Mailing List Archive

Not long ago, Robert J Bartels proclaimed...
> I'm trying to set up apache with mod-perl. I would like someone to clarify
> a few things for me. I originally thought that when I compiled in mod_perl
> support
> for apache that it had turned on a perl 5 interpreter. The docs said that I
> could then
> run perl directly from a html document. Sounds great! Now I read about
> embperl...
> Embperl says you can user perl in your html code... Isn't that what I did
> when I compiled
> mod_perl into apache?!??!? Am I missing something here?

Compiling mod_perl into Apache embeds a Perl 5 interpretter into the Apache
server process. This doesn't necessarily mean Perl code can be embedded in
HTML documents, but it means you can extend the capabilities of the Apache
server using Perl. EmbPerl is just one example of how Apache can be
extended using mod_perl. Without mod_perl, EmbPerl would not be possible.

How's that for an answer?

--
Doran L. Barton <fozz@iodynamics.com>
Iodynamics LLC -- "Internetworking the masses"
<URL:http://www.iodynamics.com/>

>
> Compiling mod_perl into Apache embeds a Perl 5 interpretter into
> the Apache
> server process. This doesn't necessarily mean Perl code can be embedded in
> HTML documents, but it means you can extend the capabilities of the Apache
> server using Perl. EmbPerl is just one example of how Apache can be
> extended using mod_perl. Without mod_perl, EmbPerl would not be possible.
>

mod_perl allows you to execute normal Perl scripts (with access to the
Apache API and much faster then CGI), Embperl allows you to embedd Perl code
into HTML documents, like PHP does this for it's own language.

Gerald

BTW. Embperl can run without mod_perl (as CGI or offline), but it's correct
that the fastest way to run Embperl is under mod_perl and then Embperl is
build on top of mod_perl.


-------------------------------------------------------------
Gerald Richter ecos electronic communication services gmbh
Internetconnect * Webserver/-design/-datenbanken * Consulting

Post: Tulpenstrasse 5 D-55276 Dienheim b. Mainz
E-Mail: richter@ecos.de Voice: +49 6133 925151
WWW: http://www.ecos.de Fax: +49 6133 925152
-------------------------------------------------------------

Hi there,

On Mon, 21 Feb 2000, Robert J Bartels wrote:

> I'm trying to set up apache with mod-perl. I would like someone to
> clarify a few things for me. I originally thought that when I
> compiled in mod_perl support for apache that it had turned on a perl
> 5 interpreter. The docs said that I could then run perl directly
> from a html document.

There are two main ways to run Perl scripts from Apache.

1. Apache on its own. When a document written in HTML refers to
a Perl script, Apache starts the Perl interpreter which just
happens to be kicking around on your system and tells it what
script to run. The script runs, the Perl interpreter exits.
End of story. We sometimes call it plain vanilla Apache but
that's not official.

2. Apache/mod_perl. This version of Apache has a Perl interpreter
all of its own inside it. Consequently it's much bigger and much
faster and generally much more trouble to configure and keep under
control. When an HTML document refers to a Perl script, Apache
doesn't have to start the interpreter, it's already there. But
the same basic mechanism for calling the script can be used, give
or take a module or two.

There are two main ways to run Perl scripts from HTML.

1. Refer in the document to the file which contains the script.
You use the file name (it's probably something.pl), and it's
possibly in a directory called cgi-bin but let's not get too
far ahead of ourselves. Either of the Apaches above will do.

2. Embed Perl (or PHP, Python, Tcl or whatever) right into the HTML
files. There's no separate Perl script file. Neither version of
Apache above will do, you have more work to do or the browser will
probably choke on what isn't really HTML any more. EmbPerl is one
way of doing that work - er, well, actually, Gerald Richter did it
for you. Say thank you, Gerald.

> Sounds great!

Yup.

> Embperl says you can use perl in your html code...

Yup, that's right.

> Isn't that what I did when I compiled mod_perl into apache?!??!?

No.

> Am I missing something here?

Hopefully we've now sorted that out, but let me know if not.

73,
Ged.