How do I convert a PHP query string into a slash-based URL?

Question

I am a pretty skilled programmer, but when it comes to RegEx and rewriting, I am a total n00b. I want to convert a URL from

http://www.example.com/lookup.ph         


        

Answer 1

Simple .htaccess example:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^lookup/([a-z0-9\-]+)/item/?$ /lookup.php?id=$1

This will match any alphanumeric (also will recognise dashes) string of any length as the 'id'. You can limit this to just numeric by changing the regex to ([0-9]+).

RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule ^lookup/([a-z0-9\-]+)/([a-z0-9\-]+)/?$ /lookup.php?id=$1&view=$2

This one will match /lookup/123/some-text/ to /lookup.php?id=123&view=some-text