Re: Location versus URI

Rob McCool (robm@neon.mcom.com)
Thu, 25 Aug 1994 05:50:55 +0200

Marc and I did nothing but follow the spec when we used Location:
instead of URI. We were using this HTTP "specification" which was
dated as expiring on 14 Jan 1994, and was released on 14 July
1993. This specification had not expired at the time.

This specification clearly states:

..

The response contains one of more header lines of the form

Location: <url> String CrLf

Which specify alternative addresses for the object in question.

..

No mention is made of URI *at all*.

However, when the specification dated 5 November 1993 came out *after
we had implemented the previous one*, Location had been completely
removed, and it had been replaced by URI. Despite numerous attempts to
get someone from CERN to put Location back in at least as a
depreciated form of URI, the specification still has no mention of
Location.

And so we see that no good deed goes unpunished.

--Rob