MGET & machine proc - spinoff thread

Some assorted comments by Patrick Stickler and/or Andy Seaborne...
taken from...

http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-rdf-interest/2003Nov/0262.html

>>
>>> My #1 requirement is that, for any arbitrary URI which is meaningful
>>> to the HTTP protocol, and contains a web authority component, a SW agent
>>> should be able to send a request to that web authority to obtain a
>>> concise bounded description of the resource denoted by that URI, with
>>> a single request, and without any further information than the URI
>>> itself
>>> (and the generic protocol by which the request is made) and recieve in
>>> response either a description, or an error indication of some fashion.
>>

That is something I'd like, too.  But my needs don't end there. 
Although off-topic, I need webservers to deliver document fragments 
(pick your nodes/elements of a doc tree)...  AND... I need to be able to 
have the webserver look-up a style rule from a style tree (possibly by 
'growing' that style tree as if it we're acting like a browser).... and 
it needs to send me that style in a STRING as if it were an embeded 
style command inside some opening HTML-like tag.  i.e. style="blah: 
blah; goo: foo".

This is because I am a transclusion nut.  Irrelevant, or elephant ear.

A friend introduced me to a term and phenomenon awhile back... called a 
'content management system'.  He's a big "by definition' cop/controller 
so he said YOU CAN'T CHANGE WHAT WEBSERVERS DO.... BY DEFINITION... 
which means the term 'webserver' is forever under the control of the 'by 
definitionists', apparently.  He says... let the webserver always 
deliver what you need to send... in webpage form... and let ANOTHER 
system handle WHAT DATA is MADE INTO A WEBPAGE to be sent, beit some 
dublin core goods, or a chunk of document tree, or a style string.

But... there's still the problem of how to ASK for such things from a 
webserver/CMS that has little intelligence in fancy asking schemes.  And 
that's what you guys are rag-chewin' about, as best I can tell.

My point to all this is... if someone is going to add an 'asking' 
command to http webservers... I would like it to be a command that lets 
me yap to the content management system IF one is in place.  That way, 
you guys get your about="blah" data, and I can get my doc fragments and 
stylerules... ALL WITH THE SAME MECHANISM.  If you think about it, you 
guyz' metadata sniffing dilema... is also a job for a content management 
system, and not a webserver by definition. :)

> 
> True, but I don't see how URIQA affects that.
> 

I don't either.  Its likely because I'm SO far off topic, its 
ridiculous. :)  (Hey, we can have a LITTLE fun out here, right?)

It felt to me like you guys we're bumping into a content management 
situation here, and I figured I'd sling it out now and see if the 
chickens pecked at it.  Comments most welcome.  Very welcome.  Almost 
begged-for! :)  Wingnut - Minneapolis

<snippy snip snip>

http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-rdf-interest/2003Nov/0262.html
(de-snipped version)

Received on Friday, 28 November 2003 08:57:22 UTC