# phpman > perldoc > HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler

## NAME
    [HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/HTML%3A%3AMason%3A%3AApacheHandler/markdown) - Mason/mod_perl interface

## SYNOPSIS
        use [HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/HTML%3A%3AMason%3A%3AApacheHandler/markdown);

        my $ah = [HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/HTML%3A%3AMason%3A%3AApacheHandler/markdown)->new (..name/value params..);
        ...
        sub handler {
            my $r = shift;
            $ah->handle_request($r);
        }

## DESCRIPTION
    The ApacheHandler object links Mason to mod_perl (version 1 or 2), running components in
    response to HTTP requests. It is controlled primarily through parameters to the new()
    constructor.

PARAMETERS TO THE new() CONSTRUCTOR
    apache_status_title
        Title that you want this ApacheHandler to appear as under [Apache::Status](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Apache%3A%3AStatus/markdown). Default is
        "[HTML::Mason](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/HTML%3A%3AMason/markdown) status". This is useful if you create more than one ApacheHandler object and
        want them all visible via [Apache::Status](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Apache%3A%3AStatus/markdown).

    args_method
        Method to use for unpacking GET and POST arguments. The valid options are 'CGI' and
        'mod_perl'; these indicate that a "CGI.pm" or "[Apache::Request](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Apache%3A%3ARequest/markdown)" object (respectively) will
        be created for the purposes of argument handling.

        'mod_perl' is the default under mod_perl-1 and requires that you have installed the
        "[Apache::Request](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Apache%3A%3ARequest/markdown)" package. Under mod_perl-2, the default is 'CGI' because "[Apache2::Request](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Apache2%3A%3ARequest/markdown)"
        is still in development.

        If args_method is 'mod_perl', the $r global is upgraded to an [Apache::Request](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Apache%3A%3ARequest/markdown) object. This
        object inherits all Apache methods and adds a few of its own, dealing with parameters and
        file uploads. See "[Apache::Request](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Apache%3A%3ARequest/markdown)" for more information.

        If the args_method is 'CGI', the Mason request object ($m) will have a method called
        "cgi_object" available. This method returns the CGI object used for argument processing.

        While Mason will load "[Apache::Request](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Apache%3A%3ARequest/markdown)" or "CGI" as needed at runtime, it is recommended
        that you preload the relevant module either in your httpd.conf or handler.pl file, as this
        will save some memory.

    decline_dirs
        True or false, default is true. Indicates whether Mason should decline directory requests,
        leaving Apache to serve up a directory index or a "FORBIDDEN" error as appropriate. See the
        allowing directory requests section of the administrator's manual for more information about
        handling directories with Mason.

    interp
        The interpreter object to associate with this compiler. By default a new object of the
        specified interp_class will be created.

    interp_class
        The class to use when creating a interpreter. Defaults to [HTML::Mason::Interp](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/HTML%3A%3AMason%3A%3AInterp/markdown).

## ACCESSOR METHODS
    All of the above properties, except interp_class, have standard accessor methods of the same
    name: no arguments retrieves the value, and one argument sets it, except for args_method, which
    is not settable. For example:

        my $ah = [HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/HTML%3A%3AMason%3A%3AApacheHandler/markdown)->new;
        my $decline_dirs = $ah->decline_dirs;
        $ah->[decline_dirs(1)](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/man/declinedirs/1/markdown);

## OTHER METHODS
    The ApacheHandler object has a few other publicly accessible methods that may be of interest to
    end users.

    handle_request ($r)
        This method takes an Apache or [Apache::Request](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Apache%3A%3ARequest/markdown) object representing a request and translates
        that request into a form Mason can understand. Its return value is an Apache status code.

        Passing an [Apache::Request](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Apache%3A%3ARequest/markdown) object is useful if you want to set [Apache::Request](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Apache%3A%3ARequest/markdown) parameters,
        such as POST_MAX or DISABLE_UPLOADS.

    prepare_request ($r)
        This method takes an Apache object representing a request and returns a new Mason request
        object or an Apache status code. If it is a request object you can manipulate that object as
        you like, and then call the request object's "exec" method to have it generate output.

        If this method returns an Apache status code, that means that it could not create a Mason
        request object.

        This method is useful if you would like to have a chance to decline a request based on
        properties of the Mason request object or a component object. For example:

            my $req = $ah->prepare_request($r);
            # $req must be an Apache status code if it's not an object
            return $req unless ref($req);

            return DECLINED
                unless $req->request_comp->source_file =~ /\.html$/;

            $req->exec;

    request_args ($r)
        Given an Apache request object, this method returns a three item list. The first item is a
        hash reference containing the arguments passed by the client's request.

        The second is an Apache request object. This is returned for backwards compatibility from
        when this method was responsible for turning a plain Apache object into an [Apache::Request](https://www.chedong.com/phpMan.php/perldoc/Apache%3A%3ARequest/markdown)
        object.

        The third item may be a CGI.pm object or "undef", depending on the value of the args_method
        parameter.