Question

My .htaccess file is as follows:

Options -Multiviews
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^example.com
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.example.com/$1 [R=301,L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ $1.php

It works, but I’m wondering how it works. For example, if I type in example.com/main, I get the file at www.example.com/main.php. How do I get the .php extension if the code tells the rewriting to stop after adding the www. to the beginning of example.com?

Edit: Or should I create a unique ID only for the purpose of logging in the remembered user?

Answer 1

The particular behavior you’re asking about comes about because the rule

RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.example.com/$1 [R=301,L]

is a 301 redirect; it instructs the browser to initiate a completely new HTTP request. The L only causes (can only cause) it to be the last rule executed for that request; the new request comes in with the correct hostname and proceeds onward.