fastcgi.conf; vs fastcgi-php.conf snippet?

In the context of web servers like Nginx or Apache, both fastcgi.conf and fastcgi-php.conf are configuration snippets used to set up FastCGI processing for PHP scripts. However, they serve slightly different purposes:

1. fastcgi.conf: fastcgi.conf is a common configuration snippet used in Nginx to define FastCGI parameters that are used by various FastCGI-based applications, not just PHP. It contains generic FastCGI configuration settings that apply to all FastCGI applications handled by Nginx.

   For example, fastcgi.conf may include settings like fastcgi_pass, fastcgi_index, fastcgi_param, fastcgi_split_path_info, etc. These settings help Nginx communicate with FastCGI processes and pass necessary information to the FastCGI application.

   Here's a simplified example of a fastcgi.conf snippet:

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   fastcgi_param  QUERY_STRING       $query_string;
   fastcgi_param  REQUEST_METHOD     $request_method;
   fastcgi_param  CONTENT_TYPE       $content_type;
   fastcgi_param  CONTENT_LENGTH     $content_length;
   
   fastcgi_param  SCRIPT_NAME        $fastcgi_script_name;
   fastcgi_param  REQUEST_URI        $request_uri;
   fastcgi_param  DOCUMENT_URI       $document_uri;
   # ... other generic FastCGI parameters ...
   

2. fastcgi-php.conf: fastcgi-php.conf is a PHP-specific configuration snippet used in Nginx. It includes the settings from fastcgi.conf and adds additional PHP-specific parameters that are required to properly process PHP scripts with FastCGI.

   The fastcgi-php.conf snippet typically includes settings like fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME, fastcgi_param PHP_FLAG, fastcgi_param PHP_ADMIN_VALUE, etc., which are specific to PHP applications.

   Here's a simplified example of a fastcgi-php.conf snippet:

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   include        fastcgi.conf;
   
   fastcgi_param  SCRIPT_FILENAME    $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
   fastcgi_param  PHP_FLAG           "value";
   fastcgi_param  PHP_ADMIN_VALUE    "directive";
   # ... other PHP-specific FastCGI parameters ...
   

In summary, fastcgi.conf provides generic FastCGI settings that apply to all FastCGI applications, while fastcgi-php.conf extends fastcgi.conf and includes PHP-specific settings required to process PHP scripts correctly. When setting up Nginx to work with PHP via FastCGI, you would typically include both fastcgi.conf and fastcgi-php.conf in your Nginx configuration, using the include directive:

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server {
    # ... other server settings ...

    location ~ \.php$ {
        include fastcgi-php.conf;
        # Additional PHP-specific settings or directives can be added here if needed.
    }

    # ... other location blocks or server settings ...
}

By including both of these snippets in your Nginx configuration, you ensure that your PHP scripts are processed correctly using FastCGI.