mod_perl is an Apache module that builds the power of the Perl
programming language directly into the Apache web server. With
mod_perl, CGI scripts run as much as 50 times faster, and you can
integrate databases with the server, write Apache modules in Perl,
embed Perl code directly into Apache configuration files, and even
use Perl in server-side includes. With mod_perl, Apache is not only a
web server, it is a complete programming platform.
Getting mod_perl running is easy. Tweaking mod_perl and Apache for
the best performance and reliability is much more difficult. This
book is about building mod_perl, using it, programming with it, and
optimizing it.
0.1. What You Need to Know
To use this book effectively, you need to be familiar with the
day-to-day details of running a web server, and you need to know the
Perl programming language. We expect that you have already programmed
in the Perl programming language. Having written simple CGI scripts
and having experience with setting up the Apache web server are
definite pluses. Knowing your way around the operating system is
another plus, but not a requirement.
Most examples in the book were done on the Linux operating system,
but the examples and discussions should apply equally well to other
operating systems, especially other Unix flavors. There is a
dedicated section on installing mod_perl on Windows machines in Chapter 2.
