I assume that they are forking because they are actually delivering the mail, rather than queueing it to the mailer on the machine.

If they were using Net::SMTP, and using the smtpsend method, the CGI script would have to do the appropriate DNS lookups, connect to remote MTA ( mail transport agent ), and deliver the mail.

Since this process can take quite a while, you usually don't want your web browser user to have to wait for it. The fork would allow the mailing to run as a separate process, and the web user wouldn't have to wait.

Supposing there's a usable mailer on the web server, I would just queue it there. No need for fork, and you have an intelligent mailer that can retry, etc. See Mail::Mailer or look around for another module that fits your needs.

In reply to Re: forking() to send e-mail in CGI?? by kschwab
in thread forking() to send e-mail in CGI?? by Anonymous Monk

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