Return-Path: Delivered-To: apmail-new-httpd-archive@apache.org Received: (qmail 27077 invoked by uid 500); 27 Feb 2001 11:42:07 -0000 Mailing-List: contact new-httpd-help@apache.org; run by ezmlm Precedence: bulk Reply-To: new-httpd@apache.org list-help: list-unsubscribe: list-post: Delivered-To: mailing list new-httpd@apache.org Received: (qmail 27000 invoked from network); 27 Feb 2001 11:42:04 -0000 Message-ID: <3A9B9311.BBC535AB@Golux.Com> Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2001 06:44:17 -0500 From: Rodent of Unusual Size Organization: The Apache Software Foundation X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.76 [en] (Win95; U) X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: new-httpd@apache.org Subject: Re: over-aggressive redirection in mod_dir References: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Spam-Rating: h31.sny.collab.net 1.6.2 0/1000/N Dale Ghent wrote: > > Correct or not, they are equivalent. No, they are not. > Since they're equivalent, why is one more correct than the other? > Put in the perspective of something simpler; Is it better to > 'cd /usr/' or 'cd /usr' ? Neither is better. They do and mean > the same thing. For Unix shells, that is correct. For Web URLs, it is not. 'http://server/foo' and 'http://server/foo/' are NOT identical; the second has a trailing empty path segment. For filesystem datastores, a trailing empty path segment refers to a collection -- what Dean liked/likes to call the 'directory object.' Apache supplies mod_dir and mod_autoindex to respond to requests for directory objects. For filesystem datastores, a request that lacks the empty segment is for the directory itself. Since that is generally a meaningless request, mod_dir assumes the directory *object* was meant, and issues a redirect to the correct URL for that resource. The thing that raised this issue was Web Folders' inability to cope with a 301 response to an OPTIONS request. That is just plain broken. It is actually broken in two different ways, since it should never have made the request without the trailing empty segment anyway, since it is querying a collection. The question is whether we work around this brokenness by *treating* the two different formats as though they are equivalent (although they actually are not). Since this issue comes up repeatedly in other contexts -- filesystem ones -- I am in favour of providing a means of doing so. If Web Folders was the only client encountering this, I would say 'no way.' (Actually, AFAIK it *is* the only broken client -- in all other cases, it is the users' expectations that are broken. :-) So let mod_dir treat them as equivalent if the envariable "no-collection-redirect" is set, otherwise continue in the current, technically correct, behaviour. -- #ken P-)} Ken Coar Apache Software Foundation "Apache Server for Dummies" "Apache Server Unleashed" ApacheCon 2001! Four tracks with over 70+ sessions. Free admission to exhibits and special events - keynote presentations by John 'maddog' Hall and David Brin. Special thanks to our Platinum Sponsors IBM and Covalent, Gold Sponsor Thawte, and Silver Sponsor Compaq. Attend only Apache event designed and fully supported by the members of the ASF. See more information and register at !