cr...@animalhead.com wrote:
...
But you left out one important caveat which could scare away
more potential users than it saves.
The retention of values from previous executions applies
only to global variables.
Ah, yes.
But that would have triggered another discussion (which it might now
still do of course), about what exactly /is/ a global variable, in the
context of a mod_perl handler or perl script run under modperl::Registry.
I must admit that I am not totally clear on that subject either. I
understand the basic idea of scoping, but as to the fine distinctions
between "our" and "my" variables defined/referenced within/without
various functions defined in the same package, and what mod_perl makes
of this package when it compiles it, I tend to get a bit confused. And
I would not be surprised if the perl documentation to that effect
confused a relative beginner even more.
So again, to be defensive I find that the safest (if not most
efficient/elegant) way is to just treat every variable as a potential
problem, and make sure they are (re-)initialised unless I specifically
don't want them to be.
This is no critic to the writers of the perl and mod_perl documentation.
I am sure that this particular topic is quite hard to get across
clearly and succintly to perl plodders such as me.
And I find the perl documentation, in general, extremely accessible and
a treasure-trove of information (and not just about perl).
It's just that on that particular topic I seem to be a bit thick, and
considering that, I'd rather be safe than sorry.
