I have an interesting situation. I've configured a basic LAMP server and an external company is providing us some code. Everything works except PHP rewrites specifically.
I've successfully configured rewrites and can do basic rewrites like hello.html -> redir.html. I've also confirmed this by turning LogLevel up to trace6 and I see rewrite being active.
the trouble comes with php variables. It seems to just not resolve them.
I have the following simplified .htaccess file with all other rules removed for testing
<ifModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^news/(.*)/(.*)/(.*)/$ news.php?department=$1&newsid=$2&newstitle=$3 [L]
RewriteRule ^$ index.php?page=home [L]
</ifModule>
now if I enter my URL http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
I expect to be redirected to
http://webserver/news.php?department=it&newsid=153&newstitle=newsstory
however, what happens is the second rule catches it.
this is tricky for me, as I'm providing the server infrastructure and not writing the code (externally supplied). Our code supplier says it works their side and we've seen working demos, so I've been sort of troubleshooting it from a 'we are missing packages or configs somehow' angle.
As far as I can tell online, if mod_rewrite is working, it should... work.
a log dump of an incorrect redir
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] add path info postfix: /var/www/itnews/news.php -> /var/www/itnews/news.php/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/news.php/it/153/newsstory -> news.php/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^news/(.*)/(.*)/(.*)$' to uri 'news.php/it/153/newsstory'
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] add path info postfix: /var/www/itnews/news.php -> /var/www/itnews/news.php/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/news.php/it/153/newsstory -> news.php/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^$' to uri 'news.php/it/153/newsstory'
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] pass through /var/www/itnews/news.php
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] add path info postfix: /var/www/itnews/news.php -> /var/www/itnews/news.php/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/news.php/it/153/newsstory -> news.php/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^news/(.*)/(.*)/(.*)$' to uri 'news.php/it/153/newsstory'
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] add path info postfix: /var/www/itnews/news.php -> /var/www/itnews/news.php/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/news.php/it/153/newsstory -> news.php/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^$' to uri 'news.php/it/153/newsstory'
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] pass through /var/www/itnews/news.php
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] add path info postfix: /var/www/itnews/it -> /var/www/itnews/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/it/153/newsstory -> it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^news/(.*)/(.*)/(.*)$' to uri 'it/153/newsstory'
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] add path info postfix: /var/www/itnews/it -> /var/www/itnews/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/it/153/newsstory -> it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^$' to uri 'it/153/newsstory'
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] pass through /var/www/itnews/it
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/images/logo.jpg -> images/logo.jpg, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^news/(.*)/(.*)/(.*)$' to uri 'images/logo.jpg', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/images/logo.jpg -> images/logo.jpg, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^$' to uri 'images/logo.jpg', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] pass through /var/www/itnews/images/logo.jpg, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/css/bootstrap.min.css -> css/bootstrap.min.css, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^news/(.*)/(.*)/(.*)$' to uri 'css/bootstrap.min.css', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/css/bootstrap.min.css -> css/bootstrap.min.css, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^$' to uri 'css/bootstrap.min.css', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] pass through /var/www/itnews/css/bootstrap.min.css, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/css/style.css -> css/style.css, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^news/(.*)/(.*)/(.*)$' to uri 'css/style.css', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/css/style.css -> css/style.css, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^$' to uri 'css/style.css', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] pass through /var/www/itnews/css/style.css, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/js/bootstrap.min.js -> js/bootstrap.min.js, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^news/(.*)/(.*)/(.*)$' to uri 'js/bootstrap.min.js', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/js/bootstrap.min.js -> js/bootstrap.min.js, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^$' to uri 'js/bootstrap.min.js', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] pass through /var/www/itnews/js/bootstrap.min.js, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/css/prettyCheckable.css -> css/prettyCheckable.css, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^news/(.*)/(.*)/(.*)$' to uri 'css/prettyCheckable.css', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/css/prettyCheckable.css -> css/prettyCheckable.css, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^$' to uri 'css/prettyCheckable.css', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] pass through /var/www/itnews/css/prettyCheckable.css, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/js/jquery-1.11.0.min.js -> js/jquery-1.11.0.min.js, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^news/(.*)/(.*)/(.*)$' to uri 'js/jquery-1.11.0.min.js', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/js/jquery-1.11.0.min.js -> js/jquery-1.11.0.min.js, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^$' to uri 'js/jquery-1.11.0.min.js', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] pass through /var/www/itnews/js/jquery-1.11.0.min.js, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/plugins/timthumb.php -> plugins/timthumb.php, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^news/(.*)/(.*)/(.*)$' to uri 'plugins/timthumb.php', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/plugins/timthumb.php -> plugins/timthumb.php, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^$' to uri 'plugins/timthumb.php', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] pass through /var/www/itnews/plugins/timthumb.php, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/plugins/timthumb.php -> plugins/timthumb.php, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^news/(.*)/(.*)/(.*)$' to uri 'plugins/timthumb.php', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/plugins/timthumb.php -> plugins/timthumb.php, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^$' to uri 'plugins/timthumb.php', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] pass through /var/www/itnews/plugins/timthumb.php, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/plugins/timthumb.php -> plugins/timthumb.php, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^news/(.*)/(.*)/(.*)$' to uri 'plugins/timthumb.php', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/plugins/timthumb.php -> plugins/timthumb.php, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^$' to uri 'plugins/timthumb.php', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] pass through /var/www/itnews/plugins/timthumb.php, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/plugins/timthumb.php -> plugins/timthumb.php, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^news/(.*)/(.*)/(.*)$' to uri 'plugins/timthumb.php', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/plugins/timthumb.php -> plugins/timthumb.php, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^$' to uri 'plugins/timthumb.php', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] pass through /var/www/itnews/plugins/timthumb.php, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/plugins/timthumb.php -> plugins/timthumb.php, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^news/(.*)/(.*)/(.*)$' to uri 'plugins/timthumb.php', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/plugins/timthumb.php -> plugins/timthumb.php, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^$' to uri 'plugins/timthumb.php', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] pass through /var/www/itnews/plugins/timthumb.php, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/fonts/ocean_sans_std_book-webfont.woff -> fonts/ocean_sans_std_book-webfont.woff, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^news/(.*)/(.*)/(.*)$' to uri 'fonts/ocean_sans_std_book-webfont.woff', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/fonts/ocean_sans_std_book-webfont.woff -> fonts/ocean_sans_std_book-webfont.woff, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^$' to uri 'fonts/ocean_sans_std_book-webfont.woff', referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] pass through /var/www/itnews/fonts/ocean_sans_std_book-webfont.woff, referer: http://webserver/news/it/153/newsstory
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/images/body-bg.jpg -> images/body-bg.jpg, referer: http://webserver/css/style.css?v=1.0.1
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] strip per-dir prefix: /var/www/itnews/images/body-bg.jpg -> images/body-bg.jpg, referer: http://webserver/css/style.css?v=1.0.1
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] applying pattern '^$' to uri 'images/body-bg.jpg', referer: http://webserver/css/style.css?v=1.0.1
[perdir /var/www/itnews/] pass through /var/www/itnews/images/body-bg.jpg, referer: http://webserver/css/style.css?v=1.0.1
RELATED: I've just gone through all the php pages I can find and turned on error logging to maximum.
I'm getting
Notice: Undefined index: department in /var/www/itnews/news.php on line 15
Notice: Undefined index: newsid in /var/www/itnews/news.php on line 18
Notice: Undefined index: archive in /var/www/itnews/pages/news-archive.php on line 16
Notice: Undefined variable: page in /var/www/itnews/pages/news-archive.php on line 28
on the main page. I'm now thinking that something in php is faulting out and the redirects are actually failing because php itself is failing to resolve its variables.
is this likely?
