I'm no expert on URLs (someone could dig up the standard) but it was my understanding that the // indicated a location on the network, but that that URLs that do not contain a location (file: , mailto: , news:) are still completely within the standard.
a little later: The RFC is 1738 - http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1738.txt?number=1738 (the URL of URLs!) The general format is just: <scheme>:<scheme-specific-part> With scheme: //<user>:<password>@<host>:<port>/<url-path> being used for schemes that "involve the direct use of an IP-based protocol to a specified host on the Internet." Another part of note is this: "Many URL schemes reserve certain characters for a special meaning: their appearance in the scheme-specific part of the URL has a designated semantics. If the character corresponding to an octet is reserved in a scheme, the octet must be encoded. The characters ";", "/", "?", ":", "@", "=" and "&" are the characters which may be reserved for special meaning within a scheme. No other characters may be reserved within a scheme." Freenet's URL scheme will need to separate key/request type from the key value, and also, in the case of keys like CHKs and SVKs, separate the the hash value from the decryption key. Also, urls allow only for a couple of chars (alphabet, number, and a handful more), other characters (since anything is allowed in a KHK) have to be encoded. Also: "A new scheme may be introduced by defining a mapping onto a conforming URL syntax, using a new prefix. URLs for experimental schemes may be used by mutual agreement between parties. Scheme names starting with the characters "x-" are reserved for experimental purposes. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) will maintain a registry of URL schemes. Any submission of a new URL scheme must include a definition of an algorithm for accessing of resources within that scheme and the syntax for representing such a scheme. URL schemes must have demonstrable utility and operability. One way to provide such a demonstration is via a gateway which provides objects in the new scheme for clients using an existing protocol. If the new scheme does not locate resources that are data objects, the properties of names in the new space must be clearly defined. New schemes should try to follow the same syntactic conventions of existing schemes, where appropriate. It is likewise recommended that, where a protocol allows for retrieval by URL, that the client software have provision for being configured to use specific gateway locators for indirect access through new naming schemes." This is IANA page about currently accepted URL schemes, I think ftp://www.isi.edu/in-notes/iana/assignments/url-schemes Further digging also shows that RFC2396 http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2396.txt?number=2396 actually replaces 1738, but it says the same thing more or less, though it babels on about relative references and fragments and queries a lot. On Sun, 07 May 2000, Ian Clarke wrote: > Oskar Sandberg wrote: > > > > Where did you get that URL format from? It is most certainly not correct, if > > Freenet ever has a URL format, it will not include the server, since that > > is a > > setting (URLs for mail and usenet do not include the address of the SMTP or > > NNTP server, for example). > > This is correct - in fact I question whether URLs are appropriate for > Freenet keys at all since (and correct me if I am wrong) they generally > imply an indication of the "location" of the information, which is not > appropriate for Freenet (mailto:xxx style stuff might be an exception - > but are they actually URLs or just a kludge?). I know they fit nicely > into the web-browser paradigm but if we are going to use something in > the URL-*style* then perhaps we should use a different term for them to > avoid confusion. > > > Personally, I preferred the "free:" suggestion for the url name. > > I am pretty agnostic about this although it would make a nice point! > > Ian. > > _______________________________________________ > Freenet-dev mailing list > Freenet-dev at lists.sourceforge.net > http://lists.sourceforge.net/mailman/listinfo/freenet-dev -- Oskar Sandberg md98-osa at nada.kth.se #!/bin/perl -sp0777i<X+d*lMLa^*lN%0]dsXx++lMlN/dsM0<j]dsj $/=unpack('H*',$_);$_=`echo 16dio\U$k"SK$/SM$n\EsN0p[lN*1 lK[d2%Sa2/d0$^Ixp"|dc`;s/\W//g;$_=pack('H*',/((..)*)$/) _______________________________________________ Freenet-dev mailing list Freenet-dev at lists.sourceforge.net http://lists.sourceforge.net/mailman/listinfo/freenet-dev
