Pass dynamic variables in htaccess / php

Question

I have a site created which is dynamic and the information (area / category / subcategory) passes through htaccess for nice URLs. For example, as the user dives into the categories it flows as follows:

/parts/hard-drives

/parts/hard-drives/hard-drives-sas

I wondered if there was a way to extend this from then on in htaccess so I can pass more items and grab the variable with php, ie:

/parts/hard-drives/hard-drives-sas/?manufacturer=dell&price=20

My current lines for the htaccess file are as follows:

RewriteRule ^parts/([^/\.]+)/([^/\.]+)/?$ parts.php?p=$1&f=$2 [L]
RewriteRule ^parts/([^/\.]+)/?$ parts.php?p=$1 [L]
RewriteRule ^parts parts.php [L]

You will see the first line relates to /products/hard-drives/hard-drives-sas the second relates to /products/hard-drives and then simply a parts page /parts

Hopefully that makes sense!

Thanks.

Peter · Accepted Answer · 2013-01-17 16:12:00Z

14

Use QSA flag to pass GET variables:

RewriteRule ^parts/([^/\.]+)/([^/\.]+)/?$ parts.php?p=$1&f=$2 [L,QSA]
RewriteRule ^parts/([^/\.]+)/?$ parts.php?p=$1 [L,QSA]
RewriteRule ^parts parts.php [L,QSA]

Docs:

When the replacement URI contains a query string, the default behavior of RewriteRule is to discard the existing query string, and replace it with the newly generated one. Using the [QSA] flag causes the query strings to be combined.

Consider the following rule:

RewriteRule /pages/(.+) /page.php?page=$1 [QSA]

With the [QSA] flag, a request for /pages/123?one=two will be mapped to /page.php?page=123&one=two. Without the [QSA] flag, that same request will be mapped to /page.php?page=123 - that is, the existing query string will be discarded.

http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/rewrite/flags.html#flag_qsa

answered Jan 17, 2013 at 16:12

Peter

17k9 gold badges55 silver badges77 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

1 Comment

David Over a year ago

Thanks Peter - that worked perfectly. I'll accept the answer in a moment when it lets me.

Cayter Goh · Accepted Answer · 2013-01-17 16:16:59Z

0

I do believe that by editing your .htaccess on the server to adapt this routing concept will be a real pain. I would recommend that you should take a look at the PHP framework like CodeIgniter, CakePHP and etc. They all have already prepared the routing mechanism that you wanted. And it's quite easy to understand. By editing .htaccess, there'll be an obvious disadvantage which is how many rules you are going to add when you have large demands of this kind of routing requirements.

answered Jan 17, 2013 at 16:16

Cayter Goh

111 silver badge1 bronze badge

3 Comments

Peter Over a year ago

I am not saying frameworks are bad thing, but if you think about it there is no big difference between routing technique and mod_rewrite. And mod_rewrite is more powerful.

Cayter Goh Over a year ago

Oh, don't get me wrong. I agree that the mod_rewrite is more powerful. But it really depends on your requirements. My assumption was that you are going to need more similar rules in the future which I have done the same before. And when I found the routing mechanism in the frameworks, I felt like I was wasting my time...

Peter Over a year ago

agree, if you don't want to waste your time just use framework ;) suits 25% php questions at SO

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

Pass dynamic variables in htaccess / php

2 Answers 2

1 Comment

3 Comments

Your Answer

Hot Network Questions

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

2 Answers 2

1 Comment

3 Comments

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Post as a guest

Related