A module like mod_php would have to determine -sometime in the translate_name phase- that it is serving the object requested and prevent ap_core_translate from running (returning OK on it's translate name hook?) the make darn sure it's handler did not decline the request.
how would you enforce the fact that there are several phases between translation and content where modules can set r->handler? for instance, it's common in mod_perl land to use fixups to set r->handler based on $foo. a few core modules do this too (such as mod_include and mod_dav, I noticed).
while I'm still new exactly how APR fits in the whole picture, maybe some of ap_core_translate belongs there, since what seems to be happening is that some OSs get tripped up on valid URIs (and 3.3 of RFC 2396 does seem to indicate that the URI presented is indeed valid).
--Geoff
