Month: November 2015

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htaccess debugging workflow

Writing complex mod_rewrite redirection rules with .htacess can lead to a downwards spiral of frustration, paranoia and utter bewilderment.

Today I’m working on a particularly tricky scenario so I decided to get more methodical about it.

Here’s a summary of the workflow I’ve been using. I have to remind myself to be deliberately slow and methodical – if I get impatient and rush ahead I’m much more likely to miss something unexpected and end up going in circles.

My setup uses a locally installed Apache server and the Firefox Selenium IDE plugin:

  • Make a new directory in the server root, to keep everything in one place, with an index.php echoing some debugging info:
    <?php
File: <?= __FILE__ ?>
Script name: <?= $_SERVER[ 'SCRIPT_NAME' ] ?>
Request URI: <?= $_SERVER[ 'REQUEST_URI' ] ?>
Query string: <?= $_SERVER[ 'QUERY_STRING' ] ?>
Cookie check: <?= $_COOKIE[ 'myCookie' ] ?>
  • Break the task up into a list of manageable blocks e.g.
    1. Set a cookie
    2. Append flag to URL if cookie is present
    3. If flag present remove it and set query string
  • Make directories named after each block e.g.
    • /set-a-cookie
    • /append-flag-to-url-if-cookie-is-present
    • /if-flag-present-remove-it-and-set-query-string
  • Each directory contains an .htaccess file and index.php
  • Put a comment at the top of each .htaccess identifying the block it addresses e.g. # set-a-cookie. That way when you start copying & pasting you can keep track of what each block does
  • The index file simply pulls in the root index.php:
    <?php require( '../index.php' );
  • Make a new Selenium test suite and begin constructing a test case for the first block. These tests are generally pretty simple: open a URL and check that the location is redirected as expected.
  • Remember to test for multiple scenarios such as requests for:
    • with trailing slashes
    • without trailing slashes
    • with query strings
    • index.php
    • static files
  • Start working on the .htaccess file, running the tests each time you make a change. Once a block is working move to the next one
  • Repeat until done

Work slowly and try not to make too many changes at once. mod_rewrite may seem like voodoo but don’t let it give you the heebie-jeebies!