gopher-uri-03.txt

Hi, I've checked the gopher draft for the ftp:/// problem:

| A Gopher URL takes the form:
|   gopher://<host>:<port>/<gopher-path>

Somewhere we need "non-empty", a similar text as for ftp should
do it.  How about just copying this from STD 66 ?

Insert as last sentence in chapter 2 of the ftp-uri I-D:
  For the "ftp" scheme a missing authority or empty host
  is considered as invalid.

Above "If :<port> is omitted" in 2.1 of the gopher-uri I-D:
  For the "gopher" scheme an empty host is considered as
  invalid.

Two other observations in the gopher-uri I-D:

1 - The "historical note" at the end of 2:

| Historical note: The Gopher protocol was widely implemented
| in the early 1990s, but few Gopher servers are in use today.

That sounds too much like "obsolete, forget it".  How about
adding a hint, that gopher URLs may still work well with some
other protocols like daytime, dict, finger, rwhois, etc. ?

2 - Gopher+ idea of a language

| +<view_name>%20<language_name>

| For example a Gopher+ string of 
| "+application/postscript%20Es_ES"
| refers to the Spanish language postscript alternate view of
| a Gopher+ item

Now that's very 1993, or in other words not RfC 1766 / BCP 47.
The term <language> is explained in reference [2] of RfC 1738:

| [2] Anklesaria, F., Lindner, P., McCahill, M., Torrey, D.,
|     Johnson, D., and B. Alberti, "Gopher+: Upward compatible
|     enhancements to the Internet Gopher protocol",
|     University of Minnesota, July 1993.
|     <URL:ftp://boombox.micro.umn.edu/pub/gopher/gopher_protocol
|      /Gopher+/Gopher+.txt>

That URL still works, and if it worked for 12 years it might be
allowed to use it in the gopher-uri I-D.  Apparently the I-D
wanted to do this, it uses the same text as RfC 1738 replacing
its [2] by a [Gopher+], but [Gopher+] didn't make it into the
informative references.
                        Bye, Frank

Received on Sunday, 15 May 2005 12:31:10 UTC