sub get_params {
  my $self = shift;
  my %input;
  $input{$_} = $self->{$cgi_handle}->param($_)
      foreach $self->{$cgi_handle}->param());

  # we return a hashref if the user calls us in scalar context 
  # or a list of key=>values pairs if they call us in list context.
  return wantarray ? %input : \%input;
}