Apache Web Server, mod_perl, and Apache::Registry

mod_perl is a module you can plug into your Apache web server that can, among other things, make Perl CGI scripts run faster. For details, check out the Apache mod_perl web pages.

Calcium is compatible with mod_perl's Apache::Registry module. Configuring your web server to use Apache::Registry can make large Perl CGI scripts run much faster, particularly on slower machines.

Here are brief instructions for configuring your server to use Apache::Registry. Note that you will need to use a special version of Apache that includes mod_perl. Also, your configuration will likely look differently, these are general guidelines. Please see the many mod_perl docs at Apache for more details.

Add something like this to your Apache configuration file (usually httpd.conf):

mod_perl 1 Alias /perl/ "/usr/local/apache/cgi-bin/" <Location /perl> SetHandler perl-script PerlHandler Apache::Registry Options +ExecCGI </Location>

mod_perl 2 Alias /perl/ "/usr/local/apache/cgi-bin/" <Location /perl> SetHandler perl-script PerlResponseHandler ModPerl::Registry PerlOptions +ParseHeaders Options +ExecCGI </Location>

You'll also need to add some startup code to your Apache Perl setup, so it can find the Calcium files. Add something like this line to your Apache configuration file:

mod_perl 1

    PerlRequire  /usr/local/apache/conf/startup.pl

mod_perl 2

    PerlPostConfigRequire  /usr/local/apache/conf/startup.pl

And finally, this is what's needed in the specified file (startup.pl):

    use CGI qw(-compile :all);    
    use lib '/usr/local/CalciumDir40';
    use lib '/usr/local/CalciumDir40/redist';
    use lib '/usr/local/CalciumDir40/upgrades';
    1;

Substitute the correct path to your Calcium support files if you don't have them installed in /usr/local/CalciumDir40

Remember to restart your web server after you change anything.

Finally, browse to Calcium using the 'perl' path, e.g. http://your.host/perl/Calcium instead of cgi-bin.