## Compiling shared PECL extensions with phpize

Sometimes, using the `pecl` installer is not an option. This could be because you're behind a firewall, or it could be because the extension you want to install is not available as a PECL compatible package, such as unreleased extensions from SVN. If you need to build such an extension, you can use the lower-level build tools to perform the build manually.

The `phpize` command is used to prepare the build environment for a PHP extension. In the following sample, the sources for an extension are in a directory named extname:

    $ cd extname
    $ phpize
    $ ./configure
    $ make
    # make install

A successful install will have created extname.so and put it into the PHP extensions directory. You'll need to and adjust php.ini and add an `extension=extname.so` line before you can use the extension.

If the system is missing the `phpize` command, and precompiled packages (like RPM's) are used, be sure to also install the appropriate devel version of the PHP package as they often include the `phpize` command along with the appropriate header files to build PHP and its extensions.

Execute phpize --help to display additional usage information.