Paul Leach: Re: Decision about Host?

[ This was meant for the list -- ange ]
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Date:    Thu, 05 Oct 1995 19:39:33 -0700
From:    Paul Leach <paulle@microsoft.com>
To:      http-wg-request@cuckoo.hpl.hp.com
Subject: Re: Decision about Host?

The privacy issue says that if you want totally transparent operation 
then you MUST return 400 in case of ambiguity. If privacy is not a 
concern, then the server MAY return 300 multiple choices.
- ----------
] From: "Balint Nagy Endre"  <bne@bne.ind.eunet.hu>
] To: M. Hedlund  <hedlund@best.com>
] Cc: http WG  <netmail!http-wg%cuckoo.hpl.hp.com@hplb.hpl.hp.com>
] Subject: Re: Decision about Host?
] Date: Friday, October 06, 1995 2:55AM
]
] M. Hedlund writes:
] > At 4:52 PM 10/5/95, Balint Nagy Endre wrote:
] > >>Jeffrey Mogul writes: [...]
] > >> Good point about the current naming schemes.  But then what does it
] > >> mean if a client sends:
] > >>
] > >>       Host: www
] > >>
] > >> To me, this is an error, and the server can report it as such.
] > >> What else could it possibly do? [...]
] > >
] > >300 Multipe choices would be fine.
] >
] > Not if the provider wished to make one or more of the choices semi-private
] > (i.e., only available by explicit request).  Also, in the case Andrew
] > mentioned -- where an ISP wishes to give each of many customers an unique
] > domain name -- there could be many, many choices available.  (See
] > <URL:ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/>, if you can get to it.)
] As I can recall, ftp.netcom.com has a really long pub dir. I hope no one
] ISP is willing to open www.user.isp.net for all of its individual users.
] You can expect too many choices only if you want to get http://www/.
] If you want to get something different, the there will be significantly less
] candidates. Most often only one of them will have ~user for any user name.
] But your semi-privacy requirement suggests that in case of ambiguity
] 300 response SHOULD be returned. (Instead of the proposed MUST.)
]
] Andrew. (Endre Balint Nagy) <bne@bne.ind.eunet.hu>
] 



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Received on Sunday, 8 October 1995 15:26:02 UTC