How do I run PPM?
Before you run PPM, you should be connected to the Internet. If your Internet
connection is via a firewall or proxy, you should set the environment variable
'HTTP_proxy' to the name of this proxy server. If your proxy server requires a
username and password, the environment variables 'HTTP_proxy_user' and
'HTTP_proxy_pass' should be set to these values.
PPM can then be run by typing 'ppm' in a command prompt window.
How do I use PPM?
Quick start: at the PPM command prompt, type 'search
' to get a listing of all
available packages, then type 'install <packagename>
', where
<packagename>
is the name of a package displayed by the
'search
' command. To list the packages you have previously
installed using PPM, use the 'query
' command.
If you find the listing of packages scrolls by too quickly, you may want to use
the command 'set more <number>
' to pause the listing after <number>
packages have been displayed. Use the 'set save
' command to save this
configuration for future PPM sessions.
By default, PPM will use the ActiveState package repository, but this too can be
configured using the 'set
' command.
Below is a listing of key PPM commands (you can type 'help <command>
' at the PPM prompt for usage details for a particular <command>). Items in [brackets] are optional.
Command |
Function |
genconfig |
prints a minimal PPM configuration file to STDOUT |
help [command] |
lists available commands, or help on 'command'. |
info [package1...] |
prints a summary of installed packages. |
install package1 [package2...] |
installs specified packages. |
quit |
exits the program. |
query [pattern] |
lists installed packages, or packages containing pattern . |
query /abstract [pattern] |
lists descriptions of installed packages, or package descriptions containing pattern . |
remove package1 [package2...] |
removes the specified packages from the system. |
search [pattern] |
lists available packages, or packages containing pattern . |
search /abstract [pattern] |
lists descriptions of available packages, or package descriptions containing pattern . |
set |
set/display current options. |
set save |
save current options. |
summary [package1...] |
prints a summary of available packages. |
verify [package1...] |
verifies currently installed packages are up to date. |
verify /upgrade [package1...] |
installs available package upgrades. |