Installing a PEAR Package
(Page 1 of 5 )
In the first article we looked at what PEAR is, how it works, how to install it and how to obey its coding standards. In this article we will look at how to install a package and, at the same time, we will create a content management system that has a database back end which uses one of PEAR's abstraction layers.
Installing a Package
The PEAR repository has many packages that are useful. In order to use these packages, you need to install them so that they can be accessed with PHP. Installing a package is very easy. We’ve already discussed three commands that are available in PEAR: install, uninstall and upgrade. They have the following syntax:
pear install component_name – Lets you install a new package for use with PHP.
pear uninstall component_name – Uninstalls a package from your PEAR installation.
pear upgrade component_name – Upgrades and existing package.
I have downloaded three packages, all available from the PEAR website:
- mail-1.2.0a2.tar
- db1.7.9.tgz
- mdb2-2.5.0b1.tar
We will install them one by one. To install the first package, open up the DOS prompt and type the following:
pear install mail-1.2.0a2.tar
Make sure that you type the package name exactly as it is, because if you don’t, the install will fail. When I run this line I get the following result:
The above screen shows exactly what a successful install looks like. You should have the “Install OK” message for confirmation.
We do the same with the remaining two packages. Here are the results:
And the final package:
Next: Using the installed Packages >>
More PEAR Articles Articles
More By David Web
