Compiling your CGI scripts is the wrong way to go. You need to use mod_perl, FastCGI, SpeedyCGI or another variant. You can get huge speed increases by installing one of these programs, and you don't necessarily have to rewrite any code (although you can get it even faster with a rewrite).

It is possible for Perl scripts running under mod_perl to spank pretty much any other CGI apps. When I installed mod_perl my scripts went from about .5 secs to <.1, and then I started tweaking them.

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Jeremy
I didn't believe in evil until I dated it.