Re: HTTP HEAD request

Once upon a time you, Jim Hurley, wrote:
--> 
--> >Currently, the server doesn't need to parse the document at all.
--> >This would be the first such case.  (systems with server-side includes already
--> >do some parsing, though).
--> 
--> True, but the parse is pretty easy, and it can stop when it reaches
--> <BODY>. This type of request would not be used very often, only
--> for indexing tools, existence checks, robots, etc.
--> 
--> >What should it do for a document without a HEAD?
--> 
--> This could happen for non-html fetches, of course.
--> It should return an error - my first impulse, not having thought
--> about it much.
--> 
--> Similarly, I guess it should return an error if it got EOF before
--> </HEAD>. Either that, or it might be probably easier to just send
--> the whole document part after <HEAD> til EOF, assuming it is scanning
--> for <HEAD>, then just outputing chars until </HEAD>.
--> 

It is not  so trivial. An html doc  is not required to  have <head> or
<body> tags.  In fact,  all of  the tags  <head>, </head>,  <body> and
</body> are optional.

Returning an  error if  it encounters  EOF before  </head> would  be a
major design bug.


Abigail

Received on Friday, 7 April 1995 13:50:20 UTC