cpan MODULES

jova626 · 04-29-2008, 12:23 AM

How safe is it to take modules from the CPAN site? I'm creating some Perl scripts at work and I am nervous about taking these modules and using them on production machines.

datopdog · 04-29-2008, 01:32 AM

Well, its not like the source is not available just go through the module and see if it is "safe"

chrism01 · 04-29-2008, 02:36 AM

Usually, i'd use the cpan tool as root:
perl -e shell -MCPAN
the tell it what module you want (case sensitive).
eg
install Module::SomeName
If it needs some pre-requisites, it'll ask you for confirmation to proceed.

sundialsvcs · 04-29-2008, 08:58 AM

Whether-or-not you use CPAN as "root," the software that makes it to CPAN is extremely well-tested (using the 'CPANTS' service among other things). "Production machines" use vast amounts of the stuff. This is one of the key reasons for using Perl.

chrism01 · 04-29-2008, 06:42 PM

Actually, the core modules in Perl are solid, but CPAN can contain variable quality modules. The qn of how to deal with/rate (non-core) CPAN modules has come up several times at perlmonks...

jova626 · 04-30-2008, 08:23 AM

Hey one last quick question.

I found the rpm I was looking for but, I am a little confused about the which one to use. They are listed below.

noarch perl-Net-SSH-Perl-1.30-12.1.sles9.rf.noarch.rpm
src perl-Net-SSH-Perl-1.30-12.1.sles9.rf.src.rpm

What is the difference between the 2 listed above.

The version of linux I am running is the S390x architecture Sles9. I see SLES9 up there but is it for my architecture?

knudfl · 05-01-2008, 01:09 PM

noarch.rpm means no specific architecture, should work.
src.rpm is the sourcecode + scripts, to be ready for build with 'rpmbuild'

paulsm4 · 05-01-2008, 01:18 PM

Just FYI, I'd encourage you to use CPAN.

Most CPAN modules are *extremely* trustworthy ...

.. and you're *much* safer with the average CPAN module than with the average Microsoft Update ;-)

IMHO .. PSM