# syntax first, protocols second, implementations nyet

Larry Masinter (masinter@parc.xerox.com)
Fri, 29 Oct 1993 23:25:11 PDT

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    To: uri@bunyip.com

    Subject: syntax first, protocols second, implementations nyet

    From: Larry Masinter <masinter@parc.xerox.com>

    Message-Id: <93Oct29.232526pdt.2795@golden.parc.xerox.com>

    Date: 	Fri, 29 Oct 1993 23:25:11 PDT

I believe the charter of the 'uri' group is primarily to standardize
the SYNTAX of how to make a reference (from one thing) to something
else.

This is the first step in standardizing some PROTOCOLS for doing
things like translating one kind of reference to another.

And these are necessary before we can have useful IMPLEMENTIONS.

Now, it's useful to have implementations before you can validate a
protocol, and you need to know the protocol to know whether the syntax
is adequate for expressing what the protocol need to be expressed.

However, if we only get convergence on the SYNTAX, we'll still have
won, even if we disagree on protocol and implementation details.
Hackers-that-we-are, it's fun--and important--to bat around
implementation ideas, but... I don't think we're going to resolve
whois++ vs. dns vs ... anytime soon.

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