If it works for you perhaps you'd consider maintaining it?

You're joking, right? Just because I used it successfully as advertised doesn't mean that I'm familiar enough with its internal workings to be able to maintain/fix/improve it. (Otherwise, I would have considered breaking it out as a separate CPAN module.)

No, I wasn't joking. I think you're really capable and could do it.

My post was meant to inform others of its removal, and to query about possible alternatives.

For your purpose you'd switch to some persistent environment like what you already suggested or pperl.