Individual SubmissionJ. Reschke
Internet-DraftA. Malhotra
Intended status: Standards TrackJ. Snell
Expires: October 12, 2015April 10, 2015

HTTP SEARCH Method

Abstract

This specification updates the definition and semantics of the HTTP SEARCH request method previously defined by [RFC5323].

Status of this Memo

This Internet-Draft is submitted to IETF in full conformance with the provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

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This Internet-Draft will expire on October 12, 2015.

Copyright Notice

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1. Introduction

This specification updates the HTTP SEARCH method originally defined in [RFC5323].

Many existing HTTP-based applications use the HTTP GET and POST methods in various ways to implement the functionality provided by SEARCH.

Using a GET request with some combination of query parameters included within the request URI (as illustrated in the example below) is arguably the most common mechanism for implementing search in web applications. With this approach, implementations are required to parse the request URI into distinct path (everything before the '?') and query elements (everything after the '?'). The path identifies the resource processing the query (in this case 'http://example.org/feed') while the query identifies the specific parameters of the search operation.

A typical use of HTTP GET for requesting a search

GET /feed?q=foo&limit=10&sort=-published HTTP/1.1
Host: example.org

While there are definite advantages to using GET requests in this manner, the disadvantages should not be overlooked. Specifically:

As an alternative to using GET, many implementations make use of the HTTP POST method to perform queries, as illustrated in the example below. In this case, the input parameters to the search operation are passed along within the request payload as opposed to using the request URI.

A typical use of HTTP GET for requesting a search

POST /feed HTTP/1.1
Host: example.org
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded

q=foo&limit=10&sort=-published

This variation, however, suffers from the same basic limitation as GET in that it is not readily apparent -- absent specific knowledge of the resource and server to which the request is being sent -- that a search operation is what is being requested. Web applications use the POST method for a wide variety of uses including the creation or modification of existing resources. Sending the request above to a different server, or even repeatedly sending the request to the same server could have dramatically different effects.

The SEARCH method provides a solution that spans the gap between the use of GET and POST. As with POST, the input to the query operation is passed along within the payload of the request rather than as part of the request URI. Unlike POST, however the semantics of the SEARCH method are specifically defined.

In this document, the key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119].

4. Examples

The non-normative examples in this section make use of a simple, hypothetical plain-text based query syntax based on SQL with results returned as comma-separated values. This is done for illustration purposes only. Implementations are free to use any format they wish on both the request and response.

4.1. Simple SEARCH with a Direct Response

A simple SPAQRL query with a Direct Response:

  SEARCH /contacts HTTP/1.1
  Host: example.org
  Content-Type: text/query
  Accept: text/csv

  select surname, givenname, email limit 10

Response:

  HTTP/1.1 200 OK
  Content-Type: text/csv

  surname, givenname, email
  Smith, John, john.smith@example.org
  Jones, Sally, sally.jones@example.com
  Dubois, Camille, camille.dubois@example.net

4.2. Simple SEARCH with Indirect Response (303 See Other)

A simple SPAQRL query with an Indirect Response (303 See Other)

  SEARCH /contacts HTTP/1.1
  Host: example.org
  Content-Type: text/query
  Accept: text/csv

  select surname, givenname, email limit 10

Response:

  HTTP/1.1 303 See Other
  Location: http://example.org/contacts/query123

Fetch Query Response:

  GET /contacts/query123 HTTP/1.1
  Host: example.org

Response:

  HTTP/1.1 200 OK
  Content-Type: text/csv

  surname, givenname, email
  Smith, John, john.smith@example.org
  Jones, Sally, sally.jones@example.com
  Dubois, Camille, camille.dubois@example.net

5. Security Considerations

The SEARCH method is subject to the same general security considerations as all HTTP methods as described in [RFC7231].

6. IANA Considerations

IANA is requested to update the registration of the SEARCH method in the permanent registry at <http://www.iana.org/assignments/http-methods> (see Section 8.1 of [RFC7231]).

Method NameSafeIdempotentSpecification
SEARCHYesYesSection 2

7. Normative References

[RFC2119]
Bradner, S., “Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels”, BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.
[RFC4918]
Dusseault, L., Ed., “HTTP Extensions for Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV)”, RFC 4918, June 2007, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4918>.
[RFC5323]
Reschke, J., Ed., Reddy, S., Davis, J., and A. Babich, “Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) SEARCH”, RFC 5323, November 2008, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5323>.
[RFC7230]
Fielding, R., Ed. and J. Reschke, Ed., “Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Message Syntax and Routing”, RFC 7230, June 2014, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7230>.
[RFC7231]
Fielding, R., Ed. and J. Reschke, Ed., “Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Semantics and Content”, RFC 7231, June 2014, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7231>.
[RFC7232]
Fielding, R., Ed. and J. Reschke, Ed., “Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Conditional Requests”, RFC 7232, June 2014, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7232>.
[RFC7234]
Fielding, R., Ed., Nottingham, M., Ed., and J. Reschke, Ed., “Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Caching”, RFC 7234, June 2014, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7234>.

Authors' Addresses

Julian Reschke
EMail: julian.reschke@greenbytes.de
Ashok Malhotra
EMail: ashok.malhotra@oracle.com
James M Snell
EMail: jasnell@gmail.com