"Practical mod_perl" Released by O'Reilly

For Immediate Release
For more information, a review copy, cover art, or an interview with
the authors, contact:
Kathryn Barrett (707) 827-7094 or kathrynb@oreilly.com


New Book Offers a Wealth of Knowledge from the mod_perl Community
O'Reilly Releases "Practical mod_perl"

Sebastopol, CA--Web developers and administrators know that the speed
of a web server often has very little to do with the server itself. If
a site is slow, it's invariably caused by back-end applications like
CGI scripts that take longer than they should to run. mod_perl is an
Apache server module that provides huge performance benefits for
Perl-based CGI scripts. By switching to mod_perl, web programmers and
administrators see immediate improvements in efficiency.  But
optimizing its performance can be tricky. While mod_perl is fairly easy
to install and run, tweaking mod_perl and Apache for the best
performance and reliability is more difficult. "Practical mod_perl" by
Stas Bekman and Eric Cholet (O'Reilly, US $49.95) is the definitive
book about building mod_perl, using it, programming with it, and
optimizing it.

In "Practical mod_perl" new users will learn how to quickly and easily
get mod_perl compiled and installed. But the primary purpose of the
book is to show Perl web developers and administrators how to take full
advantage of mod_perl: how to make a mod_perl-enabled web site as fast,
flexible, and easily-maintainable as possible. The authors draw from
their own personal experience in the field, as well as the combined
experience of the mod_perl community, to present a rich and complete
picture of how to set up and maintain a successful mod_perl site.

Coauthor Bekman explains that many books are based on the knowledge and
expertise of a single person, but "Practical mod_perl" is based on the
expertise of the huge community, which encompasses much more than a
single person could gain from experience and observation. "This book
comprises the knowledge base of the mod_perl community collected over
the last five years, combined with the authors' personal experience in
the field," Bekman says. "Therefore, it answers almost any questions
that mod_perl users have asked over these years."

Coauthor Cholet adds, "Most technical books are focused on a
technology: many books about web application development will teach the
reader how to program using a particular set of tools. We feel that
writing and maintaining a web site is much more than that.  Our book
aims to include all aspects of development and maintenance."

Readers will find thorough discussions about the Perl programming
language, Apache's Perl API, and scripts that run under
Apache::Registry.  The book covers the following topics, and more:

-Configuring mod_perl optimally for your web site
-Porting and optimizing programs for a mod_perl environment
-Performance tuning: getting the very fastest performance from your site
-Controlling and monitoring the server to circumvent crashes and clogs
-Integrating with databases efficiently and painlessly
-Debugging tips and tricks
-Maximizing security

Written for Perl web developers and web administrators, "Practical
mod_perl" is an extensive guide to the nuts and bolts of this popular
module. From writing and debugging scripts to keeping a server running
without failures, the techniques in this book will help readers squeeze
every ounce of power out of their servers.


Additional Resources
"Practical mod_perl" is also available on the O'Reilly Network Safari
Bookshelf, see:
http://safari.oreilly.com/

Don't miss Stas Bekman's tutorial (July 7) or session (July 9) at the
2003 O'Reilly Open Source Convention in Portland, OR:
http://conferences.oreilly.com/oscon/

Chapter 6, "Coding with mod_perl in Mind," is available free online at:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/pmodperl/chapter/index.html

For more information about the book, including Table of Contents,
index, author bios, and samples, see:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/pmodperl/

For a cover graphic in JPEG format, go to:
ftp://ftp.ora.com/pub/graphics/book_covers/hi-res/0596002270.jpg

Practical mod_perl
Stas Bekman and Eric Cholet
ISBN 0-596-00227-0, 893 pages, $49.95 (US), $77.95 (CAN)
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938
1-707-827-7000
http://www.oreilly.com

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