what is the .htaccess file?how to create it?

[James Allen]

how to create .ht access file in php.what is the use of this file?

[lokeshm]

An htaccess file is a simple ASCII file, such as you would create through a text editor like NotePad or SimpleText

It uses the same syntax as Apache Server main configuration file
.htaccess files also known as "distributed configuration files",
With the help of .htaccess you can configure directory attributes
htaccess files affect the directory they are placed in and all sub-directories,
.htaccess files should be used in a case where the content providers need to make configuration changes to the server on a per-directory basis, In such cases the user may not have access to root of the server.

.htaccess does not have any file name extension
htaccess files must be uploaded as ASCII mode, not BINARY.
You may need to CHMOD the htaccess file to 644 or (RW-R--R--).

you should never use .htaccess files unless you don't have access to the main server configuration file.

One of the limitation of .htaccess is that it limits the server performance