Next message: Bjoern Hoehrmann: "Re: charset parameter"
Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2001 20:31:02 +0100 (BST)
From: Nick Kew <nick@webthing.com>
To: Martin Duerst <duerst@w3.org>
cc: W3C Validator <www-validator@w3.org>
Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.4.21.0107282011170.304-100000@fenris.webthing.com>
Subject: Re: charset parameter
On Fri, 27 Jul 2001, Martin Duerst wrote:
> At 05:38 01/07/26 +0200, Terje Bless wrote:
>
> >If I take my own preference and modify it to be more in line with what you
> >and Bj$B‹S(Bn are saying (AFAICT), I think we end up with the following
> >pseudo-algorithm.
OK, smart****, what's this with charset="ISO-2022-JP" for posting to
this list? Or are you really in Japan?
> >1) Check HTTP for charset.
> > a) If found, use it (for now).
>
> No. If found, use it, done.
Agreed.
> > b) If not found, assume to be ASCIIpatible (for now).
Questionmark: shouldn't that be iso-8859-1?
> >2) Check for META charset (using explicit or implied HTTP charset).
> > a) If found, use unconditonally, overriding HTTP.
>
> No, don't override. See HTML 4, section 5.2.
Agreed again.
> >3) Check for a CGI "charset" parameter.
> > a) If found, use unconditionally, overriding META, but mark doc invalid.
>
> This overrides both META and HTTP, so it should come first.
> The 'charset' parameter corresponds to an explicit (per page) user setting
> in a browser.
er??? WTF is a CGI "charset" parameter? CGI has exactly what comes to
it from HTTP. Is there some other HTTP charset header set by browsers?
If you're talking file upload, than that's a separate case to HTTP and
shouldn't be confused. HTTP headers in file upload are irrelevant
to the uploaded file.
MIME part-headers for file upload are a different story. Indeed, I
wonder if they're what Terje has in mind in this argument - in which
case we've been talking at cross-purposes. In principle they should
serve as equivalent to HTTP headers. But that discounts browser
issues, and the likelihood of authors using an entirely different
machine to the webserver for their development work. So that gives
us some serious potential for user confusion.
> > b) If not found...
> > I. If META or HTTP had explicit charset, keep using it.
> > II. If no META or HTTP charset, punt and tell the user to "deal with
> > it"
>
> Yes, this is the right thing to do.
Basically, yes. Next question: when we tell the user to "deal
with it", what is the severity of our message? I'd be inclined
to stick with Warning.
--
Nick Kew