W3C Systems Team input on Apache conditional redirects

ACTION: Ralph see if W3C Systems Team can help with question on Apache conditional redirects [recorded in http://www.w3.org/2008/01/08-swd-minutes.html#action17]

I sent the following message yesterday and have received a
quite detailed reply, which I will forward in my next message.

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Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:23:11 -0500
From: "Ralph R. Swick" <swick@w3.org>
Subject: advice solicited by SWD WG on apache conditional redirects

In its document "Best Practice Recipes for Publishing RDF
Vocabularies", (TR at [1], editor's draft at [2]) the Semantic Web
Deployment Working Group is addressing the following
challenges (among many):

- Get people to use 303 redirects for RDF vocabularies
- As much KISS as feasible
- Show things that can be done by users of a hosting service;
   that is, with minimal involvement of the server administrators
- Handle clients that wish HTML as well as clients that wish RDF

The document shows specific configuration directives for
apache but also intends that the patterns be clear enough
to be translated for other servers by the community.

The WG knows that the proper way to handle content negotiation
in apache is via MultiViews and type maps [3].  However, this
requires server sysadmin support and is something more than
KISS.  Also, MultiViews has a file naming restriction that has
been considered too onerous [3,4].

Therefore, the WG has chosen to use conditional redirects
to implement the 2x2 most common cases.  At the face-to-face
in October, the question was raised whether conditional
redirects were "common" [4].  DanBri offered to ping some
of his contacts in the Apache Foundation.  He never did that
and the WG is still wondering what other reactions "Those
Who Know Apache Well" might have.

Webmasters, etc. -- any comments you might have on
the use of RewriteCond in general, or the use of RewriteCond
specifically as the SWD WG proposes, would be appreciated.

[1] http://www.w3.org/TR/2006/WD-swbp-vocab-pub-20060314/
[2] http://www.w3.org/2006/07/SWD/recipes/draft-20071203
[3] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-swbp-wg/2006Feb/0076
[4] http://www.w3.org/2006/07/SWD/track/issues/24
[5] http://www.w3.org/2007/10/09-swd-minutes.html#item04

Thanks,
-Ralph

Received on Tuesday, 15 January 2008 15:01:34 UTC