Practical mod_perl

Chapter 6. Coding with mod_perl in Mind

This is the most important chapter of this book. In this chapter, we cover all the nuances the programmer should know when porting an existing CGI script to work under mod_perl, or when writing one from scratch.

This chapter’s main goal is to teach the reader how to think in mod_perl. It involves showing most of the mod_perl peculiarities and possible traps the programmer might fall into. It also shows you some of the things that are impossible with vanilla CGI but easily done with mod_perl.

Before You Start to Code

There are three important things you need to know before you start your journey in a mod_perl world: how to access mod_perl and related documentation, and how to develop your Perl code when the strict and warnings modes are enabled.

Accessing Documentation

mod_perl doesn’t tolerate sloppy programming. Although we’re confident that you’re a talented, meticulously careful programmer whose programs run perfectly every time, you still might want to tighten up some of your Perl programming practices.

In this chapter, we include discussions that rely on prior knowledge of some areas of Perl, and we provide short refreshers where necessary. We assume that you can already program in Perl and that you are comfortable with finding Perl-related information in books and Perl documentation. There are many Perl books that you may find helpful. We list some of these in Section 6.13 at the end of each chapter.

If you prefer the documentation that comes ...