Re: Reminder: Never send fragid with HTTP GET (Was: fixed https://foafssl.org/test/WebId_

On 1/6/12 8:48 AM, Michael Hausenblas wrote:
>
>> That is a violation of the URI and HTTP specs.
>
>
> And just for the record: this has not/will not change(d) with HTTPbis, 
> see the 'Note' in section. '3.1.1.2. request-target' [1].

Michael,

Yes, but in the real world wide web, you have parser libraries, 
frameworks etc..., as shown by this simple case that violate this rule. 
The don't process the fragment identifier and you end up with a server 
having to process a URL with a fragment identifier.

A server can 404, 401, 406 etc... and the negotiation conversation goes 
on between user agent and server.

My fundamental approach is to understand the rules, but also be 
cognizant of rules violation and the context in which they occur. Simply 
telling folks they broken rules they don't understand or have no control 
over doesn't help end-users, developers, or plumbers seeking to exploit 
the WWW.

As you know, these kinds of problems dog all standards, so implementors 
do have the option to be more defensive and flexible bearing in mind the 
fundamental goal of reducing hard / irrecocoverable faults in the 
system. Unlike hardcore OS pointers, the WWW deftly uses 404 to keep the 
system rolling :-)


Kingsley


>
> Cheers,
>     Michael
>
> [1] 
> http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-httpbis-p1-messaging-18#section-3.1.1
>
> -- 
> Dr. Michael Hausenblas, Research Fellow
> LiDRC - Linked Data Research Centre
> DERI - Digital Enterprise Research Institute
> NUIG - National University of Ireland, Galway
> Ireland, Europe
> Tel. +353 91 495730
> http://linkeddata.deri.ie/
> http://sw-app.org/about.html
>
> On 6 Jan 2012, at 13:31, Tim Berners-Lee wrote:
>
>>
>> (On 2012-01 -05, at 19:04, Henry Story wrote:
>>
>>> 1. do a GET on the URL with #i
>>>
>>> --------------------------8<----------------------------8<---------------------------- 
>>>
>>> hjs@bblfish[0]$ telnet 2sea.org 80
>>> Trying 46.228.199.61...
>>> Connected to 2sea.org.
>>> Escape character is '^]'.
>>> GET http://2sea.org/sea.jsp#i HTTP/1.1
>>
>>
>> That is a violation of the URI and HTTP specs.
>> Never send the hash over HTTP.
>> <foo#bar> means "Whatever is referred to a as <#bar> in <foo>".
>> You must strip off the # and everything after it to retrieve <foo>.
>> Just don't do it.
>>
>> Tim)
>
>
>


-- 

Regards,

Kingsley Idehen	
Founder&  CEO
OpenLink Software
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