Figured out part of my problem. Apparently the websites I visit
have *changed* their protocol. When I move the cursor over an
URL, what shows up on the Mozilla status line is a filename ending
in foobar.mid. But when I click on that URL, what actually gets
invoked is a server script which has the effect of emitting the
.mid file. So when I press <enter> before clicking, what gets
downloaded is the __script__ and not the data from foobar.mid.
What this means is that if nowadays I have a MIDI plugin, I can
only *listen* (if the plugin worked) to MIDI "files" as described
above. If I click, the plugin intercepts the received data. If I
try to <shift>-click (to download instead), what gets stored on my
disk is the html/Javascript script instead of the foobar.mid data !!
My guess is that without the plugin, what I see is a function of
the rapidity of the http handshakes between my system and the
server. To explain my random results, I'm imagining that if the
download_protocol_handshake completes before the server finishes
sending out the script, what gets saved by the download is the
script. Whereas if the protocol handshake completes *after* the
server has finished sending out the script, what gets saved by
the download is the data from the MIDI file itself !!!
mikus (bah on banners) (bah on the RIAA)
p.s. If the URL actually "activates" a cgi script or something,
__why__ does Mozilla show a line ending in foobar.mid on
its status bar ?
downloads.rdf stored the following line:
<NC:URL
resource="http://www.classicalmidiconnection.com/cgibin/x.cgi/midi/n3/netopyr.mid"/>
pps. Now I'm beginning to wonder -- how come that little empty
window was displaying on my screen? Does the following
describe what might be happening ?
- Mozilla sends a 'download request' to the server
- The server supplies a 'pseudo-page' to Mozilla
- Mozilla displays the 'pseudo-page' -- empty ,
__and__ executes the Javascript contained therein
- The server sends foobar.mid following the 'pseudo-page'
- I don't know Javascript -- I can't figure out whether
or not a form is sent from my system to the server
Here is what was stored on my disk as 'netopyr.mid.html',
when I clicked on the 'netopyr.mid' URL. (This is at
http://www.classicalmidiconnection.com - I think the
'Romantic' page - composer Johann Strauss - composition
'Fledermaus Overture'.)
[Note that the name of the MIDI file does __not__ appear
on the 'pseudo-page'. Also -- I have specified to Mozilla
__not__ to open any unsolicited windows.]
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>MIDIWORLD</TITLE>
<META name="description" content="midi files of classical, jazz and original music.">
<META name="keywords" content="midi, midi file, music, multimedia, synthesizer,
soundcard, sequence, gm, mid,
keyboard, sampler, sound, patch, sequencer, composer, composing, classical music,
jazz, original composition,
midi forum, electronic music, musical instrument, musical instrument dealer, bach,
mozart, beethoven">
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Debussy, Dvorak, Elgar, Faure, Grieg, Handel, Haydn, Ibert, Janacek,
Khachaturian, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Mussorgsky, Newberry, Orff, Prokofiev,
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