Installing Perl on Unix The  DBI / DBD  interface requires Perl 5.6.0, and 5.6.1 or later is preferred. DBI  does not work  if you have an older version of Perl. You should use  DBD::mysql  4.009 or higher. Although earlier versions are available, they do not support the full functionality of MySQL 8.0. MySQL Perl support requires that you have installed MySQL client programming support (libraries and header files). Most installation methods install the necessary files. If you install MySQL from RPM files on Linux, be sure to install the developer RPM as well. The client programs are in the client RPM, but client programming support is in the developer RPM. The files you need for Perl support can be obtained from the CPAN (Comprehensive Perl Archive Network) at http://search.cpan.org. The easiest way to install Perl modules on Unix is to use the  CPAN  module. For example: The  DBD::mysql  installation runs a number of tests. These tests attempt to connect to the local MySQL server using the default user name and password. (The default user name is your login name on Unix, and  ODBC  on Windows. The default password is “no password.” ) If you cannot connect to the server with those values (for example, if your account has a password), the tests fail. You can use  force install DBD::mysql  to ignore the failed tests. DBI  requires the  Data::Dumper  module. It may be installed; if not, you should install it before installing DBI . It is also possible to download the module distributions in the form of compressed  tar  archives and build the modules manually. For example, to unpack and build a DBI distribution, use a procedure such as this: This command creates a directory named  DBI- VERSION . The  make test  command is important because it verifies that the module is working. Note that when you run that command during the  DBD::mysql  installation to exercise the interface code, the MySQL server must be running or the test fails. It is a good idea to rebuild and reinstall the  DBD::mysql  distribution whenever you install a new release of MySQL. This ensures that the latest versions of the MySQL client libraries are installed correctly. If you do not have access rights to install Perl modules in the system directory or if you want to install local Perl modules, the following reference may be useful: http://learn.perl.org/faq/perlfaq8.html#How-do-I-keep- my-own-module-library-directory- 299 shell>  perl Makefile.PL shell>  make shell>  make test shell>  make install shell>  cd DBI- VERSION shell>  gunzip < DBI- VERSION .tar.gz | tar xvf - shell>  perl -MCPAN -e shell cpan>  install DBI cpan>  install DBD::mysql 2.13.1 Installing Perl on Unix 1. Unpack the distribution into the current directory: 2. Change location into the top-level directory of the unpacked distribution: 3. Build the distribution and compile everything: