From: rst@ai.mit.edu (Robert S. Thau)
Date: Tue, 4 Jul 95 11:38:07 EDT
Message-Id: <9507041538.AA08248@volterra>
To: new-httpd@hyperreal.com
Cc: new-httpd@hyperreal.com
In-Reply-To: <Pine.3.89.9507031638.Q5763-0100000@eat.organic.com> (message
 from Brian Behlendorf on Mon, 3 Jul 1995 16:33:31 -0700 (PDT))
Subject: Re: mod_imap.c
Sender: owner-new-httpd@apache.org
Precedence: bulk
Reply-To: new-httpd@apache.org

   Date: Mon, 3 Jul 1995 16:33:31 -0700 (PDT)
   From: Brian Behlendorf <brian@organic.com>

   If you're saying that you have a bunch of directories with a bunch of 
   common subdirectories that you want one map file to serve, then yes, I 
   suppose you'd have to look at Referrer to get the context, since the 
   Location: header returned has to be a full URI, not a relative one.  That 
   seems rather specific - it could also be accomplished by having 
   soft links to the imap file between directories.  *shrug*.

That is what he's after.

   I think it's important to keep the functionality as solid and generic as 
   possible... I named my tweak "imagemap2" because it's not a drop-in 
   replacement for one.  

Hmmm... on the one hand, Randy's got a legitimate application, for
referer-relative URIs in the maps (and it may even work!).  On the
other hand, I am a bit worried that it may prove to be flaky, and also
that having relative URIs in a map file be interpreted relative to
anything other than the map file itself might fail to satisfy the Law
of Least Astonishment (which is that good software always behaves in
the manner that astonishes the user least).

How's about this for a compromise --- toss a new directive, base_uri,
into the mapfile syntax, which specifies the interpretation of
relative URIs which occur in subsequent map directives.  I figure on a
subcommand set like:

  base_uri map             # relative to the map itself
  base_uri referer         # relative to the Referer: supplied by the browser
  base_uri path_info       # relative to whatever came in as PATH_INFO
                           # for the request (which gives the document that
                           # included the map complete control over
                           # how relative URIs are interpreted).
  base_uri /literal/dir/   # Why not?  It could save someone typing ;-).

My proposal is, then, to make "base_uri map" the default, but to have
the other options available if anyone wants them.  The syntax is a
straw man, of course.  Comments?

rst