What is .htaccess?
Wikipedia explains the .htaccess file as follow:In several web servers (most commonly Apache), .htaccess (hypertext access) is the default name of a directory-level configuration file that allows for decentralized management of web server configuration. The .htaccess file is placed inside the web tree, and is able to override a subset of the server's global configuration; the extent of this subset is defined by the web server administrator. The original purpose of .htaccess was to allow per-directory access control (e.g. requiring a password to access the content), hence the name. Nowadays .htaccess can override many other configuration settings, mostly related to content control.
For more information and several examples, the following links are highly recommended:<
.htaccess-Guide.com
JavascriptKit.com's "Comprehensive guide to .htaccess"
For a more comprehensive technical overview, please see the Apache documentation on .htaccess files.
