When are and aren't two URLs the same? (ports)

[Josh Hoyt]

On 4/14/06, Jonathan Daugherty <cygnus at janrain.com> wrote:
> I think the simplest answer is: it's up to individual identity
> providers to decide what is equivalent by setting up the appropriate
> redirects.  I'm not sure we can standardize on rules that everyone can
> afford to follow.  The redirection process can canonicalize any URL in
> whatever way is appropriate for the identity provider that manages
> that URL space.

This is what OpenID does, along with a little bit of simple
transformation of the user input. In some sense, it's a cop-out,
because there are URL normalization rules [1][2] that exist, but these
rules are likely not compatible with all deployed web hosts. I think
that either solution is workable, and there are advantages to either.

I tend toward the OpenID solution, but that's probably because I've
already written code and tests to make sure it works.

Josh

1. http://www.intertwingly.net/wiki/pie/PaceCanonicalIds
2. http://gbiv.com/protocols/uri/rev-2002/rfc2396bis.html#comparison