304 HTTP Response

What is the 304 status code, and how to best use it for search engines

[whitewizard]

Hi

First Post *hello* and was just wondering about the 304 status code.

Take LAMP for example - a site which uses rewrites, and doesn't change content that frequently.

Is this process as simple as if (current_date!= last_modified_date) throw 304? or is it something else?

WW

--added
Is it recommended?
Is it good for Google?
Should/Could/Does it associate with standard sitemap lastmod?

[jdMorgan]

This is the default server behaviour, so yes, I'd say it is recommended.

If object's Last-Modified date precedes date received in If-Modified-Since client request header, then return 304-Not Modified.

Jim

[whitewizard]

Is this for images/css/js etc or html files also?

[jdMorgan]

Any object, as stated.

Jim

[whitewizard]

<edit>I</edit> always seem to get a 200 for "GET /" - should you also get a 304?

Is this affected by storing temporary 'internet' or caching files in browser settings (am using firefox/livehttpheaders)