What role does the .htaccess file play in redirecting HTTP requests to HTTPS, and how does this impact form submissions in PHP?
The .htaccess file can be used to redirect HTTP requests to HTTPS by adding specific rewrite rules. This impacts form submissions in PHP because if the form is submitted over HTTP and then redirected to HTTPS, the form data might not be securely transmitted. To ensure secure form submissions, the redirection should be done before any form data is submitted.
// Check if the request is not secure (HTTP) and redirect to HTTPS
if (!isset($_SERVER['HTTPS']) || $_SERVER['HTTPS'] !== 'on') {
header('Location: https://' . $_SERVER['HTTP_HOST'] . $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']);
exit();
}