PHP: How can I get the URL that has been rewritten with mod_rewrite?

Question

For example, if I rewrite /category/topic/post/ to /index.php?cat=1&topic=2&post=3, how can I get /index.php?cat=1&topic=2&post=3

Answer 1

You can recreate it pretty easily. $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'] will still give you the correct file name for the script. This should do the trick:

$url = $_SERVER['PHP_SELF'];
$parts = array();
foreach( $_GET as $k=>$v ) {
    $parts[] = "$k=" . urlencode($v);
}

$url .= "?" . implode("&", $parts);

$url will now be the URL you're looking for.

EDIT: @carpereret's answer is far better. Upvote him instead