Re: [BioRDF] All about the LSID URI/URN

Alan Ruttenberg writes:

> Could this specific issue be handled in the http protocol? Could 
> there be a new response code that in effect says: "Status 
> 99999999999: The information resource you have requested is too #&%^ 
> big and the provider has decided that you need to use one of the 
> following access methods to get at it", followed by a list of 
> protocols in a manner similar to what lsid provides?

I think the answer is not only yes, but something in the spirit of what 
you ask for is widely done, though not using status codes in the manner 
you suggest.  If you invent a media type, perhaps an XML-based one like 
application/LSIDBigThingDescriptor+XML and return that with a status code 
of 200, then you can register a media type handler that will actually use 
some other protocol to move or access the bits you say are too big for 
normal HTTP.  This sort of thing is done quite commonly for streaming 
media.   Look at what's happening when you link to a variety of audio 
streams on the Web, and you'll see a fair amount of this sort of thing 
happening.

Noah

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Noah Mendelsohn 
IBM Corporation
One Rogers Street
Cambridge, MA 02142
1-617-693-4036
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Received on Monday, 31 July 2006 14:43:24 UTC