=head1 NAME
mod_perl 2.0 Server Configuration
=head1 Description
This chapter provides an in-depth mod_perl 2.0 configuration details.
=head1 mod_perl configuration directives
Similar to mod_perl 1.0, in order to use mod_perl 2.0 a few
configuration settings should be added to I<httpd.conf>. They are
quite similar to 1.0 settings but some directives were renamed and new
directives were added.
=head1 Enabling mod_perl
To enable mod_perl built as DSO add to I<httpd.conf>:
LoadModule perl_module modules/mod_perl.so
This setting specifies the location of the mod_perl module relative to
the C<ServerRoot> setting, therefore you should put it somewhere after
C<ServerRoot> is specified.
If mod_perl has been statically linked it's automatically enabled.
For Win32 specific details, see the documentation on
L<Win32 configuration|docs::2.0::os::win32::config>.
Remember that you can't use mod_perl until you have configured Apache
to use it. You need to configure L<Registry
scripts|docs::2.0::user::intro::start_fast/Registry_Scripts> or
L<custom
handlers|docs::2.0::user::intro::start_fast/Handler_Modules>.
=head1 Server Configuration Directives
=head2 C<E<lt>PerlE<gt>> Sections
With C<E<lt>PerlE<gt>>...C<E<lt>/PerlE<gt>> sections, it is possible
to configure your server entirely in Perl.
Please refer to the
L<Apache2::PerlSections|docs::2.0::api::Apache2::PerlSections> manpage
for more information.
META: a dedicated chapter with examples?
See also: L<this directive argument types and allowed
location|/mod_perl_Directives_Argument_Types_and_Allowed_Location>.
=head2 C<=pod>, C<=over> and C<=cut>
It's known that anything written between tokens C<=pod> and C<=cut> is
ignored by the Perl parser. mod_perl allows you to use the same
technique to make Apache ignore things in F<httpd.conf> (similar to #
comments). With an exception to C<=over apache> and C<=over httpd>
sections which are visible to Apache.
For example the following configuration:
#file: httpd.conf
=pod
PerlSetVar A 1
=over apache
PerlSetVar B 2
=back
PerlSetVar C 3
=cut
PerlSetVar D 4
Apache will see:
PerlSetVar B 2
PerlSetVar D 4
but not:
PerlSetVar A 1
PerlSetVar C 3
C<=over httpd> is just an alias to C<=over apache>. Remember that
C<=over> requires a corresponding C<=back>.
=head2 C<PerlAddVar>
C<PerlAddVar> is useful if you need to pass in multiple values into the
same variable emulating arrays and hashes. For example:
PerlAddVar foo bar
PerlAddVar foo bar1
PerlAddVar foo bar2
You would retrieve these values with:
my @foos = $r->dir_config('foo');
This would fill the I<@foos> array with 'bar', 'bar1', and 'bar2'.
To pass in hashed values you need to ensure that you use an even number
of directives per key. For example:
PerlAddVar foo key1
PerlAddVar foo value1
PerlAddVar foo key2
PerlAddVar foo value2
You can then retrieve these values with:
my %foos = $r->dir_config('foo');
Where I<%foos> will have a structure like:
%foos = (
key1 => 'value1',
key2 => 'value2',
);
See also: L<this directive argument types and allowed
location|/mod_perl_Directives_Argument_Types_and_Allowed_Location>.
=head2 C<PerlConfigRequire>
C<PerlConfigRequire> does the same thing as
C<L<PerlPostConfigRequire|/C_PerlPostConfigRequire_>>, but it is
executed as soon as it is encountered, i.e. during the configuration
phase.
You should be using this directive to load only files that introduce
new configuration directives, used later in the configuration
file. For any other purposes (like preloading modules) use
C<L<PerlPostConfigRequire|/C_PerlPostConfigRequire_>>.
One of the reasons for avoding using the C<PerlConfigRequire>
directive, is that the C<STDERR> stream is not available during the
restart phase, therefore the errors will be not reported. It is not a
bug in mod_perl but an Apache limitation. Use
C<L<PerlPostConfigRequire|/C_PerlPostConfigRequire_>> if you can, and
there you have the C<STDERR> stream sent to the error_log file (by
default).
See also: L<this directive argument types and allowed
location|/mod_perl_Directives_Argument_Types_and_Allowed_Location>.
=head2 C<PerlLoadModule>
The C<PerlLoadModule> directive is similar to
C<L<PerlModule|/C_PerlModule_>>, in a sense that it loads a
module. The difference is that it's used to triggers L<an early Perl
startup|docs::2.0::user::handlers::server/mod_perl_Startup>. This can
be useful for modules that need to be loaded early, as is the case
for modules that implement L<new Apache
directives|docs::2.0::user::config::custom>, which are needed during
the configuration phase.
See also: L<this directive argument types and allowed
location|/mod_perl_Directives_Argument_Types_and_Allowed_Location>.
=head2 C<PerlModule>
PerlModule Foo::Bar
is equivalent to Perl's:
require Foo::Bar;
C<PerlModule> is used to load modules using their package names.
You can pass one or more module names as arguments to C<PerlModule>:
PerlModule Apache::DBI CGI DBD::Mysql
Notice, that normally, the Perl startup is
L<delayed|docs::2.0::user::handlers::server/mod_perl_Startup> until
after the configuration phase.
See also: C<L<PerlRequire|/C_PerlRequire_>>.
See also: L<this directive argument types and allowed
location|/mod_perl_Directives_Argument_Types_and_Allowed_Location>.
=head2 C<PerlOptions>
The directive C<PerlOptions> provides fine-grained configuration for
what were compile-time only options in the first mod_perl generation.
It also provides control over what class of Perl interpreter pool is
used for a C<E<lt>VirtualHostE<gt>> or location configured with
C<E<lt>LocationE<gt>>, C<E<lt>DirectoryE<gt>>, etc.
L<$r-E<gt>is_perl_option_enabled($option)|docs::2.0::api::Apache2::RequestUtil/C_is_perl_option_enabled_>
and
L<$s-E<gt>is_perl_option_enabled($option)|docs::2.0::api::Apache2::ServerUtil/C_is_perl_option_enabled_>
can be used at run-time to check whether a certain C<$option> has been
enabled. (META: probably need to add/move this to the coding chapter)
Options are enabled by prepending C<+> and disabled with C<->.
See also: L<this directive argument types and allowed
location|/mod_perl_Directives_Argument_Types_and_Allowed_Location>.
The available options are:
=head3 C<Enable>
On by default, can be used to disable mod_perl for a given
C<VirtualHost>. For example:
<VirtualHost ...>
PerlOptions -Enable
</VirtualHost>
=head3 C<Clone>
Share the parent Perl interpreter, but give the C<VirtualHost> its own
interpreter pool. For example should you wish to fine tune interpreter
pools for a given virtual host:
<VirtualHost ...>
PerlOptions +Clone
PerlInterpStart 2
PerlInterpMax 2
</VirtualHost>
This might be worthwhile in the case where certain hosts have their
own sets of large-ish modules, used only in each host. By tuning each
host to have its own pool, that host will continue to reuse the Perl
allocations in their specific modules.
=head3 C<InheritSwitches>
Off by default, can be used to have a C<VirtualHost> inherit the value
of the C<PerlSwitches> from the parent server.
For instance, when cloning a Perl interpreter, to inherit the base Perl
interpreter's C<PerlSwitches> use:
<VirtualHost ...>
PerlOptions +Clone +InheritSwitches
...
</VirtualHost>
=head3 C<Parent>
Create a new parent Perl interpreter for the given C<VirtualHost> and
give it its own interpreter pool (implies the C<Clone> option).
A common problem with mod_perl 1.0 was the shared namespace between
all code within the process. Consider two developers using the same
server and each wants to run a different version of a module with the
same name. This example will create two I<parent> Perl interpreters,
one for each C<E<lt>VirtualHostE<gt>>, each with its own namespace and
pointing to a different paths in C<@INC>:
META: is -Mlib portable? (problems with -Mlib on Darwin/5.6.0?)
<VirtualHost ...>
ServerName dev1
PerlOptions +Parent
PerlSwitches -Mlib=/home/dev1/lib/perl
</VirtualHost>
<VirtualHost ...>
ServerName dev2
PerlOptions +Parent
PerlSwitches -Mlib=/home/dev2/lib/perl
</VirtualHost>
Remember that C<+Parent> gives you a completely new Perl interpreters
pool, so all your modifications to C<@INC> and preloading of the
modules should be done again. Consider using L<PerlOptions
+Clone|/C_Clone_> if you want to inherit from the parent Perl
interpreter.
Or even for a given location, for something like "dirty" cgi scripts:
<Location /cgi-bin>
PerlOptions +Parent
PerlInterpMaxRequests 1
PerlInterpStart 1
PerlInterpMax 1
PerlResponseHandler ModPerl::Registry
</Location>
will use a fresh interpreter with its own namespace to handle each
request.
=head3 C<Perl*Handler>
Disable C<Perl*Handler>s, all compiled-in handlers are enabled by
default. The option name is derived from the C<Perl*Handler> name, by
stripping the C<Perl> and C<Handler> parts of the word. So
C<PerlLogHandler> becomes C<Log> which can be used to disable
C<PerlLogHandler>:
PerlOptions -Log
Suppose one of the hosts does not want to allow users to configure
C<PerlAuthenHandler>, C<PerlAuthzHandler>, C<PerlAccessHandler> and
E<lt>PerlE<gt> sections:
<VirtualHost ...>
PerlOptions -Authen -Authz -Access -Sections
</VirtualHost>
Or maybe everything but the response handler:
<VirtualHost ...>
PerlOptions None +Response
</VirtualHost>
=head3 C<AutoLoad>
Resolve C<Perl*Handlers> at startup time, which includes loading the
modules from disk if not already loaded.
In mod_perl 1.0, configured C<Perl*Handlers> which are not a fully
qualified subroutine names are resolved at request time, loading the
handler module from disk if needed. In mod_perl 2.0, configured
C<Perl*Handlers> are resolved at startup time. By default, modules
are not auto-loaded during startup-time resolution. It is possible to
enable this feature with:
PerlOptions +Autoload
Consider this configuration:
PerlResponseHandler Apache::Magick
In this case, C<Apache::Magick> is the package name, and the
subroutine name will default to I<handler>. If the C<Apache::Magick>
module is not already loaded, C<PerlOptions +Autoload> will attempt to
pull it in at startup time. With this option enabled you don't have to
explicitly load the handler modules. For example you don't need to
add:
PerlModule Apache::Magick
in our example.
Another way to preload only specific modules is to add + when
configuring those, for example:
PerlResponseHandler +Apache::Magick
will automatically preload the C<Apache::Magick> module.
=head3 C<GlobalRequest>
Setup the global C<L<$r|docs::2.0::api::Apache2::RequestRec>> object
for use with
C<L<Apache2-E<gt>request|docs::2.0::api::Apache2::RequestUtil/C_request_>>.
This setting is enabled by default during the
C<L<PerlResponseHandler|docs::2.0::user::handlers::http/PerlResponseHandler>>
phase for sections configured as:
<Location ...>
SetHandler perl-script
...
</Location>
but is not enabled by default for sections configured as:
<Location ...>
SetHandler modperl
....
</Location>
And can be disabled with:
<Location ...>
SetHandler perl-script
PerlOptions -GlobalRequest
...
</Location>
Notice that if you need the global request object during other phases,
you will need to explicitly enable it in the configuration file.
You can also set that global object from the handler code, like so:
sub handler {
my $r = shift;
Apache2::RequestUtil->request($r);
...
}
The C<+GlobalRequest> setting is needed for example if you use older
versions of C<CGI.pm> to process the incoming request. Starting from
version 2.93, C<CGI.pm> optionally accepts C<$r> as an argument to
C<new()>, like so:
sub handler {
my $r = shift;
my $q = CGI->new($r);
...
}
Remember that inside registry scripts you can always get C<$r> at the
beginning of the script, since it gets wrapped inside a subroutine and
accepts C<$r> as the first and the only argument. For example:
#!/usr/bin/perl
use CGI;
my $r = shift;
my $q = CGI->new($r);
...
of course you won't be able to run this under mod_cgi, so you may need
to do:
#!/usr/bin/perl
use CGI;
my $q = $ENV{MOD_PERL} ? CGI->new(shift @_) : CGI->new();
...
in order to have the script running under mod_perl and mod_cgi.
=head3 C<ParseHeaders>
Scan output for HTTP headers, same functionality as mod_perl 1.0's
C<PerlSendHeader>, but more robust. This option is usually needs to
be enabled for registry scripts which send the HTTP header with:
print "Content-type: text/html\n\n";
=head3 C<MergeHandlers>
Turn on merging of C<Perl*Handler> arrays. For example with a setting:
PerlFixupHandler Apache2::FixupA
<Location /inside>
PerlFixupHandler Apache2::FixupB
</Location>
a request for I</inside> only runs C<Apache2::FixupB> (mod_perl 1.0
behavior). But with this configuration:
PerlFixupHandler Apache2::FixupA
<Location /inside>
PerlOptions +MergeHandlers
PerlFixupHandler Apache2::FixupB
</Location>
a request for I</inside> will run both C<Apache2::FixupA> and
C<Apache2::FixupB> handlers.
=head3 C<SetupEnv>
Set up environment variables for each request ala mod_cgi.
When this option is enabled, I<mod_perl> fiddles with the environment
to make it appear as if the code is called under the mod_cgi handler.
For example, the C<$ENV{QUERY_STRING}> environment variable is
initialized with the contents of I<Apache2::args()>, and the value
returned by I<Apache2::server_hostname()> is put into
C<$ENV{SERVER_NAME}>.
But C<%ENV> population is expensive. Those who have moved to the Perl
Apache API no longer need this extra C<%ENV> population, and can gain
by disabling it. A code using the C<CGI.pm> module require
C<PerlOptions +SetupEnv> because that module relies on a properly populated
CGI environment table.
This option is enabled by default for sections configured as:
<Location ...>
SetHandler perl-script
...
</Location>
Since this option adds an overhead to each request, if you don't need
this functionality you can turn it off for a certain section:
<Location ...>
SetHandler perl-script
PerlOptions -SetupEnv
...
</Location>
or globally:
PerlOptions -SetupEnv
<Location ...>
...
</Location>
and then it'll affect the whole server. It can still be enabled for
sections that need this functionality.
When this option is disabled you can still read environment variables
set by you. For example when you use the following configuration:
PerlOptions -SetupEnv
PerlModule ModPerl::Registry
<Location /perl>
PerlSetEnv TEST hi
SetHandler perl-script
PerlResponseHandler ModPerl::Registry
Options +ExecCGI
</Location>
and you issue a request for this script:
setupenvoff.pl
--------------
use Data::Dumper;
my $r = Apache2::RequestUtil->request();
$r->content_type('text/plain');
print Dumper(\%ENV);
you should see something like this:
$VAR1 = {
'GATEWAY_INTERFACE' => 'CGI-Perl/1.1',
'MOD_PERL' => 'mod_perl/2.0.1',
'PATH' => 'bin:/usr/bin',
'TEST' => 'hi'
};
Notice that we have got the value of the environment variable I<TEST>.
=head2 C<PerlPassEnv>
C<PerlPassEnv> instructs mod_perl to pass the environment variables you
specify to your mod_perl handlers. This is useful if you need to set
the same environment variables for your shell as well as mod_perl. For
example if you had this in your .bash_profile:
export ORACLE_HOME=/oracle
And defined the following in your I<httpd.conf>:
PerlPassEnv ORACLE_HOME
The your mod_perl handlers would have access to the value via the standard
Perl mechanism:
my $oracle_home = $ENV{'ORACLE_HOME'};
See also: L<this directive argument types and allowed
location|/mod_perl_Directives_Argument_Types_and_Allowed_Location>.
=head2 C<PerlPostConfigRequire>
PerlPostConfigRequire /home/httpd/perl/lib/startup.pl
is equivalent to Perl's:
require "/home/httpd/perl/lib/startup.pl";
A C<PerlRequire> filename argument can be absolute or relative to
C<ServerRoot> or a filepath in Perl's C<@INC>.
You can pass one or more filenames as arguments to
C<PerlPostConfigRequire>:
PerlPostConfigRequire path1/startup.pl path2/startup.pl
C<PerlPostConfigRequire> is used to load files with Perl code to be
run at the server startup. It's not executed as soon as it is
encountered, but L<as late as
possible|docs::2.0::user::handlers::server/When_Does_perl_Start_To_Run>
during the server startup.
Most of the time you should be using this directive. For example to
preload some modules or run things at the server startup). Only if you
need to load modules that introduce new configuration directives, used
later in the configuration file you should use
C<L<PerlConfigRequire|/C_PerlConfigRequire_>>.
As with any file with Perl code that gets C<use()>'d or
C<require()>'d, it must return a I<true> value. To ensure that this
happens don't forget to add C<1;> at the end of
F<L<startup.pl|docs::2.0::user::handlers::server/Startup_File>>.
See also: C<L<PerlModule|/C_PerlModule_>> and
C<L<PerlLoadModule|/C_PerlLoadModule_>>.
See also: L<this directive argument types and allowed
location|/mod_perl_Directives_Argument_Types_and_Allowed_Location>.
=head2 C<PerlRequire>
C<PerlRequire> does the same thing as
C<L<PerlPostConfigRequire|/C_PerlPostConfigRequire_>>, but you have
almost no control of L<when this code is going to be
executed|docs::2.0::user::handlers::server/When_Does_perl_Start_To_Run>.
Therefore you should be using either
C<L<PerlConfigRequire|/C_PerlConfigRequire_>> (executes immediately)
or C<L<PerlPostConfigRequire|/C_PerlPostConfigRequire_>> (executes
just before the end of the server startup) instead. Most of the time
you want to use the latter.
See also: L<this directive argument types and allowed
location|/mod_perl_Directives_Argument_Types_and_Allowed_Location>.
=head2 C<PerlSetEnv>
C<PerlSetEnv> allows you to specify system environment variables and pass
them into your mod_perl handlers. These values are then available through
the normal perl C<%ENV> mechanisms. For example:
PerlSetEnv TEMPLATE_PATH /usr/share/templates
would create C<$ENV{'TEMPLATE_PATH'}> and set it to I</usr/share/templates>.
See also: L<this directive argument types and allowed
location|/mod_perl_Directives_Argument_Types_and_Allowed_Location>.
=head2 C<PerlSetVar>
C<PerlSetVar> allows you to pass variables into your mod_perl handlers from
your I<httpd.conf>. This method is preferable to using C<PerlSetEnv> or
Apache's C<SetEnv> and C<PassEnv> methods because of the overhead of having
to populate C<%ENV> for each request. An example of how this can be used is:
PerlSetVar foo bar
To retrieve the value of that variable in your Perl code you would use:
my $foo = $r->dir_config('foo');
In this example C<$foo> would then hold the value 'bar'. B<NOTE:> that these
directives are parsed at request time which is a slower method than using
L<custom Apache configuration directives|docs::2.0::user::config::custom>
See also: L<this directive argument types and allowed
location|/mod_perl_Directives_Argument_Types_and_Allowed_Location>.
=head2 C<PerlSwitches>
Now you can pass any Perl's command line switches in I<httpd.conf>
using the C<PerlSwitches> directive. For example to enable warnings
and Taint checking add:
PerlSwitches -wT
As an alternative to using C<use lib> in I<startup.pl> to adjust
C<@INC>, now you can use the command line switch C<-I> to do that:
PerlSwitches -I/home/stas/modperl
You could also use C<-Mlib=/home/stas/modperl> which is the exact
equivalent as C<use lib>, but it's broken on certain platforms/version
(e.g. Darwin/5.6.0). C<use lib> is removing duplicated entries,
whereas C<-I> does not.
See also: L<this directive argument types and allowed
location|/mod_perl_Directives_Argument_Types_and_Allowed_Location>.
=head2 C<SetHandler>
mod_perl 2.0 provides two types of C<SetHandler> handlers: C<modperl>
and C<perl-script>. The C<SetHandler> directive is only relevant for
response phase handlers. It doesn't affect other phases.
See also: L<this directive argument types and allowed
location|/mod_perl_Directives_Argument_Types_and_Allowed_Location>.
=head3 C<modperl>
Configured as:
SetHandler modperl
The bare mod_perl handler type, which just calls the C<Perl*Handler>'s
callback function. If you don't need the features provided by the
I<perl-script> handler, with the C<modperl> handler, you can gain even
more performance. (This handler isn't available in mod_perl 1.0.)
Unless the C<Perl*Handler> callback, running under the C<modperl>
handler, is configured with:
PerlOptions +SetupEnv
or calls:
$r->subprocess_env;
in a void context with no arguments (which has the same effect
as C<PerlOptions +SetupEnv> for the handler that called it), only
the following environment variables are accessible via C<%ENV>:
=over
=item *
C<MOD_PERL> and C<MOD_PERL_API_VERSION> (always)
=item *
C<PATH> and C<TZ> (if you had them defined in the shell or
I<httpd.conf>)
=back
Therefore if you don't want to add the overhead of populating C<%ENV>,
when you simply want to pass some configuration variables from
I<httpd.conf>, consider using C<PerlSetVar> and C<PerlAddVar> instead
of C<PerlSetEnv> and C<PerlPassEnv>. In your code you can retrieve the
values using the C<dir_config()> method. For example if you set in
I<httpd.conf>:
<Location /print_env2>
SetHandler modperl
PerlResponseHandler Apache2::VarTest
PerlSetVar VarTest VarTestValue
</Location>
this value can be retrieved inside C<Apache2::VarTest::handler()> with:
$r->dir_config('VarTest');
Alternatively use the Apache core directives C<SetEnv> and C<PassEnv>,
which always populate C<r-E<gt>subprocess_env>, but this doesn't happen
until the Apache I<fixups> phase, which could be too late for your needs.
Notice also that this handler does not reset C<%ENV> after each
request's response phase, so if one response handler has changed
C<%ENV> without localizing the change, it'll affect other handlers
running after it as well.
=head3 C<perl-script>
Configured as:
SetHandler perl-script
Most mod_perl handlers use the I<perl-script> handler. Among other
things it does:
=over
=item *
C<PerlOptions +GlobalRequest> is in effect only during the
PerlResponseHandler phase unless:
PerlOptions -GlobalRequest
is specified.
=item *
C<PerlOptions +SetupEnv> is in effect unless:
PerlOptions -SetupEnv
is specified.
=item *
C<STDIN> and C<STDOUT> get tied to the request object C<$r>, which
makes possible to read from C<STDIN> and print directly to C<STDOUT>
via C<CORE::print()>, instead of implicit calls like
C<$r-E<gt>puts()>.
=item *
Several special global Perl variables are saved before the response
handler is called and restored afterwards (similar to mod_perl
1.0). This includes: C<%ENV>, C<@INC>, C<$/>, C<STDOUT>'s C<$|> and
C<END> blocks array (C<PL_endav>).
=item *
Entries added to C<%ENV> are passed on to the C<subprocess_env> table,
and are thus accessible via C<r-E<gt>subprocess_env> during the later
C<PerlLogHandler> and C<PerlCleanupHandler> phases.
=back
=head3 Examples
Let's demonstrate the differences between the C<modperl> and the
C<perl-script> core handlers in the following example, which
represents a simple mod_perl response handler which prints out the
environment variables as seen by it:
file:MyApache2/PrintEnv1.pm
-----------------------
package MyApache2::PrintEnv1;
use strict;
use Apache2::RequestRec (); # for $r->content_type
use Apache2::RequestIO (); # for print
use Apache2::Const -compile => ':common';
sub handler {
my $r = shift;
$r->content_type('text/plain');
for (sort keys %ENV){
print "$_ => $ENV{$_}\n";
}
return Apache2::Const::OK;
}
1;
This is the required configuration:
PerlModule MyApache2::PrintEnv1
<Location /print_env1>
SetHandler perl-script
PerlResponseHandler MyApache2::PrintEnv1
</Location>
Now issue a request to I<http://localhost/print_env1> and you should
see all the environment variables printed out.
Here is the same response handler, adjusted to work with the
C<modperl> core handler:
file:MyApache2/PrintEnv2.pm
------------------------
package MyApache2::PrintEnv2;
use strict;
use Apache2::RequestRec (); # for $r->content_type
use Apache2::RequestIO (); # for $r->print
use Apache2::Const -compile => ':common';
sub handler {
my $r = shift;
$r->content_type('text/plain');
$r->subprocess_env;
for (sort keys %ENV){
$r->print("$_ => $ENV{$_}\n");
}
return Apache2::Const::OK;
}
1;
The configuration now will look as:
PerlModule MyApache2::PrintEnv2
<Location /print_env2>
SetHandler modperl
PerlResponseHandler MyApache2::PrintEnv2
</Location>
C<MyApache2::PrintEnv2> cannot use C<print()> and therefore uses
C<$r-E<gt>print()> to generate a response. Under the C<modperl> core
handler C<%ENV> is not populated by default, therefore
C<subprocess_env()> is called in a void context. Alternatively we
could configure this section to do:
PerlOptions +SetupEnv
If you issue a request to I<http://localhost/print_env2>, you should
see all the environment variables printed out as with
I<http://localhost/print_env1>.
=head1 Server Life Cycle Handlers Directives
See L<Server life cycle|docs::2.0::user::handlers::server/>.
=head2 C<PerlOpenLogsHandler>
See
C<L<PerlOpenLogsHandler|docs::2.0::user::handlers::server/C_PerlOpenLogsHandler_>>.
=head2 C<PerlPostConfigHandler>
See
C<L<PerlPostConfigHandler|docs::2.0::user::handlers::server/C_PerlPostConfigHandler_>>.
=head2 C<PerlChildInitHandler>
See
C<L<PerlChildInitHandler|docs::2.0::user::handlers::server/C_PerlChildInitHandler_>>.
=head2 C<PerlChildExitHandler>
See
C<L<PerlChildExitHandler|docs::2.0::user::handlers::server/C_PerlChildExitHandler_>>.
=head1 Protocol Handlers Directives
See L<Protocol handlers|docs::2.0::user::handlers::protocols/>.
=head2 C<PerlPreConnectionHandler>
See C<L<PerlPreConnectionHandler|docs::2.0::user::handlers::protocols/PerlPreConnectionHandler>>.
=head2 C<PerlProcessConnectionHandler>
See C<L<PerlProcessConnectionHandler|docs::2.0::user::handlers::protocols/PerlProcessConnectionHandler>>.
=head1 Filter Handlers Directives
mod_perl filters are described in the L<filter handlers
tutorial|docs::2.0::user::handlers::filters>,
C<L<Apache2::Filter|docs::2.0::api::Apache2::Filter>> and
C<L<Apache2::FilterRec|docs::2.0::api::Apache2::FilterRec>> manpages.
The following filter handler configuration directives are available:
=head2 C<PerlInputFilterHandler>
See
C<L<PerlInputFilterHandler|docs::2.0::user::handlers::filters/C_PerlInputFilterHandler_>>.
=head2 C<PerlOutputFilterHandler>
See
C<L<PerlOutputFilterHandler|docs::2.0::user::handlers::filters/C_PerlOutputFilterHandler_>>.
=head2 C<PerlSetInputFilter>
See
C<L<PerlSetInputFilter|docs::2.0::user::handlers::filters/C_PerlSetInputFilter_>>.
=head2 C<PerlSetOutputFilter>
See
C<L<PerlSetInputFilter|docs::2.0::user::handlers::filters/C_PerlSetInputFilter_>>.
=head1 HTTP Protocol Handlers Directives
See L<HTTP protocol handlers|docs::2.0::user::handlers::http/>.
=head2 C<PerlPostReadRequestHandler>
See C<L<PerlPostReadRequestHandler|docs::2.0::user::handlers::http/PerlPostReadRequestHandler>>.
=head2 C<PerlTransHandler>
See C<L<PerlTransHandler|docs::2.0::user::handlers::http/PerlTransHandler>>.
=head2 C<PerlMapToStorageHandler>
See C<L<PerlMapToStorageHandler|docs::2.0::user::handlers::http/PerlMapToStorageHandler>>.
=head2 C<PerlInitHandler>
See C<L<PerlInitHandler|docs::2.0::user::handlers::http/PerlInitHandler>>.
=head2 C<PerlHeaderParserHandler>
See C<L<PerlHeaderParserHandler|docs::2.0::user::handlers::http/PerlHeaderParserHandler>>.
=head2 C<PerlAccessHandler>
See C<L<PerlAccessHandler|docs::2.0::user::handlers::http/PerlAccessHandler>>.
=head2 C<PerlAuthenHandler>
See C<L<PerlAuthenHandler|docs::2.0::user::handlers::http/PerlAuthenHandler>>.
=head2 C<PerlAuthzHandler>
See C<L<PerlAuthzHandler|docs::2.0::user::handlers::http/PerlAuthzHandler>>.
=head2 C<PerlTypeHandler>
See C<L<PerlTypeHandler|docs::2.0::user::handlers::http/PerlTypeHandler>>.
=head2 C<PerlFixupHandler>
See C<L<PerlFixupHandler|docs::2.0::user::handlers::http/PerlFixupHandler>>.
=head2 C<PerlResponseHandler>
See C<L<PerlResponseHandler|docs::2.0::user::handlers::http/PerlResponseHandler>>.
=head2 C<PerlLogHandler>
See C<L<PerlLogHandler|docs::2.0::user::handlers::http/PerlLogHandler>>.
=head2 C<PerlCleanupHandler>
See C<L<PerlCleanupHandler|docs::2.0::user::handlers::http/PerlCleanupHandler>>.
=head1 Threads Mode Specific Directives
These directives are enabled only in a threaded mod_perl+Apache combo:
=head2 C<PerlInterpStart>
The number of interpreters to clone at startup time.
Default value: 3
See also: L<this directive argument types and allowed
location|/mod_perl_Directives_Argument_Types_and_Allowed_Location>.
=head2 C<PerlInterpMax>
If all running interpreters are in use, mod_perl will clone new
interpreters to handle the request, up until this number of
interpreters is reached. when C<PerlInterpMax> is reached, mod_perl
will block (via COND_WAIT()) until one becomes available (signaled via
COND_SIGNAL()).
Default value: 5
See also: L<this directive argument types and allowed
location|/mod_perl_Directives_Argument_Types_and_Allowed_Location>.
=head2 C<PerlInterpMinSpare>
The minimum number of available interpreters this parameter will clone
interpreters up to C<PerlInterpMax>, before a request comes in.
Default value: 3
See also: L<this directive argument types and allowed
location|/mod_perl_Directives_Argument_Types_and_Allowed_Location>.
=head2 C<PerlInterpMaxSpare>
mod_perl will throttle down the number of interpreters to this number
as those in use become available.
Default value: 3
=head2 C<PerlInterpMaxRequests>
The maximum number of requests an interpreter should serve, the
interpreter is destroyed when the number is reached and replaced with
a fresh clone.
Default value: 2000
See also: L<this directive argument types and allowed
location|/mod_perl_Directives_Argument_Types_and_Allowed_Location>.
=head2 C<PerlInterpScope>
As mentioned, when a request in a threaded mpm is handled by mod_perl,
an interpreter must be pulled from the interpreter pool. The
interpreter is then only available to the thread that selected it,
until it is released back into the interpreter pool. By default, an
interpreter will be held for the lifetime of the request, equivalent
to this configuration:
PerlInterpScope request
For example, if a C<PerlAccessHandler> is configured, an interpreter
will be selected before it is run and not released until after the
logging phase.
Interpreters will be shared across sub-requests by default, however, it
is possible to configure the interpreter scope to be per-sub-request on
a per-directory basis:
PerlInterpScope subrequest
With this configuration, an autoindex generated page, for example,
would select an interpreter for each item in the listing that is
configured with a Perl*Handler.
It is also possible to configure the scope to be per-handler:
PerlInterpScope handler
For example if C<PerlAccessHandler> is configured, an interpreter will
be selected before running the handler, and put back immediately
afterwards, before Apache moves onto the next phase. If a
C<PerlFixupHandler> is configured further down the chain, another
interpreter will be selected and again put back afterwards, before
C<PerlResponseHandler> is run.
For protocol handlers, the interpreter is held for the lifetime of the
connection. However, a C protocol module might hook into mod_perl
(e.g. mod_ftp) and provide a C<request_rec> record. In this case, the
default scope is that of the request. Should a mod_perl handler want
to maintain state for the lifetime of an ftp connection, it is
possible to do so on a per-virtualhost basis:
PerlInterpScope connection
Default value: C<request>
See also: L<this directive argument types and allowed
location|/mod_perl_Directives_Argument_Types_and_Allowed_Location>.
=head1 Debug Directives
=head2 C<PerlTrace>
The C<PerlTrace> is used for tracing the mod_perl execution. This
directive is enabled when mod_perl is compiled with the C<MP_TRACE=1>
option.
To enable tracing, add to I<httpd.conf>:
PerlTrace [level]
where C<level> is either:
all
which sets maximum logging and debugging levels;
a combination of one or more option letters from the following list:
a Apache API interaction
c configuration for directive handlers
d directive processing
f filters
e environment variables
g globals management
h handlers
i interpreter pool management
m memory allocations
o I/O
r Perl runtime interaction
s Perl sections
t benchmark-ish timings
Tracing options add to the previous setting and don't override it. So
for example:
PerlTrace c
...
PerlTrace f
will set tracing level first to 'c' and later to 'cf'. If you wish to
override settings, unset any previous setting by assigning 0 (zero),
like so:
PerlTrace c
...
PerlTrace 0
PerlTrace f
now the tracing level is set only to 'f'. You can't mix the number 0
with letters, it must be alone.
When C<PerlTrace> is not specified, the tracing level will be set to
the value of the C<$ENV{MOD_PERL_TRACE}> environment variable.
See also: L<this directive argument types and allowed
location|/mod_perl_Directives_Argument_Types_and_Allowed_Location>.
=head1 mod_perl Directives Argument Types and Allowed Location
The following table shows where in the configuration files mod_perl
configuration directives are allowed to appear, what kind and how many
arguments they expect:
General directives:
Directive Arguments Scope
--------------------------------------------
PerlSwitches ITERATE SRV
PerlRequire ITERATE SRV
PerlConfigRequire ITERATE SRV
PerlPostConfigRequire ITERATE SRC
PerlModule ITERATE SRV
PerlLoadModule RAW_ARGS SRV
PerlOptions ITERATE DIR
PerlSetVar TAKE2 DIR
PerlAddVar ITERATE2 DIR
PerlSetEnv TAKE2 DIR
PerlPassEnv TAKE1 SRV
<Perl> Sections RAW_ARGS SRV
PerlTrace TAKE1 SRV
Handler assignment directives:
Directive Arguments Scope
--------------------------------------------
PerlOpenLogsHandler ITERATE SRV
PerlPostConfigHandler ITERATE SRV
PerlChildInitHandler ITERATE SRV
PerlChildExitHandler ITERATE SRV
PerlPreConnectionHandler ITERATE SRV
PerlProcessConnectionHandler ITERATE SRV
PerlPostReadRequestHandler ITERATE SRV
PerlTransHandler ITERATE SRV
PerlMapToStorageHandler ITERATE SRV
PerlInitHandler ITERATE DIR
PerlHeaderParserHandler ITERATE DIR
PerlAccessHandler ITERATE DIR
PerlAuthenHandler ITERATE DIR
PerlAuthzHandler ITERATE DIR
PerlTypeHandler ITERATE DIR
PerlFixupHandler ITERATE DIR
PerlResponseHandler ITERATE DIR
PerlLogHandler ITERATE DIR
PerlCleanupHandler ITERATE DIR
PerlInputFilterHandler ITERATE DIR
PerlOutputFilterHandler ITERATE DIR
PerlSetInputFilter ITERATE DIR
PerlSetOutputFilter ITERATE DIR
Perl Interpreter management directives:
Directive Arguments Scope
--------------------------------------------
PerlInterpStart TAKE1 SRV
PerlInterpMax TAKE1 SRV
PerlInterpMinSpare TAKE1 SRV
PerlInterpMaxSpare TAKE1 SRV
PerlInterpMaxRequests TAKE1 SRV
PerlInterpScope TAKE1 DIR
mod_perl 1.0 back-compatibility directives:
Directive Arguments Scope
--------------------------------------------
PerlHandler ITERATE DIR
PerlSendHeader FLAG DIR
PerlSetupEnv FLAG DIR
PerlTaintCheck FLAG SRV
PerlWarn FLAG SRV
The I<Arguments> column represents the type of arguments directives
accepts, where:
=over
=item ITERATE
Expects a list of arguments.
=item ITERATE2
Expects one argument, followed by at least one or more arguments.
=item TAKE1
Expects one argument only.
=item TAKE2
Expects two arguments only.
=item FLAG
One of C<On> or C<Off> (case insensitive).
=item RAW_ARGS
The function parses the command line by itself.
=back
The I<Scope> column shows the location the directives are allowed to
appear in:
=over
=item SRV
Global configuration and C<E<lt>VirtualHostE<gt>> (mnemonic:
I<SeRVer>). These directives are defined as C<RSRC_CONF> in the source
code.
=item DIR
C<E<lt>DirectoryE<gt>>, C<E<lt>LocationE<gt>>, C<E<lt>FilesE<gt>> and
all their regular expression variants (mnemonic: I<DIRectory>). These
directives can also appear in I<.htaccess> files. These directives
are defined as C<OR_ALL> in the source code.
These directives can also appear in the global server configuration
and C<E<lt>VirtualHostE<gt>>.
=back
Apache specifies other allowed location types which are currently not
used by the core mod_perl directives and their definition can be found
in I<include/httpd_config.h> (hint: search for C<RSRC_CONF>).
Also see L<Stacked Handlers|docs::2.0::user::handlers::intro/Stacked_Handlers>.
=head1 Server Startup Options Retrieval
Inside I<httpd.conf> one can do conditional configuration based on the
define options passed at the server startup. For example:
<IfDefine PERLDB>
<Perl>
use Apache::DB ();
Apache::DB->init;
</Perl>
<Location />
PerlFixupHandler Apache::DB
</Location>
</IfDefine>
So only when the server is started as:
% httpd C<-DPERLDB> ...
The configuration inside C<IfDefine> will have an effect. If you want
to have some configuration section to have an effect if a certain
define wasn't defined use C<!>, for example here is the opposite of
the previous example:
<IfDefine !PERLDB>
# ...
</IfDefine>
If you need to access any of the startup defines in the Perl code you
use
C<L<Apache2::ServerUtil::exists_config_define()|docs::2.0::api::Apache2::ServerUtil/C_exists_config_define_>>. For
example in a startup file you can say:
use Apache2::ServerUtil ();
if (Apache2::ServerUtil::exists_config_define("PERLDB")) {
require Apache::DB;
Apache::DB->init;
}
For example to check whether the server has been started in a single
mode use:
if (Apache2::ServerUtil::exists_config_define("ONE_PROCESS")) {
print "Running in a single mode";
}
=head2 C<MODPERL2> Define Option
When running under mod_perl 2.0 a special configuration "define"
symbol C<MODPERL2> is enabled internally, as if the server had been
started with C<-DMODPERL2>. For example this can be used to write a
configuration file which needs to do something different whether it's
running under mod_perl 1.0 or 2.0:
<IfDefine MODPERL2>
# 2.0 configuration
</IfDefine>
<IfDefine !MODPERL2>
# else
</IfDefine>
From within Perl code this can be tested with
C<L<Apache2::ServerUtil::exists_config_define()|docs::2.0::api::Apache2::ServerUtil/C_exists_config_define_>>,
for example:
use Apache2::ServerUtil ();
if (Apache2::ServerUtil::exists_config_define("MODPERL2")) {
# some 2.0 specific code
}
=head1 Perl Interface to the Apache Configuration Tree
For now refer to the
L<Apache2::Directive|docs::2.0::api::Apache2::Directive> manpage and the
test I<t/response/TestApache2/conftree.pm> in the mod_perl source
distribution.
META: need help to write the tutorial section on this with examples.
=head1 Adjusting C<@INC>
You can always adjust contents of C<@INC> before the server
starts. There are several ways to do that.
=over
=item * I<startup.pl>
In L<the startup file|docs::2.0::user::handlers::server/Startup_File>
you can use the C<lib> pragma like so:
use lib qw(/home/httpd/project1/lib /tmp/lib);
use lib qw(/home/httpd/project2/lib);
=item * I<httpd.conf>
In I<httpd.conf> you can use the C<PerlSwitches> directive to pass
arguments to perl as you do from the command line, e.g.:
PerlSwitches -I/home/httpd/project1/lib -I/tmp/lib
PerlSwitches -I/home/httpd/project2/lib
=back
=head2 C<PERL5LIB> and C<PERLLIB> Environment Variables
The effect of the C<PERL5LIB> and C<PERLLIB> environment variables on
C<@INC> is described in the I<perlrun> manpage. mod_perl 2.0 doesn't
do anything special about them.
It's important to remind that both C<PERL5LIB> and C<PERLLIB> are
ignored when the taint mode (C<PerlSwitches -T>) is in effect. Since
you want to make sure that your mod_perl server is running under the
taint mode, you can't use the C<PERL5LIB> and C<PERLLIB> environment
variables.
However there is the I<perl5lib> module on CPAN, which, if loaded,
bypasses perl's security and will affect C<@INC>. Use it only if you
know what you are doing.
=head2 Modifying C<@INC> on a Per-VirtualHost
If Perl used with mod_perl was built with ithreads support one can
specify different C<@INC> values for different VirtualHosts, using a
combination of C<L<PerlOptions +Parent|/C_Parent_>> and
C<L<PerlSwitches|/C_PerlSwitches_>>. For example:
<VirtualHost ...>
ServerName dev1
PerlOptions +Parent
PerlSwitches -I/home/dev1/lib/perl
</VirtualHost>
<VirtualHost ...>
ServerName dev2
PerlOptions +Parent
PerlSwitches -I/home/dev2/lib/perl
</VirtualHost>
This technique works under any MPM with ithreads-enabled perl. It's
just that under prefork your procs will be huge, because you will
build a pool of interpreters in each process. While the same happens
under threaded mpm, there you have many threads per process, so you
need just 1 or 2 procs and therefore less memory will be used.
=head1 General Issues
=head1 Maintainers
Maintainer is the person(s) you should contact with updates,
corrections and patches.
=over
=item *
Stas Bekman [http://stason.org/]
=back
=head1 Authors
=over
=item *
Doug MacEachern E<lt>dougm (at) covalent.netE<gt>
=item *
Stas Bekman [http://stason.org/]
=back
Only the major authors are listed above. For contributors see the
Changes file.
=cut
