Maxmind geolocation apis: Apache vs PHP

Question

I am looking to implement a very basic country limiting on my site based on the Maxmind geoip database (free version). Basically, I want to limit all users of the site to one country only. What I'm wondering is: is there any performance gain using the Apache API versus the PHP API?

I want to be able to use the country code for more than just a simple redirect (display messages in different languages, etc.), so that's why I'm leaning toward PHP, but my number one concern is the impact on performance.

Thanks for any advice.

Answer 1

The main advantage with the apache API is that PHP is never invoked (unless you then redirect to a PHP page).

So the decision is made sooner, and you have more control over whether it affects your performance or not.

Other than that, there's not too much difference.