Bindings and Other Methods (Section 10)

In Section 10 of the Bindings spec we specify how bindings interact with the
vast majority of HTTP and WebDAV methods (GET, HEAD, PUT, POST, OPTIONS,
PROPFIND, PROPPATCH, ORDERPATCH).

We would like to say the simple, straightforward thing:  That for any of
these methods, the results of applying the method through one binding are
identical to the results of applying the same method with the same headers
and body through another bindings to the same resource.

What prevents us from saying this are executable resources, which generate
responses dynamically and may be sensitive to which Request-URI is used to
access them.  If we try to take these executable resources into account, we
are reduced to saying things that are so open-ended that they place no
enforceable constraints on the behavior of GET, PUT, etc., when applied
through different bindings to the same resource.

So in the interest of being able to place useful constraints the behavior of
these methods on alternative bindings to the same resource, we propose to
say:

The results of applying method XXX through one binding are identical to the
results of applying XXX with the same headers and the same message body
through any other binding to the same resource.  The server MUST fail any
BIND request for which it cannot guarantee this behavior.

The upshot of this statement will be that it will not be possible to create
bindings to executable resources that produce dynamic results.

--Judy

Judith A. Slein
Xerox Corporation
jslein@crt.xerox.com
(716)422-5169
800 Phillips Road 105/50C
Webster, NY 14580

Received on Wednesday, 15 September 1999 15:26:27 UTC