3.2 Building mod_perl (make)

After completing the configuration, it's time to build the server by simply calling:

panic% make

The make program first compiles the source files and creates a mod_perl library file. Then, depending on your configuration, this library is either linked with httpd (statically) or not linked at all, allowing you to dynamically load it at runtime.

You should avoid putting the mod_perl source directory inside the Apache source directory, as this confuses the build process. The best choice is to put both source directories under the same parent directory.

3.2.1 What Compiler Should Be Used to Build mod_perl?

All Perl modules that use C extensions must be compiled using the compiler with which your copy of Perl was built.

When you run perl Makefile.PL, a Makefile is created. This Makefile includes the same compilation options that were used to build Perl itself. They are stored in the Config.pm module and can be displayed with the Perl -V command. All these options are reapplied when compiling Perl modules.

If you use a different compiler to build Perl extensions, chances are that the options this compiler uses won't be the same, or they might be interpreted in a completely different way. So the code may not compile, may dump core, or may behave in unexpected ways.

Since Perl, Apache, and third-party modules all work together under mod_perl, it's essential to use the same compiler while building each of the components.

If you compile a non-Perl component separately, you should make sure to use both the same compiler and the same options used to build Perl. You can find much of this information by running perl -V.

3.2.2 make Troubleshooting

The following errors are the ones that frequently occur during the make process when building mod_perl.

3.2.2.1 Undefined reference to `Perl_newAV'

This and similar error messages may show up during the make process. Generally it happens when you have a broken Perl installation. If it's installed from a broken rpm or another precompiled binary package, build Perl from source or use another properly built binary package. Run perl -V to learn what version of Perl you are using and other important details.

3.2.2.2 Unrecognized format specifier for...

This error is usually reported due to the problems with some versions of the SFIO library. Try to use the latest version to get around this problem or, if you don't really need SFIO, rebuild Perl without this library.