2.4. Talking to Interchange via socket
Interchange can run in any of several modes:
Foreground
The foreground, meaning the same Interchange server listens for connections and then runs the tasks those connections cause.
Forking mode
One master Interchange listens for connections, then forks instances to handle the tasks those connections cause. The forked instance terminates at the end of the task.
Prefork mode
Similar to the way Apache does, Interchange can fork off a number of instances that all listen to the sockets open for connections. The first one to answer gets the task, runs it, then returns to listen again. After MaxChildRequests requests, it dies and causes another new instance to take its place.
mod_perl mode
Interchange can be loaded into mod_perl. See the documentation in scripts/ic_mod_perl.PL for information.
SOAP mode
Interchange can listen to a socket designed to accept a SOAP connection -- those always run in prefork mode. This mode can co-exist with other modes, so the same Interchange server can serve both page and SOAP requests.