7

I installed perl using following command:

curl -L http://xrl.us/installperlnix | bash

after that i run following command to create soft link

ln -sf /usr/local/bin/perl /usr/bin/perl

now I'm trying to run commands like dir, mkdir, ll, rm, vi but nothing seems to be working for me. also when i try to login into my shell i get following msg at startup:

Last login: Wed Apr  4 21:50:12 2012 from x.y.z.ip
-bash: perl: command not found

please help.

Here is system detail:

cat /proc/version
Linux version 2.6.18-274.18.1.el5.028stab098.1 (root@rhel5-build-x64) (gcc version 4.1.2 20080704 (Red Hat 4.1.2-46)) #1 SMP Sat Feb 11 15:30:41 MSK 2012

cat /etc/issue
CentOS 5.7 32 bit
Kernel \r on an \m

Don't know if perl was already installed or not. and now i can't check.

18
  • 2
    What kind of linux distro were you using that didn't include perl by default?!?!
    – EEAA
    Apr 4, 2012 at 17:58
  • 23
    I'm sorry, you didn't check if perl was already installed, you ran some random script you downloaded off the internet (presumably without checking out what it was doing first, since you just grabbed it with curl and piped it straight into a shell), and now you're surprised your system has problems? There's pretty much no way we can troubleshoot this mess for you with what's given above. Best advice: Restore from your backups, and please think a little harder before you act in the future.
    – voretaq7
    Apr 4, 2012 at 18:10
  • 5
    For the record, I want to shoot people that recommend installing things that way. It teaches very bad habits, and as you've found out, can cause significant problems.
    – EEAA
    Apr 4, 2012 at 18:20
  • 11
    I don't think this deserves the downvotes. Someone did something stupid, but they didn't ask a stupid question. Think back to your beginner days--who hasn't done something on par with this and then needed help? The questioner was rude when attacked, but his/her initial question, I think, was sound.
    – Zac B
    Apr 4, 2012 at 18:37
  • 1
    Also user115079, please mark the question as answered.
    – gparent
    Apr 4, 2012 at 18:49

2 Answers 2

8

The error on login is from the following line being in your bashrc script:

~/perl5/perlbrew/etc/bashrc

You can likely fix perl by deleting /usr/bin/perl as the install script didn't put it in /usr/local/bin/perl by default... not sure where the ln command was inspired from. You may have to consult your distro to fix Perl, not sure.

The installation script for perlbrew is much longer than I'm willing to read through. If you're still having problems you're best bet is going to be wipe and restore from backup.

0
12

Perl was probably already installed, and who knows what that install script did to your environment to screw it up.

Two lessons here:

  1. Never install software using the above "pipe to bash" method without first verifying that 1) the install works, 2) it won't mess things up, and 3) it doesn't do anything malicious.
  2. Always, always, always check to see if a package is provided either by default or by your distro's default package repository before going to a third party.

You may be able to recover by fixing your ~/.bashrc file to a known-good state, but honestly, I'd recommend re-installing your OS and trying again.

2
  • Thanks for your help Erika. I didn't know that it was going to change bash settings. I'll care about it next time. Thanks again.
    – Kashif
    Apr 4, 2012 at 18:18
  • 8
    @user115079 this is the danger of blindly following tutorials without the requisite understanding: They tell you to do something, you do it (honestly trusting the guy who wrote the tutorial won't do anything destructive), and what the author felt was an innocent addition to your .bashrc created problems. We have an entire site dedicated to Unix/Linux that can probably point you at good (and probably safer) tutorials as well as helping you get past any initial hurdles without damaging your system...
    – voretaq7
    Apr 4, 2012 at 18:49

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