php5-oracle: checking PHP version... Can't locate URI.pm in @INC

[jkorchok@…]

G4 Mac running Leopard 10.5.8, Macports 2.0.4
I have upgraded PHP5 to 5.3.10. When I try to install the Oracle extensions:

sudo port install php5-oracle

I get:

--->  Configuring php5-oracle
Error: Target org.macports.configure returned: configure failure: shell command failed (see log for details)
Log for php5-oracle is at: /opt/local/var/macports/logs/_opt_local_var_macports_sources_rsync.macports.org_release_ports_php_php5-oracle/php5-oracle/main.log
Error: Status 1 encountered during processing.

The log reads:

:info:configure checking PHP version... Can't locate URI.pm in @INC (@INC contains: /opt/local/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.12.4/darwin-multi-2level /opt/local/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.12.4 /opt/local/lib/perl5/vendor_perl/5.12.4/darwin-multi-2level /opt/local/lib/perl5/vendor_perl/5.12.4 /opt/local/lib/perl5/5.12.4/darwin-multi-2level /opt/local/lib/perl5/5.12.4 /opt/local/lib/perl5/site_perl /opt/local/lib/perl5/vendor_perl .) at /opt/local/bin/head line 190.
:info:configure BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at /opt/local/bin/head line 190.
:info:configure configure: error: failed to detect PHP version, please report
:info:configure shell command " cd "/opt/local/var/macports/build/_opt_local_var_macports_sources_rsync.macports.org_release_ports_php_php5-oracle/php5-oracle/work/php-5.3.10/ext/oci8" && ./configure --prefix=/opt/local --with-oci8=instantclient,/opt/local/lib/oracle --with-pdo-oci=instantclient,/opt/local/lib/oracle,10.1 " returned error 1
:error:configure Target org.macports.configure returned: configure failure: shell command failed (see log for details)
:debug:configure Backtrace: configure failure: shell command failed (see log for details)
    while executing
"$procedure $targetname"

To me it looks like it's trying to find the PHP version where Perl version information is stored, but I have no expertise in this.

[ryandesign (Ryan Carsten Schmidt)]

The problem is that the script /opt/local/bin/HEAD exists, and the solution is to remove it. This file will interfere with the proper operation of a lot of things, not just php5-oracle. How did that file get there? It's a part of the ​libwww-perl software, but the MacPorts p5-libwww-perl port doesn't install it, nor as far as I recall would it get installed by default if you installed libwww-perl manually, precisely because of this problem: it interferes with the program called "head" which serves a completely different purpose, but which OS X sees as the same problem program because your filesystem is case-insensitive. ("head" reads the first lines of a text file; "HEAD" performs an HTTP request and shows the headers, I believe).

[ryandesign (Ryan Carsten Schmidt)]

This is basically the same as #27067, which you also reported. Could you let me know what "port provides /opt/local/bin/HEAD" says? How does this file keep getting on your system?

[jkorchok@…]

Replying to ryandesign@…:

This is basically the same as #27067, which you also reported. Could you let me know what "port provides /opt/local/bin/HEAD" says? How does this file keep getting on your system?

Thanks, that fixed it. "port provides /opt/local/bin/HEAD" only reports: /opt/local/bin/HEAD is not provided by a MacPorts port. The HEAD file was dated Jan. 12, 2007. I recently had to swap in an old hard disk and update it, so it revived the previous problem. My apologies for not remembering this one.

[ryandesign (Ryan Carsten Schmidt)]

Ok, since MacPorts said it didn't provide the script, then I'm guessing you at some point manually installed libwww-perl, perhaps using CPAN. IIRC the installation process includes interactive prompts asking you what parts you want; you probably answered in the affirmative to installing the HEAD, GET, POST, etc. aliases.