# Re: Version 5 of URL draft

Mark P. McCahill (mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu)
Wed, 27 Jul 1994 17:14:23 -0500

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    Date: Wed, 27 Jul 1994 17:14:23 -0500

    Message-Id: <199407272214.RAA23276@boombox.micro.umn.edu>

    From: "Mark P. McCahill" <mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu>

    To: dob@inel.gov, masinter@parc.xerox.com, uri@bunyip.com

    Subject: Re: Version 5 of URL draft

In message <9407271437.AA06023@coop.inel.gov> Dave Brooks writes:
>
> I don't understand the statement in 3.4.3 that the search string can be
> empty.

Ok, an example should help:

Suppose that I want to refer the gopher+ attributes of a search engine.
I might want the gopher+ attributes of what came back when I submitted
a specific query. In this case the search string holds the words that I
submitted as a search query.

I might also want to have a URL that refers to gopher+ attributes of the
search engine itself (rather than a specific query). In this case I do not
want to submit a query, so the search string is empty.

To keep the Gopher+ URL syntax regular, the Gopher+ URL is set up so that
all type 7 items (search engines) have the "<tab> search string" clause in
the URL. When you aren't submitting a search (because you are referring to a
gopher+ attribute of the engine itself) the search string is empty. When you
are submitting a search query, then there the words you want to search for are
inside the search string.

> I'm sorry if we've discussed this already, but as a Gopher client
> author it doesn't make sense to me.
>

Hopefully, it makes some sence now...

Mark P. McCahill gopherspace engineer
mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu University of Minnesota
612 625 1300 612 625 6817 (fax)

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