switches are:

       testdb
	   Name of the test database, defaults to test.

       testuser
	   Name of the test user, defaults to empty. If the name is empty, then the currently logged in users name will be used.

       testpassword
	   Password of the test user, defaults to empty.

       testhost
	   Host name or IP number of the test database; defaults to localhost.

       testport
	   Port number of the test database

       cflags
	   This is a list of flags that you want to give to the C compiler.  The most important flag is the location of the MySQL header files.
	   For example, on Red Hat Linux the header files are in /usr/include/mysql and you might try

	     -I/usr/include/mysql

	   On Windows the header files may be in C:mysqlinclude and you might try

	     -IC:mysqlinclude

	   The default flags are determined by running

	     mysql_config --cflags

	   More details on the C compiler flags can be found in the following section. "C Compiler flags".

       libs
	   This is a list of flags that you want to give to the linker or loader. The most important flags are the locations and names of addi-
	   tional libraries. For example, on Red Hat Linux your MySQL client libraries are in /usr/lib/mysql and you might try

	     -L/usr/lib/mysql -lmysqlclient -lz

	   On Windows the libraries may be in C:mysqllib and

	     -LC:mysqllib -lmysqlclient

	   might be a good choice. The default flags are determined by running

	     mysql_config --libs

	   More details on the linker flags can be found in a separate section.  "Linker flags".

       If a switch is not present on the command line, then the script "mysql_config" will be executed. This script comes as part of the MySQL
       distribution. For example, to determine the C compiler flags, we are executing

	 mysql_config --cflags
	 mysql_config --libs

       If you want to configure your own settings for database name, database user and so on, then you have to create a script with the same name,
       that replies

       C Compiler flags

       It is typically not so difficult to determine the appropriate flags for the C compiler. The linker flags, which you find in the next sec-
       tion, are another story.

       The determination of the C compiler flags is usually left to a configuration script called mysql_config, which can be invoked with

	 mysql_config --cflags

       When doing so, it will emit a line with suggested C compiler flags, for example like this:

	 -L/usr/include/mysql

       The C compiler must find some header files. Header files have the extension ".h". MySQL header files are, for example, mysql.h and
       mysql_version.h. In most cases the header files are not installed by default. For example, on Windows it is an installation option of the
       MySQL setup program (Custom installation), whether the header files are installed or not. On Red Hat Linux, you need to install an RPM ar-
       chive mysql-devel or MySQL-devel.

       If you know the location of the header files, then you will need to add an option

	 -L<header directory>

       to the C compiler flags, for example "-L/usr/include/mysql".

       Linker flags

       Appropriate linker flags are the most common source of problems while installing DBD::mysql. I will only give a rough overview, you'll find
       more details in the troubleshooting section.  "KNOWN PROBLEMS"

       The determination of the C compiler flags is usually left to a configuration script called mysql_config, which can be invoked with

	 mysql_config --libs

       When doing so, it will emit a line with suggested C compiler flags, for example like this:

	  -L'/usr/lib/mysql' -lmysqlclient -lnsl -lm   -lz -lcrypt

       The following items typically need to be configured for the linker:

       The mysqlclient library
	   The MySQL client library comes as part of the MySQL distribution.  Depending on your system it may be a file called

	     F<libmysqlclient.a>   statically linked library, Unix
	     F<libmysqlclient.so>  dynamically linked library, Unix
	     F<mysqlclient.lib>    statically linked library, Windows
	     F<mysqlclient.dll>    dynamically linked library, Windows

	   or something similar.

	   As in the case of the header files, the client library is typically not installed by default. On Windows you will need to select them
	   while running the MySQL setup program (Custom installation). On Red Hat Linux an RPM archive mysql-devel or MySQL-devel must be
	   installed.

	   The linker needs to know the location and name of the mysqlclient library. This can be done by adding the flags

	     -L<lib directory> -lmysqlclient

	   or by adding the complete path name. Examples:

	     -L/usr/lib/mysql -lmysqlclient
	     -LC:mysqllib -lmysqlclient

	     /usr/lib/mysql/libmysqlclient.a
	     C:mysqllibmysqlclient.lib

	   The latter examples are using a statically linked library. This may be required in some cases, if the dynamically linked library is not
	   found at run time.

       The gzip library
	   The MySQL client can use compression when talking to the MySQL server, a nice feature when sending or receiving large texts over a slow
	   network.

	   On Unix you typically find the appropriate file name by running

	     ldconfig -p | grep libz
	     ldconfig -p | grep libgz

	   Once you know the name (libz.a or libgz.a is best), just add it to the list of linker flags. If this seems to be causing problem you
	   may also try to link without gzip libraries.

KNOWN PROBLEMS

       1.) Some Linux distributions don't come with a gzip library by default.	Running "make" terminates with an error message like

	     LD_RUN_PATH="/usr/lib/mysql:/lib:/usr/lib" gcc
	       -o blib/arch/auto/DBD/mysql/mysql.so  -shared
	       -L/usr/local/lib dbdimp.o mysql.o -L/usr/lib/mysql
	       -lmysqlclient -lm -L/usr/lib/gcc-lib/i386-redhat-linux/2.96
	       -lgcc -lz
	     /usr/bin/ld: cannot find -lz
	     collect2: ld returned 1 exit status
	     make: *** [blib/arch/auto/DBD/mysql/mysql.so] Error 1

	   If this is the case for you, install an RPM archive like libz-devel, libgz-devel, zlib-devel or gzlib-devel or something similar.

       2.) If Perl was compiled with gcc or egcs, but MySQL was compiled with another compiler or on another system, an error message like this is
	   very likely when running "Make test":

	     t/00base............install_driver(mysql) failed: Can't load
	     '../blib/arch/auto/DBD/mysql/mysql.so' for module DBD::mysql:
	     ../blib/arch/auto/DBD/mysql/mysql.so: undefined symbol: _umoddi3
	     at /usr/local/perl-5.005/lib/5.005/i586-linux-thread/DynaLoader.pm
	     line 168.

	   This means, that your linker doesn't include libgcc.a. You have the following options:

	   The solution is telling the linker to use libgcc. Run

	     gcc --print-libgcc-file

	   to determine the exact location of libgcc.a or for older versions of gcc

	     gcc -v

	   to determine the directory. If you know the directory, add a

	     -L<directory> -lgcc

	   to the list of C compiler flags. "Configuration". "Linker flags".

       3.) There are known problems with shared versions of libmysqlclient, at least on some Linux boxes. If you receive an error message similar
	   to

	     install_driver(mysql) failed: Can't load
	     '/usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/i586-linux/auto/DBD/mysql/mysql.so'
	     for module DBD::mysql: File not found at
	     /usr/lib/perl5/i586-linux/5.00404/DynaLoader.pm line 166

	   then this error message can be misleading: It's not mysql.so that fails being loaded, but libmysqlclient.so! The usual problem is that
	   this file is located in a directory like

	     /usr/lib/mysql

	   where the linker doesn't look for it.

	   The best workaround is using a statically linked mysqlclient library, for example

	     /usr/lib/mysql/libmysqlclient.a

	   You force linking against this file by replacing

	     -L/usr/lib/mysql -lmysqlclient

	   with

	     /usr/lib/mysql/libmysqlclient.a

	   in the list of linker flags. "Configuration". "Linker flags".

SUPPORT

       Finally, if everything else fails, you are not alone. First of all, for an immediate answer, you should look into the archives of the mail-
       ing list msql-mysql-modules@lists.mysql.com. See http://www.mysql.com for archive locations.

       If you don't find an appropriate posting and reply in the mailing list, please post a question. Typically a reply will be seen within one
       or two days.

perl v5.8.0							    2002-09-16								INSTALL(1)