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Re: LYNX-DEV same document retrieved several times
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From: |
Mike Brown |
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Subject: |
Re: LYNX-DEV same document retrieved several times |
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Date: |
Sun, 20 Apr 1997 08:21:52 -0700 (PDT) |
> I guess I will take the interpretation of <META NAME=..> as equivalent
> to <META HTTP-EQUIV=..> out of the development code, unless someone
> convinces me that it is a good thing...
I've been reading various W3C and IETF specs recently, looking for some
definitive information on proper usage of META tags and specifically the
Keywords examples. There isn't anything definitive on Keywords, aside
from an expired IETF HTML Working Group draft that seems to have been
incorporated, at least in part, into the Cougar (next version of HTML)
draft, leading me to believe that there has probably been some discussion
about it among the Powers That Be on a mailing list somewhere. (Any
further references would be appreciated -- send to me privately).
But anyway, the one thing that is clearly mentioned in the HTML specs is
that <META HTTP-EQUIV=..> is reserved for tokens and content that are
intended to be provided by the HTTP server in the HEAD that is sent before
the document, while <META NAME=..> information is only relevant within the
<HEAD>..</HEAD> portion of the HTML document itself. The implication is
that HTTP-EQUIV is only to be used for standard, valid HTTP headers, (or
other information, if the client is expecting to see it in the HTTP
headers), while NAME can be anything you want.
It would follow that any <META NAME=..> is essentially a comment within
the document, and should not be considered to be a replacement for nor
addition to anything that would appear in the HTTP header. In this
particular case, they may have some software that goes looking for
those <META NAME="Expires"..> tags with that particular date format in a
collection of documents, and sends mail to the owners if it's time for an
update, for example. It would be inappropriate for Lynx to assume that
these <META NAME=..> tags are HTTP headers, even if the tokens are the
same as what would normally be found in such headers.
In other words, I agree with you.
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