Re: Web Identity draft spec released

On 11/25/13 10:55 AM, Manu Sporny wrote:
> <strong opinion> :P
>
> I personally think that 303 is a non-starter for any Linked Data
> application.

It's an option. Also note, 303 is no longer the only heuristic for 
dealing with entity name and entity description document name 
disambiguation. You can also use the following:

1. 200 OK on the hashless URI -- since that's being used to denote an 
entity (thing)
2. Use the "content-location:" response header to indicate the location 
(URL) of the entity description document (or description) .

Net effect, we don't inject ambiguity into HTTP URI based entity 
denotation (naming).

>   Many developers don't understand the nuance and will thus
> mess it up, which will lead to ambiguity such that no developer will be
> able to depend on 303s.

Most developers understand pointers and unary operators for 
name->address indirection. They just don't instinctively recognize it 
when presented via HTTP URIs.

>
> There's nothing majorly wrong with hash URIs, except that the
> requirement of their use can be a bit confusing to most Web developers.

The issue is poor narratives based on poor framing. The subject matter 
is much more broadly understood amongst developers (web or pre-web) than 
many assume.
> For example:
>
> https://example.com/identities/melvin#person
>
> I've found that I have to explain to developers why #person is needed at
> the end of the URI when there is only one object at that URL (in the
> payments and identity use cases).

That URI is a WebID that denotes an entity of type Agent i.e., a Person 
(one kind of Agent). By using a # you end with two URIs for two distinct 
entities (things):

[1] Person ID
[2] Description Document ID .


>   That this has to be explained so often
> leads me to believe that we'll have the same problem w/ hash URIs being
> used to differentiate between the document and the object than we do
> with 303s.

No, of course not.

[1] http://bit.ly/WAJGCp -- HTTP URI denotation in a single slide
[2] http://bit.ly/15tk1Au -- hash based HTTP URI based denotation
[3] http://bit.ly/11xnQ36 -- hashless HTTP URI based denotation
[4] http://bit.ly/17RQQXX -- Names, Name Resolution Protocols, and 
Clouds (Networks).


-- 

Regards,

Kingsley Idehen	
Founder & CEO
OpenLink Software
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