[MacPerl-Modules] general availability of modules for mac?

[Dan Baker <dan@dtbakerprojects.com>]

I am going to be starting a project soon that will require some perl
utilities running on mac clients. The basic requirements are to convert
some graphics files from .tiff to .jpg and upload to a webserver. I am
hoping to use modules like:

Image::Size
Image::Magick
MIME::Lite
Net::FTP

However, after a quick look thru the macperl archives it looked like
there may be some problems with availability of modules on the mac. It
does not appear that mac ports are a topic commonly discussed on the
general perl newsgroups either... Not being a Mac expert it is unclear
to me if it is just because pre-compiled binaries are unavailable, or
the modules have not been ported, or if special tools are required to
"make" the modules on mac. It would be great if there was a similar
install utility to either the ActiveState ppm install, or the general
CPAN interactive shell install on the Mac, but it is unclear to me if
there is, or isnt????

I am looking for a summary of the health and availability of perl and
buildability of CPAN modules... 
- Are binaries available for easy install?
- If I need to build and make, do I need compilers or other utilities,
if so where do I get them?

On a related topic, I would like to find a free webserver to use as a
localhost in development and testing webpages and perl cgi. I am having
trouble finding any.... I dont need a production server to run an
intranet, just something to handle cgi transactions, email,  and fire up
perl scripts. any suggestions?

If anyone can suggest a good site for info like this... for someone who
has some experience with perl, cgi, etc, but not on mac....

thanx,

Dan

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