Re: Keeping HTML Simple & Format negotiation between Browser & Server

Tim Berners-Lee <timbl@www3.cern.ch>

Mail folder: WWW Talk Apr-Jun 1993 Archives
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Date: Wed, 2 Jun 93 12:09:55 +0100
From: Tim Berners-Lee <timbl@www3.cern.ch>
Message-id: <9306021109.AA01270@www3.cern.ch>
To: Dave_Raggett <dsr@hplb.hpl.hp.com>
Subject: Re: Keeping HTML Simple & Format negotiation between Browser & Server
Cc: murphy@dccs.upenn.edu, www-talk@nxoc01.cern.ch, litwack@dccs.upenn.edu
Reply-To: timbl@nxoc01.cern.ch


> From: Dave_Raggett <dsr@hplb.hpl.hp.com>
> Date: Tue, 1 Jun 93 14:36:19 BST

> > So for example, the client could send a list of pre-defined  
formats to
> > the server (e.g. IMG, TeX, PostScript, etc), and then the server  
can
> > choose among different formats of the same item embedded in the
> > document to give the client what it can handle.
> ...

> The new version of HTTP (HTRQ/V1.0) does indeed specify how clients
> can signal the server which formats they can support, although I  
don't
> know of anyone using this facility as yet.

	The httpd server 2.0 and above and all browsers using the www
	library 2.0 and above support this feature.  The server
	at CERN for example supports it.  If you run the www
	line mode brwser even with DISPLAY set to point to an
	X display it will launch ghostview or xv.  So will (I
	suppose) tkWWW for example.  XMosaic doesn't do it but will
	one day, when a lot of confusion will cease.
	
	On the server side, in the current implementation, the
	dummy suffix ".multi" means "Whatever file of this name
	and any suffix which I can handle and you think best".
	
	There are a few examples in the test file
	http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/Test/Overview.html
	
	Tim Berners-Lee