Re: Some clarification on file URLs

I'm currently working on application note for JDF trying to merge all
current rules from RFC 2396, 1738, 1808 and apply them to file: URLs
appearing in JDF XML file.
I'll be happy to post it here (once it is internally reviewed) as an example
for "practical guidance" for new implementers not necessarily bound to
existing interpreters.

Israel


----- Original Message -----
From: "Larry Masinter" <LMM@acm.org>
To: "'Israel Viente'" <israel_viente@il.vio.com>; <uri@w3.org>
Cc: "'John Cowan'" <cowan@mercury.ccil.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 21, 2003 7:06 AM
Subject: RE: Some clarification on file URLs


The 'file' scheme is terribly underspecified. Over the years,
various persons have volunteered to write an update.

Most recently, in March
(http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/uri/2003Mar/0043.html)
Dan Kohn and Paul Hoffman volunteered to scope the work
and take on some of it, and on May 2
http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/uri/2003May/0016.html
Paul said that it was on his schedule for "this weekend".


Perhaps you could help them. My suggestion for a writeup
of "file:" is that the document might

 - examine what various current URI interpreters do
   on various platforms
   (IE, Mozilla, Opera, Safari, Java, Perl on
   Windows 98/ME/2K/XP vs. Mac vs. Linux)

 - recommend common platform-independent practice

I think this is the most practical guidance to give.
It's not a good idea to try to get the browser makers
to change much at this date, unless the intersection
of 'what works' is empty.

A little Google searching turned up some interesting
references...

  http://www.perldoc.com/perl5.6/lib/URI/file.html
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/wss/wss/_ex
ch2k_the_file_url_scheme.asp
http://www.mozilla.org/quality/networking/testing/filetests.html



Larry
--
http://larry.masinter.net

Received on Thursday, 22 May 2003 14:05:35 UTC