doc/bugs/redirect.mdwn

@@ -27,3 +27,27 @@ then the following command should print 302
 
 >> The CGI spec (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3875) says that a CGI can cause a redirect by returning a Location: header.
 >> So it's possible; desirable (due to your point about conflicting with git-annex support) is a different matter.
+
+>>> One of the major things that separates ikiwiki from other wiki software
+>>> is that ikiwiki is a wiki compiler: ordinary page-views are purely
+>>> static HTML, and the CGI only gets involved when you do something
+>>> that really has to be dynamic (like an edit).
+>>>
+>>> However, there is no server-independent static content that ikiwiki
+>>> could write out to the destdir that would result in that redirect.
+>>>
+>>> If you're OK with requiring the [[plugins/404]] plugin (and a
+>>> web server where it works, which I think still means Apache) then
+>>> it would be possible to write a plugin that detected symlinks,
+>>> stored them in the `%wikistate`, and used them to make the
+>>> [[plugins/404]] plugin (or its own hook similar to the one
+>>> in that plugin) do a 302 redirect instead of a 404.
+>>> Similarly, a plugin that assumed a suitable Apache
+>>> configuration with fairly broad `AllowOverrides`,
+>>> and wrote out `.htaccess` files, would be a feasible thing
+>>> for someone to write.
+>>>
+>>> I don't think this is a bug; I think it's a request for a
+>>> feature that not everyone will want. The solution to those
+>>> is for someone who wants the feature to
+>>> [[write a plugin|plugins/write]]. --[[smcv]]