Re: HTML WG comment on XML Base

At 15:24 2000 07 05 +0200, Steven Pemberton wrote:
>XML base uses RFC 2396 to define how relative URLs are resolved.

>This appears to be an RFC1808 vs. RFC2396 issue.  A quick look at 1808 shows
>that the algorithm for resolving references required that the URL returned
>be the same as the base in this case. So it seems to be a non-interoperable
>change between the two RFCs.

This appears to be the case.  However, I do think it necessary for
XML Base (and XPointer and other specs currently being written) to
use RFC 2396--rather than a spec that it has superceded--as its
normative reference.

>While it might be handy to be able to refer to "the same URL as this
>document", it seems that it is handier to be able to say "the same URL as
>the base" (in a notation independent manner).

Per 2396, a relative URI reference of "." (or "./") already refers 
to the same URI as the base; a relative URI reference of "" (null) 
refers to the current document.

The more important issue is for relative URI refs such as #xxx.
Users use these for intra-document links, and RFC 2396 defines
such references as being relative to the current document, not
to any base.  (If one wanted to refer to the xxx fragment in
the document whose URI is that of the base, one would use ".#xxx".)

Also note that XPointer follows 2396, so an XPointer of "xxx" as
in the relative URI reference "#xxx" refers to a fragment within
the current document.

paul

Received on Wednesday, 5 July 2000 14:40:27 UTC