How to use AllowOverride and Options in Apache?

In Apache server, AllowOverride and Options are two directives used to configure specific directories or virtual hosts.

The AllowOverride directive is used to control whether the use of the .htaccess file for Apache configuration is allowed in a specific directory. The .htaccess file is used to customize Apache configuration in a specific directory. The AllowOverride directive has several options:

1. Allowing the use of any .htaccess configuration in a specific directory.
2. None: No .htaccess configurations are allowed in a specific directory.
3. Other options include specifying specific directives that are allowed to be used, such as Options, AuthConfig, FileInfo, Limit, etc.

Here is an example configuration, setting AllowOverride to All:

<Directory /var/www/html>
    AllowOverride All
</Directory>

The directive is used to configure access options for a specific directory or virtual host. Common options include:

1. Access to specific directories or virtual hosts is prohibited.
2. Indexes allow for directory browsing when there is no default index file present.
3. FollowSymLinks: Enables access to directories via symbolic links.
4. ExecCGI: Permits the execution of CGI scripts within the directory.

Here is an example configuration, setting Options to Indexes and FollowSymLinks.

<Directory /var/www/html>
    Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
</Directory>

Please note that the AllowOverride and Options directives can be globally configured in the main configuration file (e.g. httpd.conf), or can be configured in specific directories or virtual hosts. These directives can be used multiple times in the configuration file as needed.