Re: Form-based File Upload in HTML

Larry Masinter ([email protected])
Sat, 18 Nov 1995 15:34:38 PST


> ... a number of developers have mentioned that it would be easier to
> process uploaded files if each file was given a content-length part
> header. I know it's late in the game, but I thought it worth mentioning.

This was an option in the original proposal, but was (vigorously)
debated and ultimately removed, because

* the boundary is a reliable indicator of the extent of the file data
* if both content-length and boundary are present, you have to check
the boundary anyway.
* in some situations computing the content-length is difficult
(although necessary for HTTP POST in some situations).

That is, while developers might think it would be easier with explicit
content-length parts, they're wrong.

The RFC should probably have said this explicitly.