Fastcgi server variables vs. apache

Server NGINX
1

First of all, thank you for Nginx. It is a breath of fresh air after
Apache. And though it has taken some getting used to, I’ve discovered
that I like the config file syntax better in Nginx.

Second, there are three server variables whose values are not the same
under Nginx as under Apache: PATH_INFO, PATH_TRANSLATED, and
SCRIPT_NAME. Obviously this makes trouble when trying to use
applications designed for Apache. In addition, because the
“fastcgi_param” directive cannot be used inside an “if” statement, it is
impossible to write a general rule to set their values the same as under
Apache. This is an issue when using URIs of the form
“/directory/script.php/blah”.

PATH_INFO: Under Apache, it doesn’t exist unless using URIs of the above
form; then it equals “/blah”. Under Nginx, it never exists.

PATH_TRANSLATED: Under Apache, it doesn’t exist unless using URIs of the
same form; then it equals “/document/root/blah” (note: not
“/document/root/directory/blah”). Under Nginx, it exists when using such
URIs, but it equals “/document/root”.

SCRIPT_NAME: Under Apache, when using URIs of the same form, it equals
“/directory/script.php”. Under Nginx, it equals
“/directory/index.php/blah”.

So far I haven’t been able to find a general rule to fix this. What I
would like to do is put something like this at the end of
fastcgi_params:

if ($document_uri ~ “^/(.+).php/(.*)”) {
fastcgi_param PATH_INFO /$2;
fastcgi_param PATH_TRANSLATED $document_root/$2;
fastcgi_param SCRIPT_NAME /$1.php;
}

If someone called a URI that matched the pattern, these values would
kick in; otherwise, the defaults would be used. But this can’t be done
because “fastcgi_param” isn’t allowed inside “if”. Next I tried the
following at the end of fastcgi_params:

if ($document_uri ~ “^/(.+).php/(.*)”) {
set $apache_path_info /$2;
set $apache_path_translated $document_root/$2;
set $apache_script_name /$1.php;
}
fastcgi_param PATH_INFO $apache_path_info;
fastcgi_param PATH_TRANSLATED $apache_path_translated;
fastcgi_param SCRIPT_NAME $apache_script_name;

But this sets PATH_INFO, PATH_TRANSLATED, and (most problematically)
SCRIPT_NAME to empty values even for URIs that don’t match the pattern.

Has anyone found a way around this? I.e. a way of writing a general rule
(i.e., one that is not hard-coded for specific URIs) that will normalize
the three variables to their Apache values?

Posted at Nginx Forum: fastcgi server variables vs. apache

2

Hello androo,

Tuesday, April 7, 2009, 6:55:15 AM, you wrote:

First of all, thank you for Nginx. It is a breath of fresh air
after Apache. And though it has taken some getting used to, I’ve
discovered that I like the config file syntax better in Nginx.

Second, there are three server variables whose values are not the
same under Nginx as under Apache: PATH_INFO, PATH_TRANSLATED, and
SCRIPT_NAME. Obviously this makes trouble when trying to use
applications designed for Apache. In addition, because the
“fastcgi_param” directive cannot be used inside an “if” statement,
it is impossible to write a general rule to set their values the
same as under Apache. This is an issue when using URIs of the form “/directory/script.php/blah”.

PATH_INFO: Under Apache, it doesn’t exist unless using URIs of the
above form; then it equals “/blah”. Under Nginx, it never exists.

PATH_TRANSLATED: Under Apache, it doesn’t exist unless using URIs
of the same form; then it equals “/document/root/blah” (note: not
“/document/root/directory/blah”). Under Nginx, it exists when using
such URIs, but it equals “/document/root”.

SCRIPT_NAME: Under Apache, when using URIs of the same form, it
equals “/directory/script.php”. Under Nginx, it equals “/directory/index.php/blah”.

So far I haven’t been able to find a general rule to fix this. What
I would like to do is put something like this at the end of fastcgi_params:

if ($document_uri ~ “^/(.+).php/(.*)”) {
fastcgi_param PATH_INFO /$2;
fastcgi_param PATH_TRANSLATED $document_root/$2;
fastcgi_param SCRIPT_NAME /$1.php;
}

If someone called a URI that matched the pattern, these values
would kick in; otherwise, the defaults would be used. But this can’t
be done because “fastcgi_param” isn’t allowed inside “if”. Next I
tried the following at the end of fastcgi_params:

if ($document_uri ~ “^/(.+).php/(.*)”) {
set $apache_path_info /$2;
set $apache_path_translated $document_root/$2;
set $apache_script_name /$1.php;
}
fastcgi_param PATH_INFO $apache_path_info;
fastcgi_param PATH_TRANSLATED $apache_path_translated;
fastcgi_param SCRIPT_NAME $apache_script_name;

But this sets PATH_INFO, PATH_TRANSLATED, and (most
problematically) SCRIPT_NAME to empty values even for URIs that don’t match the pattern.

Has anyone found a way around this? I.e. a way of writing a general
rule (i.e., one that is not hard-coded for specific URIs) that will
normalize the three variables to their Apache values?

Since version 0.7.31 use may use fastcgi_split_path_info:

location ~ ^(.+\.php)(.*)$ {

    fastcgi_split_path_info         ^(.+\.php)(.*)$;
    fastcgi_param  SCRIPT_FILENAME

/path/to/php$fastcgi_script_name;
fastcgi_param PATH_INFO $fastcgi_path_info;
fastcgi_param PATH_TRANSLATED
$document_root$fastcgi_path_info;
…
}

3

Brilliant! Many thanks. --Androo

Since version 0.7.31 use may use fastcgi_split_path_info:

location ~ ^(.+.php)(.*)$ {

fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+.php)(.*)$;
fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME /path/to/php$fastcgi_script_name;
fastcgi_param PATH_INFO $fastcgi_path_info;
fastcgi_param PATH_TRANSLATED $document_root$fastcgi_path_info;
…
}

Posted at Nginx Forum:
fastcgi server variables vs. apache

Posted at Nginx Forum: Re: fastcgi server variables vs. apache

4

On Thu, Dec 10, 2009 at 03:28:17PM +0100, My SchizoBuddy wrote:

what is /path/to/php?
is it where the root index.php is

for links like dev.flow3.local/index.php/flow3/welcome
the path_translated is C:/nginx/html/flow3/Web/flow3/welcome which is
wrong cause there is no folder flow3 inside the Web folder. flow3 and
welcome are query parameters not folders.

location ~ ^(.+.php)(.)$ {
fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+.php)(.)$;
fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME C:/nginx/html$fastcgi_script_name;
fastcgi_param PATH_INFO $fastcgi_path_info;
…
}

For dev.flow3.local/index.php/flow3/welcome
SCRIPT_FILENAME will be “C:/nginx/html/index.php”
PATH_INFO - “/flow3/Web/flow3/welcome”

–
Igor S.
http://sysoev.ru/en/

5

what is /path/to/php?
is it where the root index.php is

for links like dev.flow3.local/index.php/flow3/welcome
the path_translated is C:/nginx/html/flow3/Web/flow3/welcome which is
wrong cause there is no folder flow3 inside the Web folder. flow3 and
welcome are query parameters not folders.

6

@shizobuddy: /path/to/php is usually $document_root if set properly so
you come up with the following generic config:

fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root/$fastcgi_script_name;

@androo: instead of setting fastcgi_param in a if (in fact you can’t),
you can still set variables to do so. Example

    set $script index.php;
    set $path_info "";
    if ($uri ~ "^(.+\.php)(.*)") {
        set $script $1;
        set $path_info $2;
    }
    fastcgi_param PATH_INFO $path_info;
    ....

Posted at Nginx Forum:

7

Dear Igor,

According to my understanding, either way PATH_INFO is set to
url-encoded string, while according to CGI 1.1 specification, it should
contain the url-decoded string. Which brings troubles when there are
spaces in file names, for instance.

I am using nginx 1.0.4 and this still seems like an issue. Is there a
way to pass url-decoded strings over to fastcgi applications?

Thank you in advance for response!

Andrejs

Igor S. Wrote:

        set $script $1;

    fastcgi_param  SCRIPT_FILENAME

/path/to/php$script_name;
[email protected]
nginx Info Page

Posted at Nginx Forum:

8

On Wed, Dec 16, 2009 at 08:40:17AM -0500, spirit wrote:

@shizobuddy: /path/to/php is usually $document_root if set properly so you come up with the following generic config:

fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root/$fastcgi_script_name;

The slash is not needed:
fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;

    ....

It’s better to use fastcgi_split_path_info:

location ~ ^(.+\.php)(.*)$ {
    fastcgi_split_path_info         ^(.+\.php)(.*)$;
    fastcgi_param  SCRIPT_FILENAME

/path/to/php$fastcgi_script_name;
fastcgi_param PATH_INFO $fastcgi_path_info;

or named captures:

location ~ ^(?<script_name>.+\.php)(?<path_info>.*)$ {

    fastcgi_param  SCRIPT_FILENAME  /path/to/php$script_name;
    fastcgi_param  PATH_INFO        $path_info;

–
Igor S.
http://sysoev.ru/en/