Apache mod_rewrite

from:

http://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/en/rewrite/intro.html#htaccess





mod_rewrite provides a way to modify incoming URL requests, dynamically, based onregular expression rules. This allows you to map arbitrary URLs onto your internal URL structure in any way you like.

It supports an unlimited number of rules and an unlimited number of attached rule conditions for each rule to provide a really flexible and powerful URL manipulation mechanism. The URL manipulations can depend on various tests: server variables, environment variables, HTTP headers, time stamps, external database lookups, and various other external programs or handlers, can be used to achieve granular URL matching.

Rewrite rules can operate on the full URLs, including the path-info and query string portions, and may be used in per-server context (httpd.conf), per-virtualhost context (<VirtualHost> blocks), or per-directory context (.htaccess files and <Directory> blocks). The rewritten result can lead to further rules, internal sub-processing, external request redirection, or proxy passthrough, depending on whatflags you attach to the rules.