RE: WG Last Call: Advanced Collections Requirements

Judy, JimD, you guys rock! The spec is wonderful. Clearly written and laid
out I was able to read it from top to bottom without once having to say to
myself "What are they talking about?" You have done a fantastic job and I
congratulate you for it.

Having read the whole thing I have two comments:

     3.1.5  Operations on a target resource do not affect references to it
            except as needed to enforce referential integrity.

The last sentence of the last paragraph of section 3.1.5 states that "For
example, if the target of a strong reference is moved, the reference must
change to reflect the new location of the target." I realize it isn't a
"MUST" but a "must" however I am concerned by this statement. When I create
a strong reference am I referencing a particular resource or a particular
location? If I am referencing a resource then having the strong reference
change when the resource is moved makes sense. However if I am referencing a
location then nothing but a DELETE should cause the strong reference to
change. A MOVE, of course, is defined as a COPY followed by a DELETE, so it
would seem that moving a resource on a strong location reference should
result in the strong reference's deletion.

I think it would be acceptable to specify that references only refer to
resources not locations but I believe there really should be some
clarification on the point.

     3.1.15 Operations on a direct reference, except for creation and
            deletion of the reference itself, are passed through to its
            target resource.

There are obvious problems with this rule for operations such as COPY and
MOVE of the parent collection. I think language is needed to call out the
fact that a direct reference is still a reference and thus certain methods,
especially COPY and MOVE, may not be passed through but rather will effect
the reference directly.

			Yaron


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jim Whitehead [mailto:ejw@ics.uci.edu]
> Sent: Thursday, August 06, 1998 4:00 PM
> To: WEBDAV WG
> Subject: WG Last Call: Advanced Collections Requirements
> 
> 
> *** WORKING GROUP LAST CALL FOR COMMENTS ***
> 
> ADVANCED COLLECTIONS REQUIREMENTS
> 
> Requirements for advanced collections capability within 
> WebDAV have been
> discussed at length on the mailing list, and at three 
> successive WebDAV
> face-to-face meetings.  It is my opinion as Chair that this 
> document is
> ready for final review, followed by submission to the IESG 
> for approval as
> an Informational RFC.
> 
> This is the final call for comments from the working group on 
> the document,
> "Requirements for Advanced Collection Functionality in 
> WebDAV", by Judith
> Slein and Jim Davis, <draft-ietf-webdav-collection-reqts-02>. 
>  This last
> call for comments period begins immediately, and ends Sunday, 
> August 30, at
> midnight Pacific time.  This allows over 3 weeks for 
> comments, including the
> opportunity to make comments at the Chicago IETF meeting.
> 
> At the end of the last call period, a new draft will be issued
> (revision -03), containing any changes based on comments 
> received during the
> working group last call period.  Unless there are significant 
> technical
> problems raised with this document during the last call 
> period, I intend to
> submit the -03 draft to the Internet Engineering Steering 
> Group (IESG) for
> approval as an Informational RFC.
> 
> Details on the procedures used to develop IETF documents can 
> be found in RFC
> 2026, which can be retrieved at:
> 
ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc2026.txt

If there are any procedural questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to
contact me, or raise an issue on the list.

- Jim Whitehead
Chair, IETF WEBDAV Working Group

Received on Monday, 10 August 1998 21:21:39 UTC