21.6.1 Problem
21.6.2 Solution
Make sure you have all the necessary extension libraries and
then use the PEAR package manager install command:
% pear install xmms
dl('xmms.so');
21.6.3 Discussion
The frontend process for installing PECL packages is just like
installing PEAR packages for code written in PHP. However, the behind-the-scenes
tasks are very different. Because PECL extensions are written in C, the package
manager needs to compile the extension and configure it to work with the
installed version of PHP. As a result, at present, you can build PECL packages
on Unix machines and on Windows machines if you use MSDev.
Unlike PHP-based PEAR packages, PECL extensions don't
automatically inform you when you lack a library necessary to compile the
extension. Instead, you are responsible for correctly preinstalling these files.
If you are having trouble getting a PECL extension to build, check the README file and the other documentation that comes with
the package. The package manager installs these files inside the docs directory under your PEAR hierarchy.
When you install a PECL extension, the PEAR package manager
downloads the file, extracts it, runs phpize to configure the extension for the
version of PHP installed on the machine, and then makes and installs the
extension. It may also prompt you for the location of libraries:
% pear install xmms downloading xmms-0.2.tgz ... ...done: 11,968 bytes 4 source files, building running: phpize PHP Api Version : 20020307 Zend Module Api No : 20020429 Zend Extension Api No : 20020731 Xmms library install dir? [autodetect] : building in /var/tmp/pear-build-adam/xmms-0.2 running: /tmp/pearKIv63P/xmms-0.2/configure --with-xmms running: make xmms.so copied to /tmp/pearKIv63P/xmms-0.2/xmms.so install ok: xmms 0.2
If these libraries are in a standard location, hitting Return
selects the autodetect option. PHP then searches for the libraries and
selects them; you don't need to enter an explicit pathname, as in the case of
the xmms library shown earlier.
PECL extensions are stored in different places than non-PECL
packages. If you want to run pear, you must be
able to write inside the PHP extensions
directory. Some PECL packages, such as xmms, install files in the same directory
as the PHP binary. Because of this, you may want to install these packages while
running as the same user you used to install PHP. Also, check the execute
permissions of these files; because most PEAR files aren't executable, your
umask may not provide those executable files with the correct set of
permissions.
