RE: [i95, i22] - Proposal for clarifying use of SOAPAction

Henrik,

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Henrik Frystyk Nielsen [mailto:frystyk@microsoft.com]
> Sent: 25 April 2001 20:10
> To: xml-dist-app@w3.org
> Cc: soapbuilders@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [i95, i22] - Proposal for clarifying use of SOAPAction
> 
> 

<snip/>
 
> If a SOAP HTTP request is required but no SOAPAction header field is
> present then the server SHOULD use a 425 (SOAPAction Required) status
> code (*).

<snip/> 

> *) We have to check that 425 is free (it is intended as a new status
> code). The reason for using a new status code is that there is currently
> no mechanism for indicating that SOAP HTTP requests are  expected and not
> just POST of any old data (including SOAP messages without SOAPAction
> header field). There are no existing status codes that cover this case
> and SOAP/1.1 is silent on the issue.
>
> Comments?

I think I'd prefer to see some generic name for a 425 like error code eg.
(Header Required by Context Missing) in this case the context is SOAP. If
there is no existing HTTP error code that can be leveraged to indicate the
absense of a required SOAPAction header then maybe we need to ask for one to
be assigned - but i think it would need to be justified on the basis of more
general utility to the sorts of things layered above HTTP. 

It seems a little awkward to me from a spec. maintenance POV that a change
to the spec. of the SOAP/HTTP binding cascades a change in the HTTP spec. It
probably also sets a bad precident for other protocols layered over HTTP to
request/require error/status codes to suit their one specific purposes.

> Henrik
> 
> [1] http://www.w3.org/2000/xp/Group/xmlp-issues#x95
> [2] http://www.w3.org/2000/xp/Group/xmlp-issues#x22

Regards

Stuart 

Received on Friday, 27 April 2001 06:03:07 UTC