Re: proposed change to a spec

David Booth wrote:
> On Mon, 2011-02-28 at 03:23 +0000, Nathan wrote:
>> Nathan wrote:
>>> David Booth wrote:
>>>> On Mon, 2011-02-28 at 02:06 +0000, Nathan wrote:
>>>>> I'm thinking about asking for HTTP-BIS to be changed, specifically 
>>>>> [[
>>>>>     A "representation" is information in a format that can be readily
>>>>>     communicated from one party to another. A resource representation is
>>>>>     a realization (copy/instance) of the state of that resource, as
>>>>>     observed at some point in the past (e.g., in a response to GET) 
>>>>> or to
>>>>>     be desired at some point in the future (e.g., in a PUT request).
>>>>> ]]
>>>>>
>>>>> does anybody here object?
>>>> Yes, vehemently.  Obviously what you GET is some reflection of the state
>>>> of the resource, but the client cannot assume that the information it
>>>> receives reflects the *full* state of the resource.  Any amount of
>>>> complexity may be hidden behind the HTTP interface.  In fact, that
>>>> complexity may not even be deterministic.  Consider today's weather in
>>>> Oaxaca:
>>>> http://www.weather.com/weather/today/Oaxaca+Mexico+MXOA0069 The full 
>>>> state of that resource certainly cannot be conveyed in the HTTP
>>>> response.
>>> what is the resource? information about the weather in Oaxaca Mexico, or 
>>> "the weather" in Oaxaca Mexico?
> 
> That resource provides *information* about the weather in Oaxaca.

and from you're other reply:

 > Similarly, it is pointless to try to define what things in the
 > universe are innately IRs and what things are non-IRs.  If something
 > adheres to the HTTP protocol and provides a awww:representation in
 > response to a GET, then it *is* an IR.

that's self definitional, the resource /is/ the information, and the 
current state that resource comprises /fully/ of the information you get 
in the resource representation, it is realization (copy/instance) of all 
the information provided at some point in the past - it may not be a 
full set of information about the thing(s) described in the information, 
but it is the full set of information made available by that resource. 
The information provided is the resource state.

best,

nathan

Received on Monday, 28 February 2011 04:18:20 UTC