RE: Valid representations, canonical representations, and what the SW needs from the Web...

> -----Original Message-----
> From: ext Bill de hÓra [mailto:dehora@eircom.net]
> Sent: 01 February, 2003 16:34
> To: Stickler Patrick (NMP/Tampere)
> Cc: sandro@w3.org; www-tag@w3.org
> Subject: Re: Valid representations, canonical 
> representations, and what
> the SW needs from the Web...
> 
> 
> Patrick.Stickler@nokia.com wrote:
> > 
> > I've long dreamed of a standardized mechanism by which one might
> > inquire from an HTTP server about all metadata knowledge available
> > from that server about a resource. E.g. GET-META rather than GET.
> > And thus, the owner of a URI not only may place one or more
> > representations of a resource on a server, but also any amount of
> > descriptive knowledge about the resource -- or even *only* metadata
> > about the resource, such as for non-web-accessible resources. Yet
> > that metadata is disjunct from any particular representation.
> 
> 
> Better to use HEAD and define some headers.

Well, *I* can do all kinds of things on *my* server. But what is needed
is a common solution that (nearly) *everybody* uses so that I can ask
about resources on *other* folks servers and expect with reasonable
confidence that the server will know what I'm asking for and provide
what I need.

I.e. we need a *standardized* solution for accessing resource metadata
on the Web, and that solution is a key component of the interface between
the SW and Web.

And the solution needs to remain separate from the muddy waters of 
representations (whatever the heck they are).

Cheers,

Patrick

--
Patrick Stickler, Nokia/Finland, (+358 40) 801 9690, patrick.stickler@nokia.com

Received on Sunday, 2 February 2003 07:54:05 UTC