6MB less RAM available might mean that you have to run 3 fewer apache processes.

Even then. That assumes 2 MB of unshared memory per process. Suppose a bare server with Apache's parent process uses 128 MB and you have 1024 MB installed, which is not uncommon for modern x86 based servers. Still enough memory to run 448 apache processes. If your CPU and I/O (filesystem/disk mostly) can handle that amount of requests simultaneously, you should have bought more than 1 GB of RAM, since 1 GB is not at all much for systems like that.

The important thing to get from this is that importing can add up in a persistent multi-process environment, and it should be used wisely.

Importing should be done wisely, but it should not be avoided. If you explicitly request only the symbols that you use, it's always worth it. If you use all of the 158 symbols that CGI.pm's :standard tag exports, then by all means have it export them, because the overhead of importing is nothing compared to the overhead of using them, and typing "CGI::" 158 or more times *will* drive you crazy :)

Juerd # { site => 'juerd.nl', plp_site => 'plp.juerd.nl', do_not_use => 'spamtrap' }