BEFORE BUILDING, TESTING AND INSTALLING this you will need to:

    Build, test and install a recent version of Perl 5
    It is very important to test it and actually install it!
    (You can use "Configure -Dprefix=..." to build a private copy.)

BUILDING

    perl Makefile.PL
    make
    make test
    make test TEST_VERBOSE=1   (if any of the t/* tests fail)
    make install (if the tests look okay)

The perl you use to execute Makefile.PL should be the first one in your PATH.
If you want to use some installed perl then modify your PATH to match.

IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS

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If you get an error like "gcc: command not found" or "cc: command not found"
you need to either install a compiler, or you may be able to install a
precompiled binary of DBI using a package manager (e.g., ppm for ActiveState,
Synaptic for Ubuntu, port for FreeBSD etc) 

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If you get compiler errors refering to Perl's own header files
(.../CORE/...h) or the compiler complains about bad options etc then
there is something wrong with your perl installation. If the compiler complains
of missing files (.../perl.h: error: sys/types.h: No such file) then you may
need to install extra packages for your operating system.

Generally it's best to use a Perl that was built on the system you are trying
to use and it's also important to use the same compiler that was used to build
the Perl you are using.

If you installed Perl using a binary distribution, such as ActiveState Perl,
or if Perl came installed with the operating system you use, such as Debian or
Ubuntu, then you may be able to install a precompiled binary of DBI using a
package manager.  Check the package manager for your distribution of Perl (e.g.
ppm for ActiveState) or for your operating system (e.g Synaptic for Ubuntu).

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If you get compiler warnings like "value computed is not used" and
"unused variable" you can ignore them.