On Wed, Sep 13, 2000 at 06:07:44PM +0200, Stenberg Björn wrote:
: > With "localhost", no name lookup should be necessary, but you
: > can actually get files from remote computers through file: URLs.
:
: Well, that's stretching things a bit. RFC 1738 says you can enter a full
: hostname in the URL, but it also says:
:
: This scheme, unlike most other URL schemes, does not designate a
: resource that is universally accessible over the Internet.

...nor did I suggest it was. file: URLs are always specific to the local
environment, whether the URL is pointed to localhost or to a remote host.

: Anyway, since there is (on purpose) no protocol specified, there is simply
: no way to reliably make file:// work for remote files. Or, to quote the RFC:
:
: The file URL scheme is unusual in that it does not specify an
: Internet protocol or access method for such files; as such, its
: utility in network protocols between hosts is limited.

Agreed. It's all depending on the implementation and on having access to the
host and read-access to the file. Since this isn't universal and no technique
for implementing it is specified (even suggested), it seldom (read: never) is...

  Lars J
Received on 2000-09-13