URL mapping to FastCGI app

This question is not FastCGI specific, but it may be that FastCGI 
affects the solution so I am asking it here.

I have a FastCGI C++ app that runs our main site.  I have been tasked 
with shortening the URLs that are used to access the app.  Originally 
the URLs looked something like this:
   http://DOMAIN/cgi-bin/APPNAME/CHANNEL/CONTEXT
where CONTEXT was 0 or more PATH_INFO parameters.

I have sucessfully mapped http://DOMAIN/ to the app and eliminated 
cgi-bin from all URLs.  What I want to do is eliminate APPNAME from the 
URL when there is a CHANNEL.  The CHANNEL is an alphanumeric keyword 
that is looked up in our database.  The resulting urls would look like:
   http://DOMAIN/CHANNEL/CONTEXT
where CONTEXT might be blank.

I would rather not maintain a list of rewrite rules in either httpd.conf 
or an .htaccess file.  Instead I want the FastCGI app to be the handler 
for all names in the top level of the document directory where the name 
is not a physical file or directory.

I thought of trying to redirect the ErrorDocument into my app but this 
seems like a hack that may come back to haunt me.

I could maybe do it with a single RewriteRule if it had a flag that said 
to only apply if the file/directory did not exist.

I suppose I could use a custom file extension with a RewriteRule that 
matched the extension and a handler for that extension.  That would 
almost get me to where I want to be.  The URLs would look like
   http://DOMAIN/CHANNEL.EXT/CONTEXT

Does anyone have other suggestions?

-- 
Bryan White
Mal: "Well, my days of not taking you seriously are certainly
coming to a middle."
Simon: "This must be what going mad feels like."
___________________________________
fastcgi-developers mailing list
http://fastcgi.com/fastcgi-developers/