Official perl.apache.org mod_perl RPM

	drh.net>
by David Harris <dharris@

Created October 13, 1999.
Updated June 08, 2001.

1. Summary

This package is designed to replace the mod_perl RPM package shipped with Red Hat Linux 7.1. Many people have reported problems with the Red Hat package because it builds mod_perl as a DSO. This package, apache-modperl, installs alongside the default Red Hat apache package adding mod_perl functionality, however it does not load mod_perl as a DSO so it is immune from the same problems which plague the mod_perl package.

Unfortunately, this RPM does not include any form of example to get a new user going. It also does not include the proper MIME type setup in httpd.conf for running mod_perl registry scripts. One must have mod_perl knowledge and further modify httpd.conf to have mod_perl actually do anything neat. So, if you don't know anything about mod_perl yet, be prepared to learn.

Also provided is an RPM package for the often used libapreq-0.31 package, named perl-libapreq. Or, if you would like to compile your own libapreq, the four mod_perl headers files needed to compile that package are included in the apache-modperl RPM.

A note about RPM files in general
Installing complicated software such as Apache and mod_perl from RPM has certain advantages and disadvantages. With RPM installation it can be much easier to get up and going, however you are sacrificing a certain amount of flexibility for this ease-of-setup in compile time options that you can not manipulate and source code that is not installed on the computer. This RPM package does by no means replace all need to build mod_perl from sources on Red Hat boxes. (Stas Bekman has some very insightful comments on this matter.)

2. Download

Download here.

Quick links for Red Hat 7.1:

apache-modperl-1.3.19_1.25-0.i386.rpm - mod_perl-1.25
perl-libapreq-0.31-1.i386.rpm - libapreq-0.31

Quick links for Red Hat 6.0:

apache-modperl-1.3.6_1.21-0.i386.rpm - mod_perl-1.21
perl-libapreq-0.31-0.i386.rpm - libapreq-0.31

3. Technical details from README.RPM

The following text is quoted from the README.RPM file included with the apache-modperl-1.3.19_1.25-0.i386.rpm package which is used with Red Hat 7.1. The technical details for the Red Hat 6.0 packages are different, so please see the README.RPM included with those packages.

README.RPM
notes on this un-conventional RPM packaging of mod_perl

by David Harris 
created: Oct 13, 1999
updated: Thu Jun  7 02:44:54 EDT 2001


The Apache/Perl integration project brings together the full power of
the Perl programming language and the Apache HTTP server. With mod_perl
it is possible to write Apache modules entirely in Perl. In addition,
the persistent interpreter embedded in the server avoids the overhead
of starting an external interpreter and the penalty of Perl start-up time.

This package will install the mod_perl library files on your machine
along with the following two Apache files:

  /usr/lib/apache/mod_include_modperl.so
  /usr/sbin/httpd_modperl

This package does not install a complete apache subtree built with
mod_perl, but rather just the two above files that are different
for mod_perl.  This conceptually thinks of mod_perl as a kind of an
"add on" that we would like to add to the regular apache tree. However,
we are prevented from distributing mod_perl as an actual DSO, because it
is not recommended by the mod_perl developers and various features must
be turned off. So, instead, we distribute a httpd binary with mod_perl
statically linked (httpd_modperl) and the special modified mod_include.so
required for this binary (mod_include_modperl.so).  You can use the exact
same configuration files and other DSO modules, but you just "enable"
the mod_perl "add on" by following the below directions.

To enable mod_perl edit the /etc/apache-modperl.conf file to set:

  MOD_PERL_ENABLE=1

or to remove mod_perl set:

  MOD_PERL_ENABLE=0

For this to work the following command must have been run:

  modperl-install install

which installs modifications into the

  /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
  /etc/rc.d/init.d/httpd

files so that the setting in the /etc/apache-modperl.conf file
will work.

To remove these modifications run:

  modperl-install remove

4. More info

This RPM was created after David Harris proposed the idea in a discussion on the modperl@apache.org list. For those who want to know more, here are links to the heads of the two threads, from which you can see all the messages.

New mod_perl RPM really needed? (was: sourcegarden plug) - 6 Oct 1999
mod_perl rpm ready for testing - 13 Oct 1999

5. Changelog

A little history always helps people figure things out...

Jun 08, 2001
Created RPM's for Red Hat 7.1. Also signed previous packages.

Jan 12, 2000
Web-site finally created for the RPM posted on www.davideous.com and mirrored to perl.apache.org. This RPM titled the "Official perl.apache.org RPM" by agreement between Ask Bjoern Hansen and David Harris.

Oct 14, 1999
Upgraded from version 1.19 to 1.21 of mod_perl.

Oct 13, 1999
First version of RPM released onto modperl@apache.org. Binary files are placed on www.davideous.com.

Oct 06, 1999
Discussion on modperl@apache.org about if a new RPM was really needed where David Harris proposed the new idea.