Hi! Interesting thread! Most things has been said allready, but I'll just add a little .02 (whatever currency) :-)
On Thursday 07 November 2002 23:57, Tony Collen wrote: > However, later I realize that using file extensions is "bad". Read > http://www.alistapart.com/stories/slashforward/ for more info on this > idea. The article is interesting, but a little too narrow. Indeed, using file extensions are Bad[tm] for URIs because you tie the address to a specific technology, which you may not be using in some years. For that reason not changing the default "cocoon" in Cocoon URIs are also a Bad Thing[tm]. The authorative reference on this topic is TimBL's rant "Cool URIs don't change": http://www.w3.org/Provider/Style/URI :-) So, using directories for everything is one possibility, and if you do, make sure to include the trailing /, to avoid useless 301 redirects. Another option is to use Content Negotation, which is well defined in HTTP 1.1 (and earlier, IIRC), it's weird that it isn't more widely used. But, both content negotation and using directories for everything are both solutions that exists mainly because URIs have been so strongly tied to the file system of the server, and the mentioned article seems to take as granted that this connection is a necessity, but as Cocoon proves, this is not so. Just use sensible matches. It also means that requiring a trailing slash on every URI is a bit too much, I only do that if there is logically a hierarchal substructure. As for the problem of serving different formats to the client, I really have no good solution. What the user agents should do, was to let the user easily manipulate the Accept-header, so if the user wants a PDF-file, he would send only application/pdf in the Accept header, and the server would know that the user wanted a PDF-file, and send that. Given that it doesn't exist, appending the type to the URI is probably not too bad. Best, Kjetil -- Kjetil Kjernsmo Astrophysicist/IT Consultant/Skeptic/Ski-orienteer/Orienteer/Mountaineer [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage: http://www.kjetil.kjernsmo.net/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- Please check that your question has not already been answered in the FAQ before posting. <http://xml.apache.org/cocoon/faq/index.html> To unsubscribe, e-mail: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For additional commands, e-mail: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
