Overloaded URIs must GO!

Paul Prescod paul at prescod.net
Fri May 28 16:47:54 BST 1999


Andrew Layman wrote:
> 
> Regarding the discussion on non-retrievable URIs, you may want to look into
> the URN spec, and more generally, at the paper "Naming and Addressing: URIs,
> URLs, ... " at http://www.w3.org/Addressing/.

I am not so upset about non-retrivable URIs in general as non-retrievable
*URLs*. 

http://www.w3.org/Addressing/URL/url-spec.txt

"This document specifies a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), the syntax and
semantics of formalized information for **location and access of resources
on the Internet.**"

Furthermore, that document defines the http:-syntax URL as being tied to
the HTTP protocol which it clearly is not when it is abused as in 

xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/XSL/Transform/1.0"

I haven't yet heard a defense (credible or otherwise) of this nasty and
non-intuitive practice. If you don't want your URI to be locatable and
retrievable on the Internet then *please do not use the URL syntax!*

-- 
 Paul Prescod  - ISOGEN Consulting Engineer speaking for only himself
 http://itrc.uwaterloo.ca/~papresco

Alabama's constitution is 100 years old, 300 pages long and has more than
600 amendments. Highlights include "Amendment 393: Amendment of Amendment
No.  351", "Validation of Laws Regulating Court Costs in Randolph County",
"Miscegenation laws", "Bingo Games in Russell County", "Suppression
of dueling".  - http://www.legislature.state.al.us/ALISHome.html

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