Re: Why MD5 Headers are Imperative

On Aug 17, 2006, at 4:42 PM, Eric J. Bowman wrote:
> Here's the logical fallacy in the APP:
>
> "Once  a  resource  has  been  created  and  its  URI  is  known,   
> that  URI  can be  used  to  retrieve,  update,  and  delete  the   
> resource. "
>
> This asserts that the edit representation MUST be identical to the  
> _resource_
> and this is where you guys just lose me!  The Member URI may be  
> used to update and delete the resource, but it will only ever  
> retrieve a
> _representation_ of the resource.

By definition, the source resource (that which is identified by the
edit URI) has the characteristic of providing representations that
are definitive for the resource (in this case, the entry as a resource).
In other words, the text is not a logical fallacy because, in this
instance, we have defined them to be one and the same.  It would be
more philosophically correct to say that "operations on the edit URI
have the effect of retrieving a complete representation of the entry,
updating that complete representation such that the entry is
correspondingly updated, or removing the entry by deleting its
source."  However, simplifying the philosophy is more common.

In general, people who already receive a lot of email tend to become
very hostile towards anyone suffering from diarrhea of the fingers.
If you can't say it in one succinct message, then create a page that
goes over the argument in detail and send a link.  Regardless, there
is no need to respond to every message as if barbarian hordes are
storming a castle and you are the only defender with a machine gun.
It is only a protocol.

Cheers,

Roy T. Fielding                            <http://roy.gbiv.com/>
Chief Scientist, Day Software              <http://www.day.com/>