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List:       ietf
Subject:    Re: whither HTTP?
From:       "Simon St.Laurent" <simonstl () SIMONSTL ! COM>
Date:       2000-10-20 1:28:30
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At 06:16 PM 10/19/00 -0700, Marshall Rose wrote:
>> I know some folks are talking about blocks, though that could replace a
>lot
>> more than HTTP:
>> http://www.bxxp.org
>
>i don't think so. i think that http is as entrenched as ip & tcp, and is
>nearly as irreplacable.
>
>the problem, i think, a general lack of clarity as to what http is for.
>
>i'd say that beep is a generic application protocol framework for
>connection-oriented, asynchronous interactions.
>
>while http is many things to many people, i don't think anyone would
>s/http/beep/ in the previous sentence.

I'm hearing from developers who are looking for alternative to HTTP as a
substrate for protocols, and from others who find HTTP too constraining
even for the uses it has claimed to serve.  Both groups seem to like blocks
when I point them that direction, though I haven't heard of actual
implementation.

Be ambitious - it can be fun sometimes.  I agree that HTTP is entrenched,
but I hardly consider it irreplaceable.  Maybe I've just had too much fun
watching the launch of XML, but I think there's lots of room out there for
significant change.  Maybe not into the Web browser tomorrow, but blocks is
definitely promising for a wide variety of possibilities.

Simon St.Laurent
XML Elements of Style / XML: A Primer, 2nd Ed.
XHTML: Migrating Toward XML
http://www.simonstl.com - XML essays and books

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