Newbie needs help with perl compilation errors

[Alfred B. Stansbury]

Here's the situation. I'm a non-programmer, in way over my head. I am
trying learn linux by putting it on a spare machine and playing with it.
Only at unpredictable intervals linux hangs on perl compilation errors
and failures. I am clueless how to proceed.

I'd be grateful for any suggestions that move me down the road to fixing
the problem and understanding it.

TIA

Stan Stansbury

Here are cut and pasted error messages that indicate the kind of thing
that is happening.

In response to redhat-config-printer-tui
Initializing alchemist edit environment ...
Initializing linux printing database ...
Bareword found where operator expected at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread
-multi/XSLoader.pm line 1, near "3bar_height"
(Missing operator before bar_height?)

skipping a great long list of similar errors...

/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/XSLoader.pm
has too many errors.
Compilation failed in require at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Da
ta/Dumper.pm line 18.

Something in linux automatically sends email to root like the following:
From (e-mail address removed) Sat Oct 9 21:45:01
2004
Return-Path: <[email protected]>
Received: from localhost.localdomain (lin1
[127.0.0.1])
by localhost.localdomain (8.12.8/8.12.8) with ESMTP
id i9A4j0lt002111
for <[email protected]>; Sat, 9 Oct 2004
21:45:00 -0700
Received: (from root@localhost)
by localhost.localdomain (8.12.8/8.12.8/Submit) id
i9A4j03b002109
for root; Sat, 9 Oct 2004 21:45:00 -0700
Date: Sat, 9 Oct 2004 21:45:00 -0700
Message-Id:
<[email protected]>
From: (e-mail address removed) (Cron Daemon)
To: (e-mail address removed)
Subject: Cron <root@lin1> /usr/bin/mrtg
/etc/mrtg/mrtg.cfg
X-Cron-Env: <SHELL=/bin/sh>
X-Cron-Env: <HOME=/root>
X-Cron-Env: <PATH=/usr/bin:/bin>
X-Cron-Env: <LOGNAME=root>
Status: O

Bareword found where operator expected at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 2, near "07h"
(Missing operator before h?)
Number found where operator expected at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 2, near "hround 1.3"
(Do you need to predeclare hround?)
Bareword found where operator expected at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 2, near "1.3u"
(Missing operator before u?)
Bareword found where operator expected at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 10, near "%% Cyrillic"
(Missing operator before Cyrillic?)
Bareword found where operator expected at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 12, near "% This file"
(Missing operator before file?)
Number found where operator expected at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 13, near "% Version 3.2"
(Missing operator before 3.2?)
Number found where operator expected at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 37, near "italcorr 1/3"
(Might be a runaway multi-line // string starting on
line 13)
(Do you need to predeclare italcorr?)
Bareword found where operator expected at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 37, near "3x_height"
(Missing operator before x_height?)
Bareword found where operator expected at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 39, near ".5w"
(Missing operator before w?)
Bareword found where operator expected at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 39, near ".25u"
(Missing operator before u?)
Bareword found where operator expected at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 39, near ".5w"
(Missing operator before w?)
Bareword found where operator expected at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 39, near ".25u"
(Missing operator before u?)
Semicolon seems to be missing at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 40.
Bareword found where operator expected at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 41, near "--z3e"
(Missing operator before z3e?)
Semicolon seems to be missing at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 41.
syntax error at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 1, near "1["
syntax error at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 2, near "07h"
syntax error at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 2, near "hround 1.3"
syntax error at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 8, near "% lgilig"
syntax error at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 39, near ".5w"
syntax error at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 39, near ".5w"
syntax error at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 40, near ")("
syntax error at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 40, near ")("
syntax error at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 41, near "filldraw stroke "
syntax error at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
line 42, near "penlabels"
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/Cwd.pm
has too many errors.
Compilation failed in require at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/FindBin.pm line 90.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/FindBin.pm line 90.
Compilation failed in require at /usr/bin/mrtg line
53.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at /usr/bin/mrtg
line 53.

There's a similar error that occurs everytime I boot the machine, but I
can't copy it because it goes by too fast.

 

[Joe Smith]

Bareword found where operator expected at
/usr/lib/perl5/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi/XSLoader.pm line 1, near "3bar_height"

It looks like some of the files are corrupted.
Try installing version 5.8.3 or 5.8.5 to get a fresh start.
-Joe

P.S. This newsgroup is defunct. Post to comp.lang.perl.misc instead.