Issue: PROP_ATTR

 Boy we've got to put our old thinking caps on for these issues! Anyway, as
 has been pointed out many times in the past, WebDAV does not specify the
 persistence format or semantics of (at least) dead properties, it only
 specifies how properties are marshalled on the wire using the protocol. It
 also does not specify anything but the property name and that its value is
 some XML element. I think WebDAV has the right to define the PROPPATCH
 prop, set, multistatus, etc. elements including the property name and any
 of their associated attributes. But it should not have anything to say
 about the value of the property other then that it is marshalled in well
 formed XML. Clients/servers can use whatever they want for attributes or
 content model for the value element, but must use the attributes (if any)
 and content specified by the WebDAV protocol for the parent of the value.

 If there is some conversion from a property value to some underlying
 storage mechanism, it is the responsibility of the server to figure out
 what to do with the properties value element, attributes, content model,
 and all. Servers may have restrictions about what value types the can
 support, how well they can serialize generic objects in XML, if they use
 RDF, XML Schema, or DTDs to validate, etc. WebDAV shouldn't need to
 concern itself with this. Any attributes on DAV defined elements that are
 not defined in the protocol should be ignored.


                                                                          
  "Jim Whitehead"                                                         
  <ejw@cse.ucsc.edu>                       To:        "WebDAV WG"         
  Sent by:                         <w3c-dist-auth@w3.org>                 
  w3c-dist-auth-request@w3.org             cc:                            
                                           Subject:        Issue:         
                                   PROP_ATTR                              
  04/10/2001 08:53 PM                                                     
                                                                          
                                                                          




 As mentioned in a previous post, now is the time to start resolving issues
 on the RFC 2518 issues list.  As fate would have it, the first issue on
 the
 list is one that has been contentious in the past. Can we come to
 consensus
 on it now?

 Issue: PROP_ATTR

 Description:

 What is a WebDAV server required to do with XML attributes other than
 xml:lang submitted with a PROPPATCH?  This affects how well WebDAV will be
 able to support RDF, since RDF uses attributes extensively.

 Greg Stein originally raised this issue:

 http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-dist-auth/1998OctDec/0089.html

 See also:

 http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-dist-auth/1998OctDec/0092.html
 http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-dist-auth/1998OctDec/0094.html
 http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/w3c-dist-auth/1998OctDec/0095.html

Received on Wednesday, 11 April 2001 14:13:28 UTC