Re: [core] Modernized Link Format

Christian Amsüss <christian@amsuess.com> Thu, 11 October 2018 13:53 UTC

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Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2018 15:53:22 +0200
From: Christian Amsüss <christian@amsuess.com>
To: Klaus Hartke <hartke@projectcool.de>
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Subject: Re: [core] Modernized Link Format
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On Thu, Oct 11, 2018 at 03:28:34PM +0200, Klaus Hartke wrote:
> Just to clarify: You can always, write link targets as "URI" or
> "path-absolute" [RFC3986], right? (That's not very efficient but not
> not expressible.)

Yes, *provided* you can construct the URI the requester had in mind when
accessing your system (the client might not have sent your host name
along).

Later changes in the base address are not possible (precise: not
meaningful) when all links were fully expanded. The protocol-negotiation
mechanisms not fully usable with fully expressed URIs either, as I
understand them.

> Thinking about it a bit more, I only see two ways forward: Keep the
> "application/link-format" media type and add a version indicator to
> the representation format that prevents legacy applications from
> applying the wrong semantics.

That avoids the formal mess, but creates a practical one. Code is out
there that produces documents in "link-format;version=any" (documents
that work with both 6690 and modernized). Moving everything over to
link-format;version=2 at ct=39 creates formal clarity and practical
non-interoperability for them.

If there is but one righteous citizen of 6690, let them have the code
point. My impression is there is none.

> Or use an entirely different media type
> (e.g., "application/link-format+cbor" with fixed rules,
> "application/coral+cbor").

I've asked the authors of link-format+{json,cbor} to do right that in
[1], but the version that's about to be released contains no
clarification to that matter AFAIK.

CoRAL -- yes, that's why I asked about whether we can have a preview
release of CoRAL without the research-ish forms parts in it. If CoRAL
were a document heading towards WGLC, I'd be happy to recommend CoRAL
for RD use on all sides, and state that link-format can be used per
RFC6690 but is limited as outlined in an appendix, and power users
should use CoRAL or better.

Best regards
Christian

[1]: https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/msg/core/eNSR6jnP-gvZZ_zHkb097sFQyog

-- 
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