[OSM-dev] [OT] installing CPAN modules

[Richard Fairhurst]

Dan wrote:

> I'd like to listen closely into this too, as trying to install
> XML::Parser (for fixcoastlines.pl) gave me similar errors about tests
> failing and an inability to install.
>
> Any advice on installing Cpan modules on the Mac? (Not having used
> cpan before, or at most very little)

For XML::Parser you'll need to install Expat first. Expat will  
certainly install on OS X though a quick Google suggests some issues  
on an Intel machine.

(Personally I like planetosm-to-db's approach of using regexs and  
avoiding the need for installing an XML parser. :) )

CPAN modules sometimes don't have their prerequisites defined too  
well. If you get a message about failing tests, try scrolling back up  
the history, see if it's looking for a module that isn't there,  
install that, and try again. (Even a well-known module like LWP  
suffers from this.)

Bit::Vector, though, simply wouldn't pass one of the tests on my Mac  
(OS 10.3) no matter what I tried. Eventually I did a force install and  
it seems to be happy.

cheers
Richard