Does the LAST RewriteRule in Apache need to be stated last?

Question

Is

RewriteRule ^foo$ /bar/ [L,R,NC]

identical to

RewriteRule ^foo$ /bar/ [R,NC,L]

?

I would have thought that the LAST|L rule would HAVE to be last?

Answer 1

The purpose of that flag is to be able to define rules in different config files, but still be assured that the one with the LAST flag is done last.

Answer 2

Have a look at the official docu: http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/mod/mod%5Frewrite.html
Search for the term: 'last|L' (last rule)

The answer is NO. It just means that if a rule is matched that no other ones will be processed after that one. If you use this flag keep the sequence of your rules in mind.