Re: GET should be encouraged, not deprecated, in XForms [was: Issue request for the TAG: XForms]

I just wanted to say that while GET does have known issues, there are
two major advantages GET form submission results over POST submission
results:

1) GET submission results can be bookmarked.  Granted, browsers could
   jump through some hoops and "bookmark" POST form submission results
   by saving all the data that was posted.  This, however, would be very 
   inefficient for large POST submissions (which are currently already
   POST).  Furthermore, there is the implicit agreement that POST
   submissions may change information on the server, while GET ones
   should not.  This distinction is why POST results are not
   bookmarkable, since the operation that happens on the server may not
   be idempotent. Making all forms use POST will remove this
   distinction.

2) GET form submission results can be directly linked to as needed.
   This is much used in existing systems of various sorts from eBay to
   Bugzilla.  This allows one to send a friend a url that will allow
   him to retrieve the same information that one retrieved via the form.

I feel that deprecating GET without providing a non-deprecated
alternative to achieve similar functionality is a bad idea.  I
understand that GET is still supported, but the fact that it's
deprecated means it will be removed at some point (once XForms are
widely used and compatibility with existing HTML is not an issue).
Removing it without providing a way to achieve the same flexibility and
ease-of-use for the user seems like a poor course of action to me.

Thanks for your time,
Boris
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Received on Wednesday, 23 January 2002 12:01:07 UTC