Re: Claification requested in Host:

> From fielding@kiwi.ICS.UCI.EDU Wed Feb 19 13:49:41 1997
> 
> In message <199702192051.AA00778@ash.isi.edu>, touch@isi.edu writes:
> >The 1.1 spec says, in sec. 3.2.2:
> >
> >   The "http" scheme is used to locate network resources via the HTTP
> >   protocol. This section defines the scheme-specific syntax and
> >   semantics for http URLs.
> >
> >          http_URL       = "http:" "//" host [ ":" port ] [ abs_path ]
> >
> >          host           = <A legal Internet host domain name
> >                            or IP address (in dotted-decimal form),
> >                            as defined by Section 2.1 of RFC 1123>
> >
> >foo is not a legal internet host domain name, in that case.
> 
> Yes it is.  We are not talking about FQDNs here, and the referenced
> section defines any hostname, including local ones like "www" or "foo".
> 1123 refers to 952 which defines the syntax for Internet host domain name.

Local ones are "nicknames", and are allowed
but discouraged, except for transition names.
(bottom page 3).

The host requirements (1123) clearly states that:

            (b)  Abbreviation expansion MUST be done exactly once, and
                 MUST be done in the context in which the name was
                 entered.


            DISCUSSION:
                 For example, if an abbreviation is used in a mail
                 program for a destination, the abbreviation should be
                 expanded into a full domain name and stored in the
                 queued message with an indication that it is already
                 complete.  Otherwise, the abbreviation might be
                 expanded with a mail system search list, not the
                 user's, or a name could grow due to repeated
                 canonicalizations attempts interacting with wildcards.

www, in the above context, is clearly an abbreviation 
which must be expanded in the context of which the name was 
entered.

	browser-entered URLs *MUST* expand foo at the client,
	regardless of whether a proxy is used

	URLs inside documents *MUST* be expanded at the client
	as well.

There you have it.

Joe
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Joe Touch - touch@isi.edu		    http://www.isi.edu/~touch/
ISI / Project Leader, ATOMIC-2, LSAM       http://www.isi.edu/atomic2/
USC / Research Assistant Prof.                http://www.isi.edu/lsam/

Received on Wednesday, 19 February 1997 15:11:24 UTC