Re: section 1, intro, for review

"Roy T. Fielding" wrote:
> 
>....
> 
> I am unclear as to where you got the idea that REST is a shared memory.
> It defines an architectural style for building applications in which
> components interoperate via a standardized interface.  What is on the
> other side of that interface is unconstrained.

Unfortunately, people use the term REST to mean a whole bunch of things
these. It's supporters are probably as guilty of it as anyone else. 

>...
> Personally, I think it is completely outrageous when people claim that the
> Web architecture should be the one and only Internet application
> architecture.  I can understand the desire for URI to be universal, but not
> for the entire Web architecture. I like using fetchmail to grab my mail
> (how it does so is not very relevant because mail is a store-and-forward
> application architecture). 

I do not follow this bit. How would Fetchmail be a less useful program
if it were to "use web architecture", as you define it below:

>...
> The fundamental notion that defines the Web is the interconnectedness of
> resources -- that everything which can be identified can also be
> ** indirectly ** described, manipulated, and related to other resources,
> and thereby can be traversed as an information space even when the
> resources themselves are not limited to documents.

Why wouldn't this be a good basis for some hypothetical future mail
processing system? I would personally love to be able to construct URIs
into my mailbox and resolve them through HTTP.

> (deletia)...  [this is the place where RDF was supposed
> to be of benefit].  

Interesting choice of tense....

 Paul Prescod

Received on Tuesday, 19 March 2002 14:01:40 UTC