Access apache errordocument directive from PHP

Question

I would like to make a php script output like a real 404 page (as set in the Apache ErrorDocument directive) if certain conditions are not met. I\'m not sure how I can / if

Answer 1

There is no default method for that. But you can always cheat:

header("Status: 404 Not There");

// no worky
#readfile("http://$_SERVER[HTTP_HOST]/non-existant-url");

// doesn't work either (Apache detects the fraud)
#virtual("/non-existant-url");

// otherwise a HTTP class, this one works but is seldomly available
$request = new HttpRequest("http://localhost/error", 1);
$answer = $request->send();
print $answer->getBody();

This triggers a subrequest. Since it's on the local server, I would disregard any bigger performance penalties. But it might be worth to investiage using the Apache/mod_php virtual() function.

Notably this method depends on knowing a certain location of a 404 resource. If there is already url rewriting in place, then another trick is necessary in your .htaccess:

RewriteRule  ^non-existant-url$  error  [E=404,L]

This forces the resource to generate the expected result, thus making the default errordocument available.