Changeset 1172 for draft-ietf-httpbis/latest/p4-conditional.xml

Timestamp:

Mar 13, 2011, 12:18:50 AM (9 years ago)

Author:

fielding@…

Message:

editorial: remove inappropriate implementation details from
the definition of last-modified.

File:

• draft-ietf-httpbis/latest/p4-conditional.xml (modified) (1 diff)

draft-ietf-httpbis/latest/p4-conditional.xml

@@ -1066 +1066 @@
 </artwork></figure>
 <t>
-   The exact meaning of this header field depends on the implementation
-   of the origin server and the nature of the original resource. For
-   files, it might be just the file system last-modified time. For
-   representations with dynamically included parts, it might be the most recent
-   of the set of last-modify times for its component parts. For database
-   gateways, it might be the last-update time stamp of the record. For
-   virtual objects, it might be the last time the internal state changed.
+   A representation is typically the sum of many parts behind the
+   resource interface.  The last-modified time would usually be
+   the most recent time that any of those parts were changed.
+   How that value is determined for any given resource is an
+   implementation detail beyond the scope of this specification.
+   What matters to HTTP is how recipients of the Last-Modified
+   header field can use its value to make conditional requests
+   and test the validity of locally cached responses.
 </t>
 <t>