PHP file to load images but still cache everything?

Question

I'd like to use an htaccess file to redirect all media requests to a PHP file. The PHP file will analyse the filenames to see if they are in a list and if not, it will load the media files regularly.

I'd like to ensure everything about this works normally. As in, caching won't break. Do I need to do anything special with the PHP file?

where are you getting the error or where is the problem ? please paste some code — Khurram Ijaz, Jun 06 '11 at 16:48

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 06 '11 at 16:50

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Sending headers like this example would work.

Isn't this a problem BTW that can be partially handled by a RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f & just letting Apache handle existing files? Just asking...

answered Jun 06 '11 at 16:50

Wrikken

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Yes, that simplifies things a lot: "only rewrite to a script if file doesn't exist" - you'll want to serve the same caching headers as Apache does, though (particularly the `ETag` and `Last_modified`). – Piskvor left the building Jun 06 '11 at 16:52
Actually that isn't what I am trying to do. I need to see if an existing file is on a list of files not to serve to nonmembers. – Brandon Jun 06 '11 at 16:54
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RewriteMaps & other methods could be employed for that in Apache, but you're right it would be easier to let PHP handle things. Do close your session (`session_write_close()`) before sending big files though, otherwise the session is locked, and something like [X-Sendfile](http://codeutopia.net/blog/2009/03/06/sending-files-better-apache-mod_xsendfile-and-php/) is also nice. Common practice for protected/limited files is usually to not even have them directly available, i.e.: outside the document root of the site. – Wrikken Jun 06 '11 at 16:57

score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 11:48

Well, yes: you'll need to implement the caching logic (Expires:, ETag:, Last-Modified:, 304 Not Modified and such), as PHP doesn't do that for you; if you're using sessions, you'll want to play (or fight) with the session cache limiter (as it tends to screw up caching by sending no-cache and needs to be overridden with the correct caching headers). See this for a simple example - it is older but still functional.

While you're at it, implementing 206 Partial Content would also be useful ("resumable downloads").

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 06 '11 at 16:51

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You need to know how you want the browser cache to behave, and set the appropriate headers to be sent back with the results of the request.

answered Jun 06 '11 at 16:51

Codecraft

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PHP file to load images but still cache everything?

3 Answers3