- From: Abigail <abigail@ny.fnx.com>
- Date: Mon, 30 Dec 1996 10:14:31 -0500 (EST)
- To: brian@organic.com
- Cc: hedlund@best.com, dmk@research.bell-labs.com, http-wg%cuckoo.hpl.hp.com@hplb.hpl.hp.com, www-talk@w3.org
You, Brian Behlendorf, wrote: ++ ++ On Fri, 20 Dec 1996, M. Hedlund wrote: ++ > On Fri, 20 Dec 1996, Dave Kristol wrote: ++ > > I still consider the question unresolved as to what version an HTTP/1.x ++ > > server should return for an HTTP/1.0 request. ++ > [...] ++ > > Case 1 (return HTTP/1.0 to HTTP/1.0 request): ++ > > Case 2 (return HTTP/1.1 to HTTP/1.0 request): ++ > ++ > I agree with Dave that Case 1 is preferable. AOL's proxies apparently ++ > started giving users errors this week when a new version of Apache was ++ > released, which responded to 1.0 requests with 1.1 responses (Case 2). ++ > While this instance will likely be fixed next week, it does indicate how an ++ > HTTP/1.0 client can be confused by an HTTP/1.1 response. ++ ++ No, it indicates how a company with little concern for standards can dictate ++ implementations in other products through technological inertia. There's ++ nothing in the 1.1 response which should cause problems with the 1.0 proxy or ++ 1.0 client - section 3.1 of both the 1.0 and 1.1 specs promise this, and (as ++ best this group can tell) 1.1 fulfills this promise. But that wasn't known when HTTP/1.0 was made. It also isn't known whether HTTP/1.2 response headers won't contain anything that causes problems for HTTP/1.1 clients. ++ If it becomes common acceptance that 1.0 and 1.1 are incompatible, then no one ++ will ever upgrade to 1.1. This is exactly the perception this wg labored long ++ and hard to prevent. I don't follow this logic. Even if HTTP/1.1 and HTTP/1.0 would be completely imcompatible, as long as HTTP/1.1 servers talk HTTP/1.0 to HTTP/1.0 clients, there won't be a problem. ++ The big question is, what will happen first: will AOL fix their proxies, or ++ will Apache users "fix" [hack] their servers? Client service dictates that ++ we at Organic hack our servers, but the Apache development group has no such ++ requirements. I think the problem is more fundamental. If we force HTTP/1.0 clients to accept HTTP/1.1 reponses, they also have to accept HTTP/1.2, HTTP/1.7, etc responses. That of course means no HTTP/1.x header can ever contain something which causes problems with HTTP/1.0 clients. Abigail
Received on Monday, 30 December 1996 08:47:35 UTC