Apache Cookbook, 2nd Edition

9.4. Providing Error Documents in Multiple Languages

Problem

On a multilingual (content-negotiated) Web site, you want your error documents to be content-negotiated as well.

Solution

The Apache 2.0 default configuration file contains a configuration section, initially commented out, that allows you to provide error documents in multiple languages customized to the look of your Web site, with very little additional work.

Uncomment those lines. You can identify the lines by looking for the following comment in your default configuration file:

# The internationalized error documents require mod_alias, mod_include
# and mod_negotiation.  To activate them, uncomment the following 30 lines.

In Apache 1.3 this is harder, but there’s a solution in the works, as of this writing, that will make it similar to the 2.0 implementation. Check the Apache Cookbook Web site for more information.

Discussion

The custom error documents provided with Apache 2.0 combine a variety of techniques to provide internationalized error messages. As of this writing, these error messages are available in German, English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Swedish, Italian, and Portuguese. Based on the language preference set in the client browser, the error message is delivered in the preferred language of the end user.

Using content negotiation, the correct variant of the document (i.e., the right language) is selected for the user, based on her browser preference settings. For more information about content negotiation, see the content ...