Re: Why GET is an application semantic

On Wed, Jun 19, 2002 at 11:49:56AM -0700, Joseph Hui wrote:
> > On Tue, Jun 18, 2002 at 07:52:28PM -0700, Joseph Hui wrote:
> > > [GET] http://nasdaq.org/get?what=quotes&type=stock&symbol=sunw
> > 
> > What does "get" help identify in that URI? 
> 
> The implementation-specific "get" function provided by nasdaq.org,
> which may choose to implement it through a CGI script or whatever. 
> Note that nasdaq.org may opt for several GET implementations,
> allowing for method overloading at run time.
> How's that for polymorphism in HTTP? ;-)

Heh. 8-)

But Nasdaq can already hide the CGI script behind the URI.

e.g. http://nasdaq.org/quotes/stock/sunw

can be bound, by whatever Web server they're using, to a CGI.
There's no need to have a "get.cgi" exposed in the URI.

The URI is just like a CORBA object reference in this regard.  You
wouldn't want a method name in a CORBA object reference, would you? 8-)

> > That's called tunneling.
> 
> Or overloading, perhaps?  The first thing comes to mind when
> "tunneling" is mentioned tends to be "blind relay," e.g. a
> transparent proxy, when HTTP is spoken of.  That's IMHO at
> least the case among CDN (Content Delivery Network) jocks,
> in the spirit of HTTP 1.0 and 1.1.
> 
> BTW, as far back as I can recall, the "tunneling" term was
> initially coined by networking folks to mean transporting
> network-level packets of one protocol as the data payload
> of another protocol (at pretty much the same layer in an OSI
> stack), e.g. an IP tunnel in X.25.  These days, I find it
> necessary to check the context of discussion more carefully
> in order not to misinterpret the writer or speaker's true
> intent for "tunneling" as a term.
> Anyway, tunneling is what tunneling is, or may be.
> As long as we understand each other, what's big deal right? :-)

8-)  Right, that's the definition I'm using.  In my weather/stock
example, the "weather application protocol" is tunneling through
the "stock quote application protocol".

MB
-- 
Mark Baker, CTO, Idokorro Mobile (formerly Planetfred)
Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA.               distobj@acm.org
http://www.markbaker.ca        http://www.idokorro.com

Received on Wednesday, 19 June 2002 15:31:30 UTC