RE: WebDAV and 404-handling

> From: w3c-dist-auth-request@w3.org
> [mailto:w3c-dist-auth-request@w3.org]On Behalf Of Clemm, Geoff
> Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2003 7:12 PM
> To: w3c-dist-auth@w3.org
> Subject: RE: WebDAV and 404-handling
>
>
>
> Currently, there is no standard WebDAV content for a 404
> body, so you can replace that body without violating
> the WebDAV standard.  Probably the safest thing to do is to
> only substitute the error page if the 404-body is
> empty.
>
> I do see a tension here between what the server would
> want to do for a "dumb" client (that just knows how to
> render html, and does nothing interesting with status
> codes) and what it would do for a "smart" client.  I
> personally agree with Julian and Lisa that in these cases,
> the needs of the smart client should take precedence, and
> the correct error code (404) should be returned.

I don't understand this statement.

If  the resource was not found, return HTTP status 404. If you want to send
descriptive text, do so, but do *not* change the status code. That would be
a bug, and I really don't understand what it's good for.

Julian

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