AxKit combines the power of Perl’s rich and varied XML processing facilities with the flexibility of the Apache web server. But instead of using a monolithic package, it takes a more modular approach. This allows developers great flexibility in choosing what lower-level packages they want, but it can mean a more lengthy and complicated installation process. This article comes from chapter two of the book XML Publishing with AxKit by Kip Hampton (O'Reilly, 2004; ISBN: 0596002165).
Now that you have an environment for AxKit to work in and have some of the required dependencies installed, you are ready to install AxKit itself. For most platforms this is a fairly painless operation.
Using the CPAN Shell
The quickest way to install AxKit is via Perl’s Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (CPAN) and the CPAN shell. Log in as root (or become superuser) and enter the following:
$ perl -MCPAN -e shell > install AxKit
This downloads, unpacks, compiles, and installs all modules in the AxKit distribution, as well as any prerequisite Perl modules you may need. If AxKit installs without error, you may safely skip to “Basic Server Configuration.” If it doesn’t, see “Installation Troubleshooting” for more information.
From the Tarball Distribution
The latest AxKit distribution can always be found on the Apache XML site at http://xml.apache.org/dist/axkit/. Just download the latest tarball, unpack it, and cd to the newly created directory. As root, enter the following:
$ perl Makefile.PL $ make $ make test $ make install
This compiles and installs all modules in the AxKit distribution. Just like the CPAN shell method detailed above, AxKit’s installer script automatically attempts to install any module prerequisites it encounters. If make stops this process with an error, skip on to “Installation Troubleshooting” for help. Otherwise, if everything goes smoothly, you can skip ahead to “Basic Server Configuration.”
In addition to the stable releases available from CPAN and axkit.org, the latest development version is available from the AxKit project’s anonymous CVS archive:
Brave souls who like to live on the edge or who may be interested in helping with AxKit development can check it out. When prompted for a password, enter: anoncvs. You may now check out a piping hot version of AxKit:
<![CDATA[cvs - d:pserver:anoncvs@cvs.apache.org:/home/cvspublic co xml- axkit]]>
Installing the CVS version of AxKit is otherwise identical to installing from the tarball.
