INSTALL - How to install and configure DBD::mysql
perl Makefile.PL [options] make make test make install
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. Otherwise 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.
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.
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.
Binary installation is possible in the most cases, depending on your system. I give some examples:
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 problems.
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
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
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.
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. Configuration.
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 settings have been guessed wrong, you might try to
create a script called mysql_config. This is described in
more details later. Configuration.
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.
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:
-I/usr/include/mysql
On Windows the header files may be in C:\mysql\include and you might try
-IC:\mysql\include
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.
-L/usr/lib/mysql -lmysqlclient -lz
On Windows the libraries may be in C:\mysql\lib and
-LC:\mysql\lib -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
=head2 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 section, 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 archive
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.
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:
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:\mysql\lib -lmysqlclient
/usr/lib/mysql/libmysqlclient.a C:\mysql\lib\mysqlclient.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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Finally, if everything else fails, you are not alone. First of all, for an immediate answer, you should look into the archives of the mailing 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.