[OAI-implementers] question about PMH baseURLs

[Young,Jeff (OR)]

According to the URI standard
<http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc3986#section-3.4>:

"The query component is indicated by the first question mark ("?")..."

This implies that an OAI-PMH request supporting HTTP GET must have a
baseURI without a question mark.

If the repository only accepted POST requests, then it could probably
get away with it. Whether it should or not is another question.

Jeff

> -----Original Message-----
> From: oai-implementers-bounces at openarchives.org
[mailto:oai-implementers-
> bounces at openarchives.org] On Behalf Of Hussein Suleman
> Sent: Friday, April 03, 2009 10:40 AM
> To: oai-implementers at openarchives.org
> Cc: Dr. Thomas Staecker
> Subject: [OAI-implementers] question about PMH baseURLs
> 
> hi
> 
> a protocol specification issue: can we have a baseURL that includes a
> "?" character (see email below from Thomas Staecker).
> 
> personally, it seems reasonable to me. the schema says anyURI for
> Identify response, which makes it valid. but the PMH narrative says
that
> in order to create a request a harvester can append "?" and a
> "&"-separated parameter list to the baseURL. this causes a bit of a
> contradiction.
> 
> so, should the narrative of the PMH be changed to allow baseURLs with
> existing embedded parameters? all harvesters will then need to be
aware
> of this and check for existing parameters if they are not already
doing
> this.
> 
> other interoperable Web-based systems (Facebook, Sakai) already do
this
> quite seamlessly. from our perspective, is a minor change for
consistent
> HTTP usage worth the possible need for change to harvesters?
> 
> thoughts?
> 
> ttfn,
> ----hussein
> 
> 
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: oai Repository Explorer
> Date: Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:55:41 +0200
> From: Dr. Thomas Staecker <staecker at hab.de>
> To: hussein at cs.uct.ac.za
> 
> Hello,
> 
> I tried to check our OAI interface against your checker, but it didn't
> work because your checker assumes that there is a plain base URL. But
as
> we host two repositories at the moment we decided to put the base URLs
> as follows: http://dbs.hab.de/oai/?repository=WDB_OPAC and
> http://dbs.hab.de/oai/?repository=VKK. Your checker now tries to
resolve
> this URL as follows
> http://dbs.hab.de/oai/?repository=WDB_OPAC?verb=Identify which leads
to
> an error due to the double questionmark. Is it possible to avoid the
> second questionmark?
> 
> Regards,
> Thomas
> 
> 
> 
> 
> --
> Dr. Thomas Staecker (Leiter Abteilung Alte Drucke, Digitalisierung)
> Herzog August Bibliothek - Postfach 1364 - D-38299 Wolfenbuettel
> Tel. +49(0)5331/808-119 - email: staecker at hab.de
> 
> 
> --
> =====================================================================
> hussein suleman ~ hussein at cs.uct.ac.za ~ http://www.husseinsspace.com
> =====================================================================
> 
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