Just as a URL permits an ordinary user with a web browser to get to an object, inflections permit an ordinary user to see metadata (without curl or code).
There's nothing to prevent a server from supporting both the HTTP Accept header (content negotiation) and inflections. If you can do the one, the other should be pretty easy. On Mon, Dec 8, 2014 at 4:01 PM, Conal Tuohy <conal.tu...@gmail.com> wrote: > I am really puzzled by the use of these non-standard "inflexions" as a > means of qualifying an HTTP request. Why not use the HTTP Accept header, > like everyone else? > > > On 9 December 2014 at 07:59, John A. Kunze <j...@ucop.edu> wrote: > > > Any Apache server (not Tomcat) can handle the '?' and '??' cases with a > > few rewrite rules to transform them into typical CGI-like query strings. > > > > # Detect ? and ?? inflections and map to typical CGI-style parameters. > > # One question mark case: ? -> ?show=brief&as=anvl/erc > > RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} \? > > RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} ^$ > > RewriteRule ^(.*)$ "$1?show=brief&as=anvl/erc" > > > > # Two question mark case: ?? -> ?show=support&as=anvl/erc > > RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} ^\?$ > > RewriteRule ^(.*)$ "$1?show=support&as=anvl/erc" > > > > So if your architecture supports query strings of the form > > > > ?name1=value1&name2=value2&... > > > > it can support ARK inflections. > > > > I don't believe that the ARK spec and HTTP URIs are fully compatible > >> ideas. > >> > > > > True. A '?' by itself has no meaning in the URI spec, which means it's > > also an opportunity to do something intuitive and important with an > > unused portion of the "instruction space" (of strings that start out > > looking like URLs). Any URLs (not just ARKs) could support this. > > > > The THUMP spec (where inflections really live) will be modified to > > require an extra HTTP response header to indicate that the server is > > responding to an inflection and not to a standard URI query string. > > This could help in the '??' case, which actually could be interpreted > > as a valid URI query string. > > > > -John > > > > > > > > --- On Mon, 8 Dec 2014, Ethan Gruber wrote: > > > >> Thanks for the info. I'm glad I'm not the only person struggling with > >> this. > >> I'm not entirely sure my architecture will allow me to append question > >> marks in this way (two question marks is probably feasible, but it > doesn't > >> appear that one is). I don't believe that the ARK spec and HTTP URIs are > >> fully compatible ideas. Hopefully some clearer request parameter or > >> content > >> negotiation standards emerge. > >> > >> Ethan > >> > >> On Sat, Dec 6, 2014 at 10:23 AM, Phillips, Mark <mark.phill...@unt.edu> > >> wrote: > >> > >> Ethan, > >>> > >>> As Mark mentioned we have implemented the ARK inflections of ? and ?? > >>> with > >>> our systems. > >>> > >>> I remember the single ? being a bit of a problem to implement in our > >>> system stack (Apache/mod_python/Django) and from what I can tell isn't > >>> possible with (Apache/mod_wsgi/Django) at all. > >>> > >>> The ?? inflection wasn't really a problem for us on either of the > >>> systems. > >>> > >>> From conversations I've had with implementors of ARK, the issues > around > >>> supporting the ? and ?? inflections don't seem to be related to the > >>> frameworks issues as other issues like commitment to identifiers, the > >>> fact > >>> that ARKs are being used in a redirection based system like Handles, or > >>> the > >>> challenges of accessing the item metadata for items elsewhere in their > >>> system. > >>> > >>> I think having a standard set of request parameters or other url > >>> conventions could be beneficial to the implementation of these features > >>> by > >>> others. > >>> > >>> Mark > >>> ________________________________________ > >>> From: Code for Libraries <CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU> on behalf of > >>> todd.d.robb...@gmail.com <todd.d.robb...@gmail.com> > >>> Sent: Saturday, December 6, 2014 8:23 AM > >>> To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU > >>> Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Functional Archival Resource Keys > >>> > >>> This brief exchange on Twitter seems relevant: > >>> > >>> https://twitter.com/abrennr/status/296948733147508737 > >>> > >>> On Fri, Dec 5, 2014 at 12:50 PM, Mark A. Matienzo < > >>> mark.matie...@gmail.com > >>> > >>>> > >>>> wrote: > >>> > >>> Hi Ethan, > >>>> > >>>> I'm hoping Mark Phillips or one of his colleagues from UNT will > respond, > >>>> but they have implemented ARK inflections. For example, compare: > >>>> > >>>> http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth5828/ > >>>> http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth5828/? > >>>> http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth5828/?? > >>>> > >>>> In particular, the challenges posed by inflections are described in > this > >>>> DC2014 paper [0] by Sébastien Peyrard and Jean-Philippe Tramoni from > the > >>>> BNF and John A. Kunze from CDL. > >>>> > >>>> [0] http://dcpapers.dublincore.org/pubs/article/view/3704/1927 > >>>> > >>>> Cheers, > >>>> Mark > >>>> > >>>> > >>>> -- > >>>> Mark A. Matienzo <m...@matienzo.org> > >>>> Director of Technology, Digital Public Library of America > >>>> > >>>> On Fri, Dec 5, 2014 at 2:36 PM, Ethan Gruber <ewg4x...@gmail.com> > >>>> wrote: > >>>> > >>>> I was recently reading the wikipedia article for Archival Resource > Keys > >>>>> (ARKs, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archival_Resource_Key), and > there > >>>>> > >>>> was > >>>> > >>>>> a > >>>>> bit of functionality that a resource is supposed to deliver that we > >>>>> > >>>> don't > >>> > >>>> in our system, nor do any other systems that I've seen that implement > >>>>> > >>>> ARK > >>> > >>>> URIs. > >>>>> > >>>>> From the article: > >>>>> > >>>>> "An ARK contains the label *ark:* after the URL's hostname, which > sets > >>>>> > >>>> the > >>>> > >>>>> expectation that, when submitted to a web browser, the URL terminated > >>>>> > >>>> by > >>> > >>>> '?' returns a brief metadata record, and the URL terminated by '??' > >>>>> > >>>> returns > >>>> > >>>>> metadata that includes a commitment statement from the current > service > >>>>> provider." > >>>>> > >>>>> Looking at the official documentation ( > >>>>> https://confluence.ucop.edu/display/Curation/ARK), they provided an > >>>>> example > >>>>> of http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/tf5p30086k? which is supposed to > >>>>> > >>>> return > >>>> > >>>>> something called an Electronic Resource Citation, but it doesn't > work. > >>>>> Probably because, and correct me if I'm wrong, using question marks > in > >>>>> > >>>> a > >>> > >>>> URL in this way doesn't really work in HTTP. > >>>>> > >>>>> So, has anyone successfully implemented this? Is it even worth it? > I'm > >>>>> > >>>> not > >>>> > >>>>> sure I can even implement this in my own architecture. > >>>>> > >>>>> Maybe it would be better to recommend a standard set of request > >>>>> > >>>> parameters > >>>> > >>>>> that actually work in REST? > >>>>> > >>>>> Ethan > >>>>> > >>>>> > >>>> > >>> > >>> > >>> -- > >>> Tod Robbins > >>> Digital Asset Manager, MLIS > >>> todrobbins.com | @todrobbins <http://www.twitter.com/#!/todrobbins> > >>> > >>> >