Re: Toward Closure on HTML

weber@eit.COM (Jay C. Weber)
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Date: Tue, 5 Apr 1994 19:23:09 --100
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From: weber@eit.COM (Jay C. Weber)
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Subject: Re: Toward Closure on HTML
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> From: Dave Raggett <dsr@hplb.hpl.hp.com>
>
> What we really need is some work on a MIME multipart/related format
> for transferring form contents, as the current URL based approach is
> running out of steam.

Agreed.

We'd probably want to leave FORM method=GET behavior just the way it
is, and update method=POST.

Support on the server side is easy: CGI scripts accepting POSTs could
just start branching on the content-type, e.g., processing a new type
multipart/www-form.  A day's worth of hacking.

On the client side, generating multipart/www-form isn't much work
(factoring out the user interface complexity of supporting image
scribbles, etc.), but backwards-compatibility is a bear.  The only
way a server can declare format preferences in advance is through
anchors, really; so the only alternative I see is something like
a FORM method=POSTMP.

Dave, do you want to try this with your browser?  We'll support it
on the server side.

Jay