Re: [basex-talk] HTTP response and raising error()
Hi Christian and Dirk, >> Nothing major but I was wondering what the thinking was behind >> returning a 400 when fn:error is raised. Basically that says "client, >> your mistake not mine" where in most cases I guess a 500 would be more >> appropriate. > > The rationale behind this was that a RESTXQ developer can use fn:error > functions, which are triggered when the client sends invalid input. > But it's true that 500 codes may be more appropriate if the server > code is buggy indeed. Thanks to Dirk I now know that I can specify response status through the third argument. I assume as I haven't tried it yet. But yes, I still think that assuming the code is wrong would be the better default. Not a biggie though :) >> Of course I can always catch at the highest level and then decide >> which HTTP status to return but I'm not sure if I want to wrap all >> REST calls in try / catch. > > Could you write more about your use case? Do you expect your code to > be buggy, or when do errors occur? I was fixing an issue on a REST API for one of our products that uses bx as an object cache. We had cases where a nested object was just added in the main app and bx would not be 100% up to date yet. When such a cache miss occurs I need to call into the main app's API to give me the missing object. This is done via http:send-request to the main app which obviously may fail in various ways too. I use fn:error to signal these conditions. Most of the RESTXQ functions deal with the same object querying and until now I just let the errors bubble up taking advantage of default behaviour. That's where I wanted to let the client know that the request wasn't successful (hence a 500). Probably a bit lazy. Does that make sense? I'm even older ;) btw did you already give your Balisage presentation? I read your paper with great interest. Hope it was well received. Gruß --Marc
Re: [basex-talk] BaseX "subcollections"
Hi Tim,
There is no fixed collection layer in BaseX. However, a single
database can contain millions of documents with arbitrary paths, and
you can always specify target paths when adding or replacing
documents. This also applies if you add more than one file at a time:
OPEN db1
ADD TO /colls/coll1 c:/xml/files/on/my/disk
…or via XQuery (and binary resources):
for $f in file:children('c:/users/user/desktop')
return db:store('db1', 'coll/' || file:name($f), file:read-binary($f))
Our documentation on databases may shed some more light on this [1].
Best,
Christian
[1] http://docs.basex.org/wiki/Databases
On Thu, Aug 13, 2015 at 7:13 PM, Tim Thompson wrote:
> Thanks, Dirk. Basically, I just want to create hierarchical collections
> within a database, with some subcollections being possible empty. But if I
> do CREATE DB parent, I'm not able to follow that with something like, CREATE
> DB parent/child. Is this possible by other means? (Sorry for the newbie
> question; I'm still getting familiarized with how things work in BaseX.)
>
> Tim
>
> --
> Tim A. Thompson
> Metadata Librarian (Spanish/Portuguese Specialty)
> Princeton University Library
>
>
> On Thu, Aug 13, 2015 at 6:07 AM, Dirk Kirsten wrote:
>>
>> Hello Tim,
>>
>> I am not sure I understand your question completely. Basically every way
>> how you can add a document to a database you can specify a path, e.g. using
>> the XQuery database module or by using the CREATE document to create a new
>> database and initialize it. Is there anything specific you are looking for?
>>
>> Also, please not that BaseX 6.3.1 is _very_ outdated... I don't think you
>> can find much valuable information there except looking for the history of
>> BaseX.
>>
>> Cheers
>> Dirk
>>
>>
>> On 08/12/2015 07:15 PM, Tim Thompson wrote:
>>
>> Hello,
>>
>> I see that I can create subcollections or paths within a database if I
>> create the database then use the "ADD TO" command to add a resource at a
>> specified path. Is this the only way to create hiearchical structure within
>> a database? I couldn't find many details about this in the documentation.
>>
>> I see that the changelog for BaseX 6.3.1 includes, [ADD] REST: support for
>> hierarchical collections added; details will follow, but I don't see
>> anything about this in the wiki page for the REST module.
>>
>> Thanks in advance,
>> Tim
>>
>> --
>> Tim A. Thompson
>> Metadata Librarian (Spanish/Portuguese Specialty)
>> Princeton University Library
>>
>>
>> --
>> Dirk Kirsten, BaseX GmbH, http://basexgmbh.de
>> |-- Firmensitz: Blarerstrasse 56, 78462 Konstanz
>> |-- Registergericht Freiburg, HRB: 708285, Geschäftsführer:
>> | Dr. Christian Grün, Dr. Alexander Holupirek, Michael Seiferle
>> `-- Phone: 0049 7531 28 28 676, Fax: 0049 7531 20 05 22
>
>
Re: [basex-talk] HTTP response and raising error()
Hi Marc,
> Nothing major but I was wondering what the thinking was behind
> returning a 400 when fn:error is raised. Basically that says "client,
> your mistake not mine" where in most cases I guess a 500 would be more
> appropriate.
The rationale behind this was that a RESTXQ developer can use fn:error
functions, which are triggered when the client sends invalid input.
But it's true that 500 codes may be more appropriate if the server
code is buggy indeed.
Unfortunately, it's not really possible to detect if an error was
explicitly raised in the XQuery code, or if it was unexpected. Errors
starting with XPST usually indicate parsing errors, but even those
codes can be manually generated:
fn:error(xs:QName('err:XPST0003'), 'Hehe')
> Of course I can always catch at the highest level and then decide
> which HTTP status to return but I'm not sure if I want to wrap all
> REST calls in try / catch.
Could you write more about your use case? Do you expect your code to
be buggy, or when do errors occur?
Christian
PS: Dirk may give you another reply on the third argument of fn:error.
I'm not sure if it really works (but never forget I'm getting older
every day ;)
Re: [basex-talk] BaseX "subcollections"
Thanks, Dirk. Basically, I just want to create hierarchical collections within a database, with some subcollections being possible empty. But if I do CREATE DB parent, I'm not able to follow that with something like, CREATE DB parent/child. Is this possible by other means? (Sorry for the newbie question; I'm still getting familiarized with how things work in BaseX.) Tim -- Tim A. Thompson Metadata Librarian (Spanish/Portuguese Specialty) Princeton University Library On Thu, Aug 13, 2015 at 6:07 AM, Dirk Kirsten wrote: > Hello Tim, > > I am not sure I understand your question completely. Basically every way > how you can add a document to a database you can specify a path, e.g. using > the XQuery database module or by using the CREATE document to create a new > database and initialize it. Is there anything specific you are looking for? > > Also, please not that BaseX 6.3.1 is _very_ outdated... I don't think you > can find much valuable information there except looking for the history of > BaseX. > > Cheers > Dirk > > > On 08/12/2015 07:15 PM, Tim Thompson wrote: > > Hello, > > I see that I can create subcollections or paths within a database if I > create the database then use the "ADD TO" command to add a resource at a > specified path. Is this the only way to create hiearchical structure within > a database? I couldn't find many details about this in the documentation. > > I see that the changelog for BaseX 6.3.1 includes, [ADD] REST: support > for hierarchical collections added; details will follow, but I don't see > anything about this in the wiki page for the REST module. > > Thanks in advance, > Tim > > -- > Tim A. Thompson > Metadata Librarian (Spanish/Portuguese Specialty) > Princeton University Library > > > -- > Dirk Kirsten, BaseX GmbH, http://basexgmbh.de > |-- Firmensitz: Blarerstrasse 56, 78462 Konstanz > |-- Registergericht Freiburg, HRB: 708285, Geschäftsführer: > | Dr. Christian Grün, Dr. Alexander Holupirek, Michael Seiferle > `-- Phone: 0049 7531 28 28 676, Fax: 0049 7531 20 05 22 > >
Re: [basex-talk] HTTP response and raising error()
Hello Marc,
you are correct. This is the advantage if you see the XQuery code
Christian writes, you will discover all the undocumented magic things.
But I added a little documentation at
http://docs.basex.org/wiki/RESTXQ#XQuery_Errors, so you all know how you
can return the mighty 418 status code :)
Cheers
Dirk
On 08/13/2015 04:33 PM, Marc van Grootel wrote:
> Ah, ok. Didn't know about the third argument. I didn't realize that an
> int as $error-object would be interpreted as returning that as status
> code. Is this documented? I mean how BaseX deals with the third
> argument? I couldn't find it. The spec leaves it open to
> implementations.
>
> --Marc
>
> On Thu, Aug 13, 2015 at 3:37 PM, Dirk Kirsten wrote:
>> Hi Marc,
>>
>> I agree, I think 500 would be more in line with the HTTP status code
>> definitions.. It wasn't really an issue for us in our commercial projects
>> ever (as we mostly send custom status code) and I guess this is why no one
>> cared/noticed, but it would be cleaner to use 500 by default. By the way,
>> you can define the status code easily by using the third argument of the
>> error function:
>>
>> fn:error( xs:QName('error'), "message", 500)
>>
>> However, as it would be a breaking change it might be wise to delay the
>> switch until BaseX 9. Or, of course, there are indeed some reasons why this
>> is 400.
>>
>> Cheers
>> Dirk
>>
>> On 08/13/2015 03:06 PM, Marc van Grootel wrote:
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> Nothing major but I was wondering what the thinking was behind
>> returning a 400 when fn:error is raised. Basically that says "client,
>> your mistake not mine" where in most cases I guess a 500 would be more
>> appropriate.
>>
>> Where is this decided (RESTXQ?) and is there an easy way to change the
>> status when fn:error is used?
>>
>> Of course I can always catch at the highest level and then decide
>> which HTTP status to return but I'm not sure if I want to wrap all
>> REST calls in try / catch.
>>
>>
>> --
>> Dirk Kirsten, BaseX GmbH, http://basexgmbh.de
>> |-- Firmensitz: Blarerstrasse 56, 78462 Konstanz
>> |-- Registergericht Freiburg, HRB: 708285, Geschäftsführer:
>> | Dr. Christian Grün, Dr. Alexander Holupirek, Michael Seiferle
>> `-- Phone: 0049 7531 28 28 676, Fax: 0049 7531 20 05 22
>
>
--
Dirk Kirsten, BaseX GmbH, http://basexgmbh.de
|-- Firmensitz: Blarerstrasse 56, 78462 Konstanz
|-- Registergericht Freiburg, HRB: 708285, Geschäftsführer:
| Dr. Christian Grün, Dr. Alexander Holupirek, Michael Seiferle
`-- Phone: 0049 7531 28 28 676, Fax: 0049 7531 20 05 22
Re: [basex-talk] HTTP response and raising error()
Ah, ok. Didn't know about the third argument. I didn't realize that an
int as $error-object would be interpreted as returning that as status
code. Is this documented? I mean how BaseX deals with the third
argument? I couldn't find it. The spec leaves it open to
implementations.
--Marc
On Thu, Aug 13, 2015 at 3:37 PM, Dirk Kirsten wrote:
> Hi Marc,
>
> I agree, I think 500 would be more in line with the HTTP status code
> definitions.. It wasn't really an issue for us in our commercial projects
> ever (as we mostly send custom status code) and I guess this is why no one
> cared/noticed, but it would be cleaner to use 500 by default. By the way,
> you can define the status code easily by using the third argument of the
> error function:
>
> fn:error( xs:QName('error'), "message", 500)
>
> However, as it would be a breaking change it might be wise to delay the
> switch until BaseX 9. Or, of course, there are indeed some reasons why this
> is 400.
>
> Cheers
> Dirk
>
> On 08/13/2015 03:06 PM, Marc van Grootel wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> Nothing major but I was wondering what the thinking was behind
> returning a 400 when fn:error is raised. Basically that says "client,
> your mistake not mine" where in most cases I guess a 500 would be more
> appropriate.
>
> Where is this decided (RESTXQ?) and is there an easy way to change the
> status when fn:error is used?
>
> Of course I can always catch at the highest level and then decide
> which HTTP status to return but I'm not sure if I want to wrap all
> REST calls in try / catch.
>
>
> --
> Dirk Kirsten, BaseX GmbH, http://basexgmbh.de
> |-- Firmensitz: Blarerstrasse 56, 78462 Konstanz
> |-- Registergericht Freiburg, HRB: 708285, Geschäftsführer:
> | Dr. Christian Grün, Dr. Alexander Holupirek, Michael Seiferle
> `-- Phone: 0049 7531 28 28 676, Fax: 0049 7531 20 05 22
--
--Marc
Re: [basex-talk] HTTP response and raising error()
Hi Marc,
I agree, I think 500 would be more in line with the HTTP status code
definitions.. It wasn't really an issue for us in our commercial
projects ever (as we mostly send custom status code) and I guess this is
why no one cared/noticed, but it would be cleaner to use 500 by default.
By the way, you can define the status code easily by using the third
argument of the error function:
fn:error( xs:QName('error'), "message", 500)
However, as it would be a breaking change it might be wise to delay the
switch until BaseX 9. Or, of course, there are indeed some reasons why
this is 400.
Cheers
Dirk
On 08/13/2015 03:06 PM, Marc van Grootel wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Nothing major but I was wondering what the thinking was behind
> returning a 400 when fn:error is raised. Basically that says "client,
> your mistake not mine" where in most cases I guess a 500 would be more
> appropriate.
>
> Where is this decided (RESTXQ?) and is there an easy way to change the
> status when fn:error is used?
>
> Of course I can always catch at the highest level and then decide
> which HTTP status to return but I'm not sure if I want to wrap all
> REST calls in try / catch.
>
--
Dirk Kirsten, BaseX GmbH, http://basexgmbh.de
|-- Firmensitz: Blarerstrasse 56, 78462 Konstanz
|-- Registergericht Freiburg, HRB: 708285, Geschäftsführer:
| Dr. Christian Grün, Dr. Alexander Holupirek, Michael Seiferle
`-- Phone: 0049 7531 28 28 676, Fax: 0049 7531 20 05 22
[basex-talk] HTTP response and raising error()
Hi, Nothing major but I was wondering what the thinking was behind returning a 400 when fn:error is raised. Basically that says "client, your mistake not mine" where in most cases I guess a 500 would be more appropriate. Where is this decided (RESTXQ?) and is there an easy way to change the status when fn:error is used? Of course I can always catch at the highest level and then decide which HTTP status to return but I'm not sure if I want to wrap all REST calls in try / catch. -- --Marc
Re: [basex-talk] BaseX "subcollections"
Hello Tim, I am not sure I understand your question completely. Basically every way how you can add a document to a database you can specify a path, e.g. using the XQuery database module or by using the CREATE document to create a new database and initialize it. Is there anything specific you are looking for? Also, please not that BaseX 6.3.1 is _very_ outdated... I don't think you can find much valuable information there except looking for the history of BaseX. Cheers Dirk On 08/12/2015 07:15 PM, Tim Thompson wrote: > Hello, > > I see that I can create subcollections or paths within a database if I > create the database then use the "ADD TO" command to add a resource at > a specified path. Is this the only way to create hiearchical structure > within a database? I couldn't find many details about this in the > documentation. > > I see that the changelog for BaseX 6.3.1 includes,[ADD] REST: support > for hierarchical collections added; details will follow, but I don't > see anything about this in the wiki page for the REST module. > > Thanks in advance, > Tim > > -- > Tim A. Thompson > Metadata Librarian (Spanish/Portuguese Specialty) > Princeton University Library > -- Dirk Kirsten, BaseX GmbH, http://basexgmbh.de |-- Firmensitz: Blarerstrasse 56, 78462 Konstanz |-- Registergericht Freiburg, HRB: 708285, Geschäftsführer: | Dr. Christian Grün, Dr. Alexander Holupirek, Michael Seiferle `-- Phone: 0049 7531 28 28 676, Fax: 0049 7531 20 05 22
