- From: Hall, Shaun <Shaun.Hall@GBR.XEROX.COM>
- Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 10:30:22 +0100
- To: "'Alan Kent'" <ajk@mds.rmit.edu.au>, w3c-dist-auth@w3.org
Bits snipped. All IMHO. > -----Original Message----- > From: Alan Kent [mailto:ajk@mds.rmit.edu.au] > Sent: 01 August 2001 03:19 > To: w3c-dist-auth@w3.org > Subject: Re: rfc2518 issue: DEFER_LOCK_NULL_RESOURCES_IN_SPEC > > Sticking with a UNIX file system is easier to explain. > > There are possible solutions. For example, create a file, lock it, > then if the WebDAV client issues a MKCOL, delete the file and create > a directory instead and hope another application does not sneak in > with a race condition and create the directory first. (Deleting the > file I believe will delete the lock.) But this defeats the purpose of > a lock, doesn't it? It does reduce the chance of a race condition, but > it is not a guarantee. I think you are taking WebDAV out of its intended context (see below). You don't need race conditions because your WebDAV layer in the above example can be circumvented full stop. For example, there's nothing to stop another non-WebDAV application creating a directory with the same name as the LNR even though your WebDAV server has created a LNR. As far as the WebDAV client is concerned, they have reserved the name. When your server tries to create the directory (after a MKCOL), it will fail unless you delete the existing directory first which probably wouldn't be very popular (and the failure may confuse the client). Unless the heart of your "back end" (in this case a OS's file system) supports WebDAV, its going to be a "best effort" approach. Everything is difficult (not just the LOCKing mechanism) when you have multiple protocols into the same shared data area. Unless there is some common base "controller", you will always run into these sort of problems. > > To summarise: I can implement LNR in the WebDAV layer easily. But as > soon as the underlying data store is accessible by an means other > than WebDAV, the locking model (for a 100% correct implementation of > locks) must be pushed down into a common layer. I believe the problem > with the WebDAV LNR is that it is not a commonly implemented > scheme for > locking by other systems, so it will be hard for implementors to > implement correctly according to the spec. > > The choices (in my opinion) then are > > (1) Its ok for implementors to not implement locking safely - its just > an aid for applications, not something they should rely on. > > (2) Locking is only to protect against other WebDAV clients and not > against anything else > > (3) WebDAV is only for use when the underlying storage model supports > the LNR concept > > (4) The locking model needs to change > > I think (3) is not an appropriate choice for WebDAV as it > restricts its > scope too much (I don't know of any other system that supports LNR). > I think (2) is silly - what is the purpose of locking if they > don't work? > I think the real choices are (1) or (4). With the current WebDAV spec, > (1) is the only choice to me. Actually 2) is correct as well: Remember that WebDAV is a set of extensions to HTTP, which suffers similar problems. WebDAV is about WWW functionality, not a "be all and end all" access mechanism for everything - see section 1 of RFC 2518, read RFC 2291. This is what I mean when I say you've taken WebDAV out of intended context. Your example of other applications accessing your Web/WebDAV Server's data area is not WWW functionality and therefore WebDAV does not apply IMHO. People have to live with it. Is WebDAV going to stop admins/root formatting the hard disk which contains the data ? In your file system example, there is nothing to stop another application deleting a file (that is not a LNR) that your WebDAV Server has locked. Therefore the locking mechanism has failed. What mechanism can you invent that would solve all these multiple protocol problems? This is NOT a WebDAV problem, but occurs whenever you have multiple paths/protocols/etc into a shared data area. In the real world, the end users system in question should be configured so only HTTP/WebDAV clients can access the data area that the WebDAV Server interacts with. If this cannot be done, there is not a lot you can do about the WebDAV protocol being circumvented. Simply because you as a WebDAV implementor do not have full control (unless you start writing OS file system drivers :-). > > Alan > Regards Shaun Hall Xerox Europe
Received on Wednesday, 1 August 2001 05:30:31 UTC