Am running Mac OS X Server 10.3.7 on a PowerBook G4/500 and want to get DBD::mysql installed for my Movable Type blog (want to convert from BerkeleyDB to MySQL). I am in pretty much the same boat you were in. Unfortunately, if you have any problems I’m unlikely to be of assistance, as I barely understand what’s going on myself.

Follow the instructions mentioned above for installing DBD::mysql.

Using Terminal, cd into the directory you just created (eg, type cd DBI-1.42).

Unpack the file using Stuffit Expander.

Download DBI from cpan (click the tiny easy-to-miss ‘Download’ link).

Thankfully Nick came to my rescue and told me how to make and install the required perl modue, a process I’ve simply never succeeded with over the years. Installing Bundle-DBI.dmg from this page made no difference. This discussion implied I might need to install the Apple Developer Tools. Warning: prerequisite DBI 1.08 not found. My problem was that having found these simple instructions for installing DBD::mysql, I’d always get this error when following step 4:

Follow these instructions at your own risk! I should, however, say that I really don’t understand what any of this is or does, only that it makes Movable Type’s mt-check.cgi script tell me DBD::mysql is installed.

I needed it to get Movable Type using MySQL on my PowerBook and spent far too long trying to get this to work. A more technical entry than I’d usually post here, but this is for the benefit of anyone who is having problems installing DBI and DBD::mysql on Mac OS X.

Install mysql on mac prerequisites