Re: URI Template experience

Aristotle Pagaltzis scripsit:

> Agreed. The less variance, the better. For something that might,
> among other things, basically supplant `<form>` for programmatic
> clients on the web, with the implied breadth of adoption, the #1
> goal should be relentless simplicity.

Simplicity itself is not a sensible goal.  Simplicity *for a given
amount of function* is a sensible goal.  A language in which the only
possible program is a hello-world one will be a very simple language,
but it doesn't provide much function.

URIs themselves aren't very simple at all, but they're about as simple
as they can be for the specified amount of function (protocol, host,
arbitrary hierarchical information path, arbitrary non-hierarchical
parameters).  It would simplify them, for example, to exclude %-escaping,
but only by sacrificing important function.

Specifically, template generation is more general than parsing, because
it goes from rich information to a wire protocol.  Supporting only the
parseable subset of templates means that important generation function
must be abandoned.

-- 
John Cowan  cowan@ccil.org  http://ccil.org/~cowan
Female celebrity stalker, on a hot morning in Cairo:
"Imagine, Colonel Lawrence, ninety-two already!"
El Auruns's reply:  "Many happy returns of the day!"

Received on Tuesday, 19 May 2009 20:34:09 UTC