= Apache: Rewrite vs Redirect =

Apache has two ways to serve one page when you were asked for another: ''Rewrite*'' rules via [[http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.0/mod/mod_rewrite.html|mod_rewrite]] (e.g. ''RewriteRule'', ''RewriteCond''), and ''Redirect*'' rules via [[http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.0/mod/mod_alias.html|mod_alias]] (e.g. ''Redirect'' and ''RedirectMatch'').

What are the differences?

* ''mod_rewrite'' is generally considered the more powerful, and more complex, solution. It offers the ''RewriteCond'' directive, which lets you only run a Rewrite rule if certain conditions are met.
* ''mod_alias'' is simpler, and lets you match on a simple string or on a regular expression, but does not allow you to put conditions in (other than those defined by the regexp)