[cgi-prototype-users] persistent prototypes (mod_perl)

[Ryan T. <li...@ry...>]

Hello,

I recently moved a simple CGI::Prototype-based Web app over to a mod_perl2 
installation. It wasn't too hard.

One thing I eventually noticed: if you dispatch to objects representing 
particular classes, as CGI::Prototype::Hidden does (see name_to_page and 
its call to $package->reflect->object), you have to be careful to 
re-initialize slots as needed, because package objects are not garbage 
collected and thus will persist.

To handle initialization, for each class with slots I want killed before 
the next 
request, I do a control_leave with $self->reflect->deleteSlots(qw(userfoo 
userbar tempfoo tempbar)), along with $self->SUPER::control_leave(@_) for 
any classes above.

If you fail to re-initialize your slots, they persist to the next hit, 
which is a feature if you know what you're doing and a bug otherwise. I 
have not yet found it useful to persist any slots.

I am curious if name_to_page was made with an eye toward mod_perl -- was 
it foreseen that in a persistent environment one might need to initialize 
slots? I'm wondering if a better approach might be to make my own 
name_to_page that does $package->new, thus not requiring any 
initialization, but costing more (probably) in obj creation and requiring 
extra work to keep track of shortname (essentially page_to_name to 
remember what state name/package was used to gen the object).

I have not yet found any slots I wish to persist so I end up having to 
remember to write an initializer for each slot I create.

Cheers
RT

PS Liked the first Linux Mag article.