apache - URL mapping in PHP?

Question

I come from a Java background and with any servlets-based technology, it's trivial to map a range of URLs (eg /reports/, /secure/.do) to a specified servlet. Now I'm less familiar with PHP but I haven't yet seen anything that does quite the same thing with PHP (or mod_php). It's entirely possible that I'm missing something simple.

How do you do this in PHP?

One of the reasons I want to do this is "one use" URLs. Now this can sorta be done with GET parameters (like an MD5 hash token) but I'm interested in URL mapping as a general solution to many problems.

Another big reason to use something like this is to have RESTful URLs.

Answer 1

With Apache, you are able to setup URL Rewriting for your php pages with mod_rewrite, check this resources:

• mod_rewrite: A Beginner's Guide to URL Rewriting
• Module mod_rewrite
• URL Rewriting Guide