Re: [fwd] Re: draft findings on Unsafe Methods (whenToUseGet-7)

On Mon, Apr 15, 2002 at 02:43:56PM -0400, Keith Moore wrote:
> another common kind of side-effect (also having to do with email) involves
[snip]

> I don't think this should be considered a safe operation - first because
[snip]

Both those lines are using the terms "side effect" and "safe" in
entirely different ways than was intended.  I agree that Keith raises an
important issue, but IMO it's out of scope for whenToUseGet-7.  So to
make that clearer, perhaps a definition of "side effect" would help,
since RFC 2616 doesn't define it (though it does define "safe").

FWIW, I like the rest of Dan's draft, though the snippet from the HTML
Rec is incorrect when it says;

     The "get" method should be used when the form is idempotent (i.e.,
     causes no side-effects). Many database searches have no visible
     side-effects and make ideal applications for the "get" method.

"idempotent" does not mean "causes no side-effects", as PUT clearly
demonstrates.

MB
-- 
Mark Baker, Chief Science Officer, Planetfred, Inc.
Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA.      mbaker@planetfred.com
http://www.markbaker.ca   http://www.planetfred.com

Received on Monday, 15 April 2002 15:19:05 UTC