NAME
    Apache2::ASP - ASP for a mod_perl2 environment.

SYNOPSIS
      <html>
        <body>
          <%= "Hello, World!" %>
          <br>
          <%
            for( 1...10 ) {
              $Response->Write( "Hello from ASP ($_)<br>" );
            }
          %>
        </body>
      </html>

DESCRIPTION
    Apache2::ASP is a new implementation of the ASP web programming for the
    mod_perl2 environment. Its aim is high performance, stability,
    scalability and ease of use.

    If you have used Apache::ASP already then you are already familiar with
    the basic idea of ASP under Apache.

INTRODUCTION
  What is Apache2::ASP?
    Apache2::ASP is a web programming environment that helps simplify web
    programming with Perl under mod_perl2. Apache2::ASP allows you to easily
    embed Perl into web pages using the "<%" and "%>" tags that are familiar
    to anyone who has used ASP or JSP in the past.

  What does Apache2::ASP offer?
    Apache2::ASP offers programmers the ability to program web pages without
    spending time on details like session state management, file uploads or
    template systems.

ASP OBJECTS
    Like other ASP web programming environments, Apache2::ASP provides the
    following global objects:

  $Request
    Represents the incoming HTTP request. Has methods to handle form data,
    file uploads, read cookies, etc.

    Learn more by reading the Apache2::ASP::Request documentation.

  $Response
    Represents the outbound HTTP communication to the client. Has methods to
    send content, redirect, set cookies, etc.

    Learn more by reading the Apache2::ASP::Response documentation.

  $Session
    Represents data that should persist beyond the lifetime of a single
    request. For example, the user's logged in state, user id, etc.

    The contents of the $Session object are stored within an SQL database.

    Learn more by reading the Apache2::ASP::Session documentation.

  $Server
    Represents the webserver itself and offers several utility methods that
    don't fit anywhere else.

    Learn more by reading the Apache2::ASP::Server documentation.

  $Application
    Represents data that should be shared and persisted throughout the
    entire web application. For example, database connection strings, the
    number of active users, etc.

    The contents of the $Application object are stored within an SQL
    database.

    Learn more by reading the Apache2::ASP::Application documentation.

INSTALLATION
      % perl Makefile.PL
      % make
      % make test
      % make install

    Then, in your httpd.conf:

      # Declare this important variable:
      PerlSetEnv APACHE2_APPLICATION_ROOT /path/to/your/website

      # Needed for CGI::Apache2::Wrapper to work properly:
      LoadModule apreq_module    /usr/local/apache2/modules/mod_apreq2.so
  
      # Set the directory index:
      DirectoryIndex index.asp
  
      # Load up some important modules:
      PerlModule Apache::DBI
      PerlModule DBI
      PerlModule DBD::mysql # or whatever database you will keep your session data in
      PerlModule CGI::Apache2::Wrapper
      PerlModule Apache2::ASP
      PerlModule Apache2::Directive
      PerlModule Apache2::RequestRec
      PerlModule Apache2::RequestIO
      PerlModule Apache2::Connection
      PerlModule Apache2::SubRequest
  
      # All *.asp files are handled by Apache2::ASP
      <Files ~ (\.asp$)>
        SetHandler      perl-script
        PerlHandler     Apache2::ASP
      </Files>

    Then, in "/path/to/your/website/conf" add the file
    "apache2-asp-config.xml". It will contain data like this:

      <apache2-asp-config>
        <db_user>mydbusername</db_user>
        <db_pass>secret!password</db_pass>
        <db_driver>mysql</db_driver>
        <db_name>my_session_database</db_name>
        <db_host>localhost</db_host>
        <session_cookie_domain>.mywebsite.com</session_cookie_domain>
        <session_cookie_name>session-id</session_cookie_name>
      </apache2-asp-config>

    Then, in your database, create a table with the following structure:

      CREATE TABLE sessions (
        session_id CHAR(32) PRIMARY KEY NOT NULL,
        session_data BLOB,
        created_on DATETIME,
        modified_on DATETIME
      );

    Also create a table with the following structure:

      CREATE TABLE asp_applications (
        application_id VARCHAR(100) PRIMARY KEY NOT NULL,
        application_data BLOB
      );

    Simply restart Apache and installation is complete. Now you need some
    ASP scripts.

    If your website is in "/var/www/html" then create a file ""index.asp""
    in "/var/www/html".

    Your "index.asp" could contain something like the following:

      <html>
        <body>
          <%= "Hello, World!" %>
          <br>
          <%
            for( 1...10 ) {
              $Response->Write( "Hello from ASP ($_)<br>" );
            }
          %>
        </body>
      </html>

    Then point your browser to "http://yoursite.com/index.asp" and see what
    you get.

    If everything was configured correctly, the output would look like:

      Hello, World! 
      Hello from ASP (1)
      Hello from ASP (2)
      Hello from ASP (3)
      Hello from ASP (4)
      Hello from ASP (5)
      Hello from ASP (6)
      Hello from ASP (7)
      Hello from ASP (8)
      Hello from ASP (9)
      Hello from ASP (10)

    If you get an error instead, check out your error log to find out why.

  Directory Structure
    You might be wondering, "What does the directory structure for an
    Apache2::ASP website look like?"

    Well, it looks like this:

      .
      |-- conf
      |   |-- apache2-asp-config.xml
      |   `-- httpd.conf
      `-- www
          |-- GlobalASA.pm
          `-- index.asp

AUTHOR
    John Drago jdrago_999@yahoo.com

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
    Copyright 2007 John Drago, All rights reserved.

    This software is free software. It may be used and distributed under the
    same terms as Perl itself.

