Browser Displayed URL

Hi,

I have talked to a few browser developers about this issue and 
would also like to get the opinions of this list. The question
is - what should be the known URL for any web node?

For example, if a node has this base statement: 
	<base href="http://www.hp.com/go/AccessGuide">

while the actual file location for this node is: 
	{htdocs}/AccessGuide/AccessGuide.html. 

and most readers access this node via an imagemap redirect:
	"rect /AccessGuide/AccessGuide.html 56,364  162,393"

When the node is reached, what location should browsers display 
to the user and use in hot lists?
  http://www.hp.com/cgi-bin/imagemap/ahp/ahpAccessHP.map?106,379
   or
  http://www.hp.com/AccessGuide/AccessGuide.html
   or
  http://www.hp.com/go/AccessGuide

I have seen browsers use all three forms: 
	how I got there, 
	where I was redirected, 
	what the node says it is.


This is real important to me (and I suspect the web community) because 
we wish to help users maintain their links to our material. Clearly, 
the first form is the hardest for me to maintain.  All URLS in the 
document are server relative so there is no issue about relative paths.

It seems to me that the known location for a node should be under 
control of the server/document author not the browser/reader.  If 
not, how is a developer going to help readers maintain links to 
the developer's site? 

Regards,
Dave Hollander

Received on Thursday, 25 May 1995 11:04:35 UTC