Page "CPAN" Paragraph 29

There is also a Perl core module named CPAN ; it's usually differentiated from the repository itself by calling it CPAN. pm.

CPAN. pm is mainly an interactive shell which can be used to search for, download, and install distributions.

An interactive shell called < tt > cpan </ tt > is also provided in the Perl core, and is the usual way of running CPAN. pm.

After a short configuration process and mirror selection, it uses tools available on the user's computer to automatically download, unpack, compile, test, and install modules.

It is also capable of updating itself.