[dxwg] [conneg] IETF submission must not include query param pattern requirements

azaroth42 has just created a new issue for https://github.com/w3c/dxwg:

== [conneg] IETF submission must not include query param pattern requirements ==
I believe that any submission to the IETF for the processing rules around content negotiation for profiles that includes query parameters as a mechanism rather than the proposed Accept-Profile header will be rejected, as it conflicts with base W3C and IETF architectural constraints.

In particular:

* https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7320#section-2.4   
> Extensions MUST NOT constrain the format or semantics of queries.

Meaning that we must not say that uses of _view or _format or _profile or similar have special semantics.

* https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3986#section-3.4
> The query component contains non-hierarchical data that, along with data in the path component (Section 3.3), serves to identify a resource [...]
 
Meaning that the query parameter is included in the URI for determining the identity of the resource. Thus foo?_profile=p1 is a different resource (in RDF terms) from foo or foo?_profile=p2.  This would make it not content negotiation at all, just separate resources.

* https://www.w3.org/TR/webarch/#frag-coneg
> Content negotiation refers to the practice of making available multiple representations via the same URI.

Combined with the above, makes _profile not count as "content negotiation", as the URI is different because the query component of the URI is part of the opaque URI string.

And etc.  I'm sure that @RubenVerborgh can provide further supporting documents.

This is NOT to say that the WG cannot specify such an approach, but that it must be separate from the formal content negotiation deliverable.

Please view or discuss this issue at https://github.com/w3c/dxwg/issues/263 using your GitHub account

Received on Monday, 25 June 2018 17:10:28 UTC