Daniel Stenberg wrote:
> On Fri, 14 Dec 2007, Jean Marie COUPRIE wrote:
>
>> The user assumes that the contents of files in 1) and 2) are similar.
>
> Your quoted big diff is probably due to the redirect problem from above.
>
>> I wish that the man page warn against this false assumption and
>> emphasize this difference of behavior.
>
> First, those differences are not because of curl vs browsers, they're
> actually more of the exception than the rule and then we have documented
> how to script things with HTTP already:
>
> http://curl.haxx.se/docs/httpscripting.html
>
> Where and how exactly do you suggest we'd mention this in the man page?

The man page defines curl pretty well, IMHO. Unfortunately, that
definition is only clear to people who know what the mentioned
protocols actually are.

The difference could be mentioned in the faqs, e.g. adding a paragraph
in item "1.3 What is curl not?", more or less like so:

  Curl is not a browser. It does not interpret nor execute URL content,
  be it html, javascript, shockwave flash, etcetera. Consequently, curl
  does not automatically act upon any further URL referenced therein
  (images, css styles and similar.) See also items 3.6 for generated
  html, and 3.14 for redirections that curl won't follow.
Received on 2007-12-15