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all external URLs look like 'module/action?key1=param1'. No customization possible--but it's fast. The difference is that the first uses PHP's GET, and the second uses PATH_INFO.

I've seen PATH_INFO several times,but still don't know what exactly it is?

+6  A: 

Actually, PATH_INFO is related to the Apache Web Server serving PHP pages and not PHP per-say.

PATH_INFO is an environment variable set by Apache when the AcceptPathInfo directive is turned on. It will contain trailing pathname information that follows an actual filename (or non-existent file in an existing directory) will be accepted or rejected. Environment variables are then passed on to the Apache/CGI module in charge of rendering the page.

The variable is accessible in PHP using $_SERVER['PATH_INFO'].

For example, assume the location /test/ points to a directory that contains only the single file here.html. Then requests for /test/here.html/more and /test/nothere.html/more both collect /more as PATH_INFO.

Apache Core Documentation: AcceptPathInfo Directive

Andrew Moore