Opened 12 years ago
Closed 9 years ago
#303 closed design (fixed)
400 response isn't generic
Reported by: | mnot@… | Owned by: | mnot@… |
---|---|---|---|
Priority: | normal | Milestone: | 24 |
Component: | p2-semantics | Severity: | Active WG Document |
Keywords: | Cc: |
Description (last modified by mnot@…)
When people have error states that don't cleanly fit into an existing status code, they're often encouraged to use 400 or 500, depending on whether the client or server were at fault, as they're the most "generic" status codes.
500's definition fits this:
8.5.1. 500 Internal Server Error
The server encountered an unexpected condition which prevented it from fulfilling the request.
However, 400 is much more specific:
8.4.1. 400 Bad Request
The request could not be understood by the server due to malformed syntax. The client SHOULD NOT repeat the request without modifications.
I think the 400 definition needs to be broadened, so that people don't invent their own status codes, or misuse existing ones.
E.g.,
""" The server can or will not process the request, due to a client error (e.g., malformed syntax). """
Also, it currently says:
The client SHOULD NOT repeat the request without modifications.
To make it generically useful, it should say something like:
The client SHOULD NOT repeat the request without modifications, unless the response has a Retry-After header.
Change History (14)
comment:1 Changed 12 years ago by mnot@…
- Description modified (diff)
comment:2 Changed 12 years ago by mnot@…
- Owner changed from draft-ietf-httpbis-p2-semantics@… to mnot@…
- Status changed from new to assigned
comment:3 Changed 12 years ago by mnot@…
- Milestone changed from unassigned to 16
comment:4 Changed 12 years ago by julian.reschke@…
comment:5 Changed 12 years ago by julian.reschke@…
- Resolution set to incorporated
- Status changed from assigned to closed
comment:6 Changed 11 years ago by mnot@…
- Resolution incorporated deleted
- Status changed from closed to reopened
comment:7 Changed 11 years ago by mnot@…
- Resolution set to fixed
- Status changed from reopened to closed
comment:8 Changed 10 years ago by mnot@…
- Resolution fixed deleted
- Status changed from closed to reopened
comment:9 Changed 10 years ago by mnot@…
This decision was editorially overridden in -21; please revert to reflect the issue resolution, or bring up why on-list.
comment:10 Changed 10 years ago by julian.reschke@…
comment:11 Changed 10 years ago by julian.reschke@…
- Milestone changed from 16 to 24
- Resolution set to incorporated
- Status changed from reopened to closed
comment:12 Changed 10 years ago by fielding@…
comment:13 Changed 9 years ago by mnot@…
- Resolution incorporated deleted
- Status changed from closed to reopened
comment:14 Changed 9 years ago by mnot@…
- Resolution set to fixed
- Status changed from reopened to closed
From [1342]:
400 response isn't generic (see #303)