mod_perl puts a
Perl interpreter right inside the
Apache Web server, so there's no wind-up time for any scripts, which stay compiled between hits. For a site which uses a lot of
scripting, especially when tied into a
database,
upgrading to mod_perl can be a
life-saver.
It takes a bit of work to get CGI scripts running properly with mod_perl, but it is a lot easier than using
FastCGI, re-writing everything in
C, or buying more
servers. If you're already using "strict", then the changes you have to make are pretty minor. If your code is
wild and wily, a good
house-cleaning effort is advised. The only reason is because
global variables stay initialized between Web hits, which can have the
interesting effect of adding your
items to someone else's
shopping cart, for example, because the shopping cart structure wasn't initialized for each "hit".
mod_perl like
methamphetamines for your server, only without the nasty
coming down part.