Re: Idempotent partial updates

ons 2012-02-29 klockan 23:52 +0000 skrev Mike Kelly:
> Upgrading PUT so it is less specific about replacement wouldn't result
> in this breakage. Clients don't make requests to servers arbitrarily,
> they make them according to whatever application they are fulfilling.
> i.e. if an application is operating on the basis that PUT requests to
> its resources are replacements, then HTTP relaxing the semantics of
> PUT to permit partials would not create breakage.

That's besides the point. To be able to extend PUT like this within
HTTP/1.x it needs to be possible to send the extended request form
arbitrarily without causing breakage. A condition that partial PUT may
only be sent if it's known prior to sending the request that the
receiving server is somehow magically capable of accepting this form of
PUT without causing breakage is not acceptable within HTTP/1.x.

For a change in PUT syntax to be acceptable within HTTP/1.1 you MUST be
able to send such PUT requests to any server without any prior knowledge
of the capabilities of that server and know that the server will process
the request with an acceptable outcome. Storing the partial
representation as the sole representation of the resource is not
regarded as an acceptable outcome so this is not acceptable extension of
PUT within HTTP/1.x.

Regards
Henrik

Received on Thursday, 1 March 2012 00:28:58 UTC