Hello, The online mod_perl guide (http://thingy.kcilink.com/modperlguide/perl/The_Scope_of_the_Special_Perl_Va.ht ml) states:
"Special Perl variables like $| (buffering), $^T (script's start time), $^W (warnings mode), $/ (input record separator), $\ (output record separator) and many more are all true global variables; they do not belong to any particular package (not even main::) and are universally available. This means that if you change them, you change them anywhere across the entire program; furthermore you cannot scope them with my()." My question pertains the CGI %ENV hash. First, I'm assumong that this is a global variable in the sense of a Perl Special Variable, and not just a main:: or other package global. My question is how is it the case that the %ENV variable script instance might be working with doesn't get clobbered or "reset" by the next incoming request. Are some variables, like %ENV treated differently by mod_perl? Also, how can special variables be reliably initialized? For example, if one request provides a certain attribute, such as HTTP_IDENT, but a subsequent request does not, how do I know that the value of $ENV{HTTP_IDENT} on the second request will indeed be undefined? Thanks. Bill