Apache Software Foundation Releases mod_perl 2.0, Bringing Full Apache 2
API to Perl Developers

http://perl.apache.org/, May 23 - The Apache Software Foundation and The
Apache Perl Project are pleased to announce the release of mod_perl
version 2.0. This release makes it possible to write Apache 2 Web
server modules entirely in Perl, bringing a powerful mix of rapid
development and high performance to Web applications. "We're really
pleased with the amount of new Apache 2 functionality we are able to
provide to perl developers in mod_perl 2," said Geoffrey Young, one of
the leaders of the project.

The mod_perl project brings together the full power of the Perl
programming language and the Apache Web server, two of the greatest
success stories in open source software. By providing access to the 
Apache 2 API from Perl, mod_perl 2 offers a level of access and flexibility 
not available in other high-level Web development solutions. More than just
an accelerator for CGI scripts, mod_perl is a whole new way to create
dynamic content by utilizing the full power of the Apache Web server to
create stateful sessions, customized user authentication systems, smart
proxies and much more.


Prominent new or improved features in mod_perl 2.0 include:


              * I/O Filtering API which allows chaining of different
                content generation tools (PHP, server-side includes) and
                post-processing of dynamic content for compression,
                automatic linking, etc.
                
              * New Apache::Test testing framework for automated testing
                of server modules and applications.
                
              * Extensible high-speed HTTP request parsing library,
                libapreq2, already in use by other Apache 2 modules.
                
              * Easy access to Apache configuration information from
                Perl.
                
              * Configurable multi-threaded operation, vastly improving
                scalability in Microsoft Windows environments.
                
              * Protocol modules can replace the server's core HTTP
                implementation with alternatives like SMTP, FTP, or even
                totally custom protocols, turning Apache 2 into a
                powerful toolkit for building customized server
                applications.
                


E- mail security company MailChannels (http://www.mailchannels.com/) has
been using the new protocol modules feature in mod_perl 2.0 to build
mail proxies in their assured delivery products. "For us, there really
was no other viable alternative," said Ken Simpson, CEO. MailChannels
chose the mod_perl platform to develop on for "the reliability,
portability, and scalability of Apache."

This release has received extensive testing, both from automated tests
built with the new Apache-Test framework and from users. The test suite 
for mod_perl now includes more than 2500 individual functional tests. The
scalability of mod_perl as a Web-development platform is well-
established, with major companies like Ticketmaster
(http://www.ticketmaster.com/) doing billions of dollars of business on
it yearly. Performance compares favorably with PHP and Java solutions in
benchmarks and users routinely report speed improvements of 300% or more
just from porting perl CGI applications to mod_perl. Internet
advertising company WhenU (http://www.whenu.com/) delivers more than
twelve million dynamic pages per day with mod_perl.

Because the project is open source and participation is free, many
modules compatible with mod_perl 2.0 are already available. In addition,
Perl brings it's famously extensive Comprehensive Perl Archive Network 
(CPAN) to the table, putting libraries for database interaction, XML
manipulation, HTML templating, and everything else developers need to
build modern Web sites at their fingertips.

For more information, visit the mod_perl Web site at
http://perl.apache.org/.


About the Apache Software Foundation:
The Apache Software Foundation provides organizational, legal, and
financial support for the Apache open-source software projects. Formerly
known as the Apache Group, the foundation incorporated as a membership-
based, not-for-profit corporation to ensure that the Apache projects
continue to exist beyond the participation of individual volunteers, to
enable contributions of intellectual property and financial support, and
to provide a vehicle for limiting legal exposure while participating in
open-source projects. For more information on the Apache Software
Foundation, please see www.apache.org.