This has to be the most frustrating and mind boggling problem I have encountered so far.

I have a small demo project which has about 5 controllers. When I go to the project using the URL 'localhost/demo/public/' it opens the indexcontrollers indexaction related view, which is correct. This page has 3 links to 3 other controllers.

Now when I press the link to the studentController (which is one of the 3 controllers) I get the following error:

```
  Message: Invalid controller specified (demo)
    Stack trace:

    #0 C:\xampp\library\Zend Framework\library\Zend\Controller\Front.php(954): Zend_Controller_Dispatcher_Standard->dispatch(Object(Zend_Controller_Request_Http), Object(Zend_Controller_Response_Http))
    #1 C:\xampp\library\Zend Framework\library\Zend\Application\Bootstrap\Bootstrap.php(97): Zend_Controller_Front->dispatch()
    #2 C:\xampp\library\Zend Framework\library\Zend\Application.php(366): Zend_Application_Bootstrap_Bootstrap->run()
    #3 C:\xampp\htdocs\Demo\public\index.php(26): Zend_Application->run()
    #4 {main}  

    Request Parameters:

    array (
      'controller' => 'demo',
      'action' => 'public',
      'module' => 'default',
    ) 

```

It seems to completely misread my URL, so naturally I checked my apache's rewrite module, however this is turned on by default in Xampp. Still, here's my apache's httpd.conf file:

```
    #
    # This is the main Apache HTTP server configuration file.  It contains the
    # configuration directives that give the server its instructions.
    # See <URL:http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2> for detailed information.
    # In particular, see 
    # <URL:http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/mod/directives.html>
    # for a discussion of each configuration directive.
    #
    # Do NOT simply read the instructions in here without understanding
    # what they do.  They're here only as hints or reminders.  If you are unsure
    # consult the online docs. You have been warned.  
    #
    # Configuration and logfile names: If the filenames you specify for many
    # of the server's control files begin with "/" (or "drive:/" for Win32), the
    # server will use that explicit path.  If the filenames do *not* begin
    # with "/", the value of ServerRoot is prepended -- so "logs/foo.log"
    # with ServerRoot set to "C:/xampp/apache" will be interpreted by the
    # server as "C:/xampp/apache/logs/foo.log".
    #
    # NOTE: Where filenames are specified, you must use forward slashes
    # instead of backslashes (e.g., "c:/apache" instead of "c:\apache").
    # If a drive letter is omitted, the drive on which httpd.exe is located
    # will be used by default.  It is recommended that you always supply
    # an explicit drive letter in absolute paths to avoid confusion.

    #
    # ServerRoot: The top of the directory tree under which the server's
    # configuration, error, and log files are kept.
    #
    # Do not add a slash at the end of the directory path.  If you point
    # ServerRoot at a non-local disk, be sure to point the LockFile directive
    # at a local disk.  If you wish to share the same ServerRoot for multiple
    # httpd daemons, you will need to change at least LockFile and PidFile.
    #
    ServerRoot "C:/xampp/apache"

    #
    # Listen: Allows you to bind Apache to specific IP addresses and/or
    # ports, instead of the default. See also the <VirtualHost>
    # directive.
    #
    # Change this to Listen on specific IP addresses as shown below to 
    # prevent Apache from glomming onto all bound IP addresses.
    #
    #Listen 0.0.0.0:80
    #Listen [::]:80
    Listen 80

    # Default charset UTF8
    # AddDefaultCharset utf-8

    #
    # Dynamic Shared Object (DSO) Support
    #
    # To be able to use the functionality of a module which was built as a DSO you
    # have to place corresponding `LoadModule' lines at this location so the
    # directives contained in it are actually available _before_ they are used.
    # Statically compiled modules (those listed by `httpd -l') do not need
    # to be loaded here.
    #
    # Example:
    # LoadModule foo_module modules/mod_foo.so
    #

    LoadModule access_compat_module modules/mod_access_compat.so
    LoadModule actions_module modules/mod_actions.so
    LoadModule alias_module modules/mod_alias.so
    LoadModule allowmethods_module modules/mod_allowmethods.so
    LoadModule asis_module modules/mod_asis.so
    LoadModule auth_basic_module modules/mod_auth_basic.so
    #LoadModule auth_digest_module modules/mod_auth_digest.so
    #LoadModule authn_anon_module modules/mod_authn_anon.so
    LoadModule authn_core_module modules/mod_authn_core.so
    #LoadModule authn_dbd_module modules/mod_authn_dbd.so
    #LoadModule authn_dbm_module modules/mod_authn_dbm.so
    LoadModule authn_file_module modules/mod_authn_file.so
    #LoadModule authn_socache_module modules/mod_authn_socache.so
    #LoadModule authnz_ldap_module modules/mod_authnz_ldap.so
    LoadModule authz_core_module modules/mod_authz_core.so
    #LoadModule authz_dbd_module modules/mod_authz_dbd.so
    #LoadModule authz_dbm_module modules/mod_authz_dbm.so
    LoadModule authz_groupfile_module modules/mod_authz_groupfile.so
    LoadModule authz_host_module modules/mod_authz_host.so
    #LoadModule authz_owner_module modules/mod_authz_owner.so
    LoadModule authz_user_module modules/mod_authz_user.so
    LoadModule autoindex_module modules/mod_autoindex.so
    #LoadModule bucketeer_module modules/mod_bucketeer.so
    #LoadModule cache_module modules/mod_cache.so
    #LoadModule case_filter_module modules/mod_case_filter.so
    #LoadModule case_filter_in_module modules/mod_case_filter_in.so
    #LoadModule cern_meta_module modules/mod_cern_meta.so
    LoadModule cgi_module modules/mod_cgi.so
    #LoadModule charset_lite_module modules/mod_charset_lite.so
    #LoadModule dav_module modules/mod_dav.so
    #LoadModule dav_fs_module modules/mod_dav_fs.so
    LoadModule dav_lock_module modules/mod_dav_lock.so
    #LoadModule dbd_module modules/mod_dbd.so
    #LoadModule deflate_module modules/mod_deflate.so
    LoadModule dir_module modules/mod_dir.so
    #LoadModule disk_cache_module modules/mod_disk_cache.so
    #LoadModule dumpio_module modules/mod_dumpio.so
    #LoadModule echo_module modules/mod_echo.so
    LoadModule env_module modules/mod_env.so
    #LoadModule example_module modules/mod_example.so
    #LoadModule expires_module modules/mod_expires.so
    #LoadModule ext_filter_module modules/mod_ext_filter.so
    #LoadModule fcgid_module modules/mod_fcgid.so # did not work at runtime
    #LoadModule file_cache_module modules/mod_file_cache.so
    #LoadModule filter_module modules/mod_filter.so
    LoadModule headers_module modules/mod_headers.so
    #LoadModule ident_module modules/mod_ident.so
    #LoadModule imagemap_module modules/mod_imagemap.so
    LoadModule include_module modules/mod_include.so
    LoadModule info_module modules/mod_info.so
    LoadModule isapi_module modules/mod_isapi.so
    #LoadModule ldap_module modules/mod_ldap.so
    #LoadModule logio_module modules/mod_logio.so
    LoadModule log_config_module modules/mod_log_config.so
    #LoadModule log_forensic_module modules/mod_log_forensic.so
    #LoadModule mem_cache_module modules/mod_mem_cache.so
    LoadModule mime_module modules/mod_mime.so
    #LoadModule mime_magic_module modules/mod_mime_magic.so
    LoadModule negotiation_module modules/mod_negotiation.so
    LoadModule proxy_module modules/mod_proxy.so
    LoadModule proxy_ajp_module modules/mod_proxy_ajp.so
    #LoadModule proxy_balancer_module modules/mod_proxy_balancer.so
    #LoadModule proxy_connect_module modules/mod_proxy_connect.so
    #LoadModule proxy_ftp_module modules/mod_proxy_ftp.so
    #LoadModule proxy_http_module modules/mod_proxy_http.so
    LoadModule rewrite_module modules/mod_rewrite.so
    LoadModule setenvif_module modules/mod_setenvif.so
    #LoadModule speling_module modules/mod_speling.so
    LoadModule ssl_module modules/mod_ssl.so
    LoadModule status_module modules/mod_status.so
    #LoadModule substitute_module modules/mod_substitute.so
    #LoadModule unique_id_module modules/mod_unique_id.so
    #LoadModule userdir_module modules/mod_userdir.so
    #LoadModule usertrack_module modules/mod_usertrack.so
    #LoadModule version_module modules/mod_version.so
    #LoadModule vhost_alias_module modules/mod_vhost_alias.so

    <IfModule !mpm_netware_module>
    <IfModule !mpm_winnt_module>
    #
    # If you wish httpd to run as a different user or group, you must run
    # httpd as root initially and it will switch.  
    #
    # User/Group: The name (or #number) of the user/group to run httpd as.
    # It is usually good practice to create a dedicated user and group for
    # running httpd, as with most system services.
    #
    User daemon
    Group daemon

    </IfModule>
    </IfModule>

    # 'Main' server configuration
    #
    # The directives in this section set up the values used by the 'main'
    # server, which responds to any requests that aren't handled by a
    # <VirtualHost> definition.  These values also provide defaults for
    # any <VirtualHost> containers you may define later in the file.
    #
    # All of these directives may appear inside <VirtualHost> containers,
    # in which case these default settings will be overridden for the
    # virtual host being defined.
    #

    #
    # ServerAdmin: Your address, where problems with the server should be
    # e-mailed.  This address appears on some server-generated pages, such
    # as error documents.  e.g. admin@your-domain.com
    #
    ServerAdmin postmaster@localhost

    #
    # ServerName gives the name and port that the server uses to identify itself.
    # This can often be determined automatically, but we recommend you specify
    # it explicitly to prevent problems during startup.
    #
    # If your host doesn't have a registered DNS name, enter its IP address here.
    #
    ServerName localhost:80

    #
    # DocumentRoot: The directory out of which you will serve your
    # documents. By default, all requests are taken from this directory, but
    # symbolic links and aliases may be used to point to other locations.
    #
    DocumentRoot "C:/xampp/htdocs"

    #
    # Each directory to which Apache has access can be configured with respect
    # to which services and features are allowed and/or disabled in that
    # directory (and its subdirectories). 
    #
    # First, we configure the "default" to be a very restrictive set of 
    # features.  
    #
    <Directory />
        Options FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride None
        Order deny,allow
        Deny from all
    </Directory>

    # XAMPP: We disable operating system specific optimizations for a listening 
    # socket by the http protocol here. IE 64 bit make problems without this.  
    AcceptFilter http none

    #
    # Note that from this point forward you must specifically allow
    # particular features to be enabled - so if something's not working as
    # you might expect, make sure that you have specifically enabled it
    # below.
    #

    #
    # This should be changed to whatever you set DocumentRoot to.
    #
    <Directory "C:/xampp/htdocs">
        #
        # Possible values for the Options directive are "None", "All",
        # or any combination of:
        #   Indexes Includes FollowSymLinks SymLinksifOwnerMatch ExecCGI MultiViews
        #
        # Note that "MultiViews" must be named *explicitly* --- "Options All"
        # doesn't give it to you.
        #
        # The Options directive is both complicated and important.  Please see
        # http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.2/mod/core.html#options
        # for more information.
        #
        Options Indexes FollowSymLinks Includes ExecCGI

        #
        # AllowOverride controls what directives may be placed in .htaccess files.
        # It can be "All", "None", or any combination of the keywords:
        #   Options FileInfo AuthConfig Limit
        #
        AllowOverride All

        #
        # Controls who can get stuff from this server.
        #
        Order allow,deny
        Allow from all

    </Directory>

    #
    # DirectoryIndex: sets the file that Apache will serve if a directory
    # is requested.
    #
    <IfModule dir_module>
        DirectoryIndex index.php index.pl index.cgi index.asp index.shtml index.html index.htm \
                       default.php default.pl default.cgi default.asp default.shtml default.html default.htm \
                       home.php home.pl home.cgi home.asp home.shtml home.html home.htm
    </IfModule>

    #
    # The following lines prevent .htaccess and .htpasswd files from being 
    # viewed by Web clients. 
    #
    <Files ".ht*">
        Require all denied
    </Files>

    #
    # ErrorLog: The location of the error log file.
    # If you do not specify an ErrorLog directive within a <VirtualHost>
    # container, error messages relating to that virtual host will be
    # logged here.  If you *do* define an error logfile for a <VirtualHost>
    # container, that host's errors will be logged there and not here.
    #
    ErrorLog "logs/error.log"

    #ScriptLog "logs/cgi.log"

    #
    # LogLevel: Control the number of messages logged to the error_log.
    # Possible values include: debug, info, notice, warn, error, crit,
    # alert, emerg.
    #
    LogLevel warn

    <IfModule log_config_module>
        #
        # The following directives define some format nicknames for use with
        # a CustomLog directive (see below).
        #
        LogFormat "%h %l %u %t \"%r\" %>s %b \"%{Referer}i\" \"%{User-Agent}i\"" combined
        LogFormat "%h %l %u %t \"%r\" %>s %b" common

        <IfModule logio_module>
          # You need to enable mod_logio.c to use %I and %O
          LogFormat "%h %l %u %t \"%r\" %>s %b \"%{Referer}i\" \"%{User-Agent}i\" %I %O" combinedio
        </IfModule>

        #
        # The location and format of the access logfile (Common Logfile Format).
        # If you do not define any access logfiles within a <VirtualHost>
        # container, they will be logged here.  Contrariwise, if you *do*
        # define per-<VirtualHost> access logfiles, transactions will be
        # logged therein and *not* in this file.
        #
        #CustomLog "logs/access.log" common

        #
        # If you prefer a logfile with access, agent, and referer information
        # (Combined Logfile Format) you can use the following directive.
        #
        CustomLog "logs/access.log" combined
    </IfModule>

    <IfModule alias_module>
        #
        # Redirect: Allows you to tell clients about documents that used to 
        # exist in your server's namespace, but do not anymore. The client 
        # will make a new request for the document at its new location.
        # Example:
        # Redirect permanent /foo http://localhost/bar

        #
        # Alias: Maps web paths into filesystem paths and is used to
        # access content that does not live under the DocumentRoot.
        # Example:
        # Alias /webpath /full/filesystem/path
        #
        # If you include a trailing / on /webpath then the server will
        # require it to be present in the URL.  You will also likely
        # need to provide a <Directory> section to allow access to
        # the filesystem path.

        #
        # ScriptAlias: This controls which directories contain server scripts. 
        # ScriptAliases are essentially the same as Aliases, except that
        # documents in the target directory are treated as applications and
        # run by the server when requested rather than as documents sent to the
        # client.  The same rules about trailing "/" apply to ScriptAlias
        # directives as to Alias.
        #
        ScriptAlias /cgi-bin/ "C:/xampp/cgi-bin/"

    </IfModule>

    <IfModule cgid_module>
        #
        # ScriptSock: On threaded servers, designate the path to the UNIX
        # socket used to communicate with the CGI daemon of mod_cgid.
        #
        #Scriptsock "logs/cgi.sock"
    </IfModule>

    #
    # "C:/xampp/cgi-bin" should be changed to whatever your ScriptAliased
    # CGI directory exists, if you have that configured.
    #
    <Directory "C:/xampp/cgi-bin">
        AllowOverride None
        Options None
        Order allow,deny
        Allow from all
    </Directory>

    <IfModule mime_module>
        #
        # TypesConfig points to the file containing the list of mappings from
        # filename extension to MIME-type.
        #
        TypesConfig "conf/mime.types"

        #
        # AddType allows you to add to or override the MIME configuration
        # file specified in TypesConfig for specific file types.
        #
        #AddType application/x-gzip .tgz
        #
        # AddEncoding allows you to have certain browsers uncompress
        # information on the fly. Note: Not all browsers support this.
        #
        #AddEncoding x-compress .Z
        #AddEncoding x-gzip .gz .tgz
        #
        # If the AddEncoding directives above are commented-out, then you
        # probably should define those extensions to indicate media types:
        #
        AddType application/x-compress .Z
        AddType application/x-gzip .gz .tgz

        #
        # AddHandler allows you to map certain file extensions to "handlers":
        # actions unrelated to filetype. These can be either built into the server
        # or added with the Action directive (see below)
        #
        # To use CGI scripts outside of ScriptAliased directories:
        # (You will also need to add "ExecCGI" to the "Options" directive.)
        #
        AddHandler cgi-script .cgi .pl .asp

        # For type maps (negotiated resources):
        #AddHandler type-map var

        #
        # Filters allow you to process content before it is sent to the client.
        #
        # To parse .shtml files for server-side includes (SSI):
        # (You will also need to add "Includes" to the "Options" directive.)
        #
        AddType text/html .shtml
        AddOutputFilter INCLUDES .shtml
    </IfModule>

    <IfModule mime_magic_module>
        #
        # The mod_mime_magic module allows the server to use various hints from the
        # contents of the file itself to determine its type.  The MIMEMagicFile
        # directive tells the module where the hint definitions are located.
        #
        MIMEMagicFile "conf/magic"
    </IfModule>

    #
    # Customizable error responses come in three flavors:
    # 1) plain text 2) local redirects 3) external redirects
    #
    # Some examples:
    #ErrorDocument 500 "The server made a boo boo."
    #ErrorDocument 404 /missing.html
    #ErrorDocument 404 "/cgi-bin/missing_handler.pl"
    #ErrorDocument 402 http://localhost/subscription_info.html
    #

    #
    # EnableMMAP and EnableSendfile: On systems that support it, 
    # memory-mapping or the sendfile syscall is used to deliver
    # files.  This usually improves server performance, but must
    # be turned off when serving from networked-mounted 
    # filesystems or if support for these functions is otherwise
    # broken on your system.
    #
    #EnableMMAP off
    #EnableSendfile off

    # Supplemental configuration
    #
    # The configuration files in the conf/extra/ directory can be 
    # included to add extra features or to modify the default configuration of 
    # the server, or you may simply copy their contents here and change as 
    # necessary.

    # XAMPP specific settings
    Include "conf/extra/httpd-xampp.conf"

    # Server-pool management (MPM specific)
    Include "conf/extra/httpd-mpm.conf"

    # Multi-language error messages
    Include "conf/extra/httpd-multilang-errordoc.conf"

    # Fancy directory listings
    Include "conf/extra/httpd-autoindex.conf"

    # Language settings
    Include "conf/extra/httpd-languages.conf"

    # User home directories
    Include "conf/extra/httpd-userdir.conf"

    # Real-time info on requests and configuration
    Include "conf/extra/httpd-info.conf"

    # Virtual hosts
    Include "conf/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf"

    # Distributed authoring and versioning (WebDAV)
    # Attention! WEB_DAV is a security risk without a new userspecific configuration for a secure authentifcation 
    # Include "conf/extra/httpd-dav.conf"

    # Implements a proxy/gateway for Apache.
    Include "conf/extra/httpd-proxy.conf"

    # Various default settings
    Include "conf/extra/httpd-default.conf"

    # Secure (SSL/TLS) connections
    Include "conf/extra/httpd-ssl.conf"
    #
    # Note: The following must must be present to support
    #       starting without SSL on platforms with no /dev/random equivalent
    #       but a statically compiled-in mod_ssl.
    #
    <IfModule ssl_module>
        SSLRandomSeed startup builtin
        SSLRandomSeed connect builtin
    </IfModule>

    # Configure mod_proxy_html to understand HTML4/XHTML1
    #<IfModule proxy_html_module>
    #Include etc/extra/proxy-html.conf
    #</IfModule>

    # AJP13 Proxy
    <IfModule mod_proxy.c>
    <IfModule mod_proxy_ajp.c>
    Include "conf/extra/httpd-ajp.conf"
    </IfModule>
    </IfModule>

```

The only other thing I could think off was the config.ini file or my bootstrap.. however I can't really find anything wrong with those either...

Config.ini:

```
[production]
phpSettings.display_startup_errors = 0
phpSettings.display_errors = 0
includePaths.library = APPLICATION_PATH "/../library"
bootstrap.path = APPLICATION_PATH "/Bootstrap.php"
bootstrap.class = "Bootstrap"
appnamespace = "Application"
resources.frontController.controllerDirectory = APPLICATION_PATH "/controllers"
resources.frontController.params.displayExceptions = 0

resources.db.adapter = "PDO_MYSQL"
resources.db.params.host = "localhost"
resources.db.params.username = "root"
resources.db.params.password = ""
resources.db.params.dbname = "mydb"

resources.layout.layoutPath = APPLICATION_PATH "/layouts/scripts/"

[staging : production]

[testing : production]
phpSettings.display_startup_errors = 1
phpSettings.display_errors = 1

[development : production]
phpSettings.display_startup_errors = 1
phpSettings.display_errors = 1
resources.frontController.params.displayExceptions = 1

```

Bootstrap:

```
<?php

    class Bootstrap extends Zend_Application_Bootstrap_Bootstrap
    {
        protected function _initViewHelpers() {
            $view = new Zend_View();
            $view->addHelperPath( APPLICATION_PATH . '/views/helpers/', 'Application_View_Helper');
            $viewRenderer = Zend_Controller_Action_HelperBroker::getStaticHelper('ViewRenderer');
            $viewRenderer->setView($view);
            Zend_Controller_Action_HelperBroker::addHelper($viewRenderer);
        }
    }

```

Last thing could be the htaccess file but aside from the application environment it's unchanged from when I generated the project using the Zend Tool...

```
SetEnv APPLICATION_ENV development

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -s [OR]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -l [OR]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -d
RewriteRule ^.*$ - [NC,L]
RewriteRule ^.*$ index.php [NC,L]

```

If anyone is able to crack and solve this problem I will construct a statue in your image! (metaphorically)

**UPDATE:**

As requested here's the link that I create to link towards the student controller:

```
<p><a href="<?php echo $this->url(array("controller"=>"student","action"=>"index"));?>">Studenten</a></p>

```

Note: This link is on the view of the IndexController's IndexAction.

**UPDATE 2:**

To clarify my project structure I have the proper directory setup for my controllers, their actions and corresponding views.
For example views/scripts/student/ has a index.phtml, add.phtml, edit.phtml and delete.phtml. The same goes for the other controllers