Re: SPEC: DNS conventions & "naming" of VRML sites

Chris Marrin ([email protected])
Thu, 15 Jun 1995 10:48:37 -0700

> I think you guys are missing the point. I may be misinterpreting the
> original suggestion, but I did not get that impression that it was
> intended as a requirement, or that any browser should use the site name
to
> decide how to display the received files. The point of the suggestion,
as
> I understood it, was to help general users identify, by host name, which
> was the best server to be trying to get files from. For example, if I
were
> to get a hint from someone that Netscape Inc. has a cool new VRML space,
> then my gui> at where to find it would be "vrml.netscape.com", just as
my
> gui> es would be tend to be correct for FTP and WWW from the same site.
>
> It's just a way of advertising what is available, and guiding the users
> to the right server.

But you are equating "www" with HTML. When I type in "www.sgi.com",
there's no reason my browser couldn't ask for home.wrl, and if that does
not exist it can ask for the default home page from that server. That way
I get a world from servers that have one and html from those that don't.
In fact, you can set up netsite to serve any document as the default, so
I could make my server give back home.wrl.

I have not seen a way to do it but Brian's idea of having a server give
back a .wrl or a .html based on the Accept: string would be a nice feature
in an http server and it would solve the problem of site accessibility
better than having yet another domain ps"fix.

-- 
chris marrin      Silicon      http://www.sgi.com/Products/WebFORCE/WebSpace
(415) 390-5367    Graphics     http://reality.sgi.com/employees/cmarrin/
[email protected]   Inc.         
         "As a general rule, don't solve puzzles that open portals to Hell."