Does PHP's file_get_contents cache a 301 statu

Question

If PHP does cache a permanent redirect:

1. For how long?
2. Can this period be changed?

I would also be interested in the default behaviour on this matter of Perl, Python, and any other languages used primarily for web development

Answer 1

The http_fopen_wrapper.c which is used by file_get_contents() contains no caching logic whatsoever. In particular it responds to the Location: header only, and does not care for the actual HTTP status code. (It does not notice if it's a temporary redirect or a permanent.)

Answer 2

If you want more direct control over your http queries I suggest using curl.