Re: Fwd: New Version Notification for draft-toomim-httpbis-versions-02.txt

On 01.11.2024 23:09, Michael Toomim wrote:
> ...
> Let me phrase this as a question:
>
>     What's the relationship between *versions* and *resources*?
>
> I believe we agree that a resource *has* versions, because a resource
> changes its state over time, and each state can be identified with (or
> as) a version.
>
> We also agree that a version *can* be served *as* a resource, as this
> occurs e.g. whenever I make a "index2.html" file.
>
> However, I disagree that a version *necessarily is* a resource. Julian
> argues that a version is an HTTP resource because you can interact with
> it using HTTP. However, I don't think that being able to interact with
> something over HTTP is enough to make it a resource. If my resource /foo
> has two representations (one in HTML, and one in text/plain), then I can
> interact with those representations over HTTP, but that doesn't make
> each representation a separate resource. Likewise, I think a resource
> can have multiple versions, and those versions do not necessarily need
> to be their own resources.
>
> This semantic distinction seems to be at the root of our different
> perspectives on the versions-02 draft.
>
> Thoughts?
> ...

If it does have a URI (not necessarily an HTTP(s) URI), it is a resource
in the sense of RFC 3986:

"This specification does not limit the scope of what might be a
resource; rather, the term "resource" is used in a general sense for
whatever might be identified by a URI. Familiar examples include an
electronic document, an image, a source of information with a consistent
purpose (e.g., "today's weather report for Los Angeles"), a service
(e.g., an HTTP-to-SMS gateway), and a collection of other resources. A
resource is not necessarily accessible via the Internet; e.g., human
beings, corporations, and bound books in a library can also be
resources. Likewise, abstract concepts can be resources, such as the
operators and operands of a mathematical equation, the types of a
relationship (e.g., "parent" or "employee"), or numeric values (e.g.,
zero, one, and infinity)."

Best regards, Julian

Received on Friday, 1 November 2024 22:54:05 UTC