.htaccess Rewrite basics - doing redirects and other easily

Introduction to .htaccess rewriting for Apache

What is .htaccess ?

This is a file that is used by Apache to do some special "tricks" without any html code or programming language, more like a special configuration file that can be changed easily and is only related to a directory (and subdirectories).
That means - to use it your webserver has to be Apache. If you don't know it, ask your website hoster, he should know; if not - think about going to a better hoster with a better knowledge.

What can you do with .htaccess?

Very nice things - e.g. redirects to other domains and subdomains, url rewriting, search engine cloaking. :)

enarion.net provides some examples:

Where can you find more information about .htaccess?

Discuss questions and ideas regarding .htaccess rewrite rules at the enarion.net forum