RE: GET, POST, and side-effects

----------
] From: Shel Kaphan  <sjk@amazon.com>
] To: "David W. Morris"  <dwm@shell.portal.com>
] Cc: HTTP Caching Subgroup  <http-caching@pa.dec.com>
] Subject: RE: GET, POST, and side-effects
] Date: Friday, January 05, 1996 12:04PM
]
] David W. Morris writes:
]  >
]  >
]  > On Thu, 4 Jan 1996, Paul Leach wrote:
]  >
]  > > I agree -- a POST in general has to go back to the origin server.
]  > > Although see my "sine server" for a case where it doesn't.
]  >
]  > I must be truly dense ... why wouldn't the sine server be implemented
]  > with GET?
]  >
]
] It's mostly a thought experiment.  Due primarily to URL length
] limitations, POST is often used where GET would semantically be sufficient.

I'd always assumed that they were always the same semantically, and 
that POST was invented primarily because of the length issue. So I must 
be confused. When can't
	GET foo?x=y&a=b
be just as well implemented as:
	POST foo
	x=y&a=b
except for the length issue?

Paul

Received on Saturday, 6 January 1996 00:33:07 UTC