On Wed, 2008-10-01 at 10:24 -0700, Bob La Quey wrote: > On Wed, Oct 1, 2008 at 9:36 AM, Christopher Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > On Wed, 2008-10-01 at 09:14 -0700, Bob La Quey wrote: > >> > So, SMTP qualifies as loosely coupled because you can replace either > >> > side of > >> > the system (MUA or MTA) and it still works. Similarly, web servers and > >> > clients. > >> > >> Correct the WWW is loosely coupled, because HTTP is stateless. > > > > So let's follow this to its logical conclusion: > > > > - Since it wouldn't add state, if I added a requirement to HTTP that all > > requests must be sent in HDF5 format and all responses must be sent as > > Word documents (but the server can send back documents from any version > > of Word ever made), that wouldn't make it more tightly coupled? > > The requirement is external to HTTP, which other than providing the > correct response to the request does not care from shot to shot what > is being done in the backend.
I'm talking about if you changed the protocol so that was part of the requirement. > Now somewhere in the back end complex code will be running that > converts the HDF5 request into a Word document. But that is not part > of HTTP as we know it. Agreed, but the change would, according to the logic expressed here, not increase the coupling of the protocol. > > - No matter how many different response codes, commands, encodings, > > schemas, mandatory behaviors, etc., we add to HTTP, so long as we don't > > add more state, it'd be loosely coupled? > > Yep, if by it=HTTP. That is what I meant. I am simply shocked that someone would state this. I don't know how to respond. > > - The WWW is loosely coupled, so it is trivial to write a client that > > actually works with Yahoo mail. > > Yahoo mail is full of Javascript. I suppose I should qualify and say > by WWW I meant "old school" pure HTTP. Yahoo mail is full of Javascript. It does add some state to the client, but apparently AJAX-y state isn't such a bad thing, and most of what it does is impose a fairly complex execution model. So, the theory being advanced here is that adding all that DOESN'T increase coupling, and to that I say BS. --Chris -- KPLUG-LPSG@kernel-panic.org http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-lpsg
