Re: Browsers Resolving Symbolic Link (e.g. Windows Shortcuts)

Five By Five wrote:
Does anyone know if Firefox (or IE?) running in a Microsoft Windows environment requesting a resource via LINK element will be given by the OS the file if it is referenced through a symbolic link?

For example,

The HTML document has the following element:

<link href="style/std.css" type="text/css">

The HTML document is located physically in the absolute path 'D:\Programming\My Interactive Pages\' using standard conventions of the Windows operating environment.

That path also contains a subdirectory (subfolder) 'style' in the same directory, and the subdirectory 'style' contains the file 'std.css' which is a Windows shortcut file. The shortcut points to 'C:\style\std.css'.

Not sure this is the appropriate place to ask your question, but maybe if we can help clear up a couple of your misconceptions it will either clear up your problem or redirect you in a more appropriate direction.

First off what you are asking about is a file system issue, not HTML or CSS. The only connection to HTML or CSS is via the http server (a program running on a particular OS and file system), the program that interprets a request from your browser and "serves" a resource (document, etc.). So what ever the server decides to "serve" will be dictated by either the file system's interpretation, or server options. In either case the request can be translated from what was asked for, to what is actually delivered ("if they ask for this, give them that"). For example your question asked this group a question. You could (and like should have) received a 303 status ("the resource you request is located elsewhere"), but I have chosen to "translate" your request, and provide (what I hope is) some helpful resource.

Secondly a windows "shortcut" is not a symbolic link. A shortcut is more like a HTML "bookmark", it is a reminder placed in a convenient place reminding you where to find what you want, or reminding you what to ask for. When your browser requests a resource (a shortcut file), the HTTP server dutifully serves that resource, it doesn't try to read and understand that resource and translate your request for you. A symbolic link on the other hand provides an "alias" name for the file in the file system.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Workgroup Messaging Message Configuration
    ... Project MVP ... Visit http://project.mvps.org/ for the FAQs and additional information ... The first time I did that, a status request was displayed ... I sent the request to the resource at ...
    (microsoft.public.project)
  • Re: Resource reservation problem
    ... Are you sure the client is using the "Make a Meeting" to send the request? ... double-clicking ON IT trying to create a meeting directly on the resource. ...
    (microsoft.public.outlook.calendaring)
  • Re: if-modified-since question (protocol problem?)
    ... request, but in response you are interested only if your request ... To base the decision on whether there is something 'new to show' would require knowledge about something 'old' - a cached resource. ... No Last-Modified header is sent in the response, ...
    (comp.infosystems.www.authoring.html)
  • Re: Advice on long running processes
    ... The biggest differences between run-and-exit vs. long running processes are ... resource management and error recovery. ... for request in getNextRequest: ... The other big thing is error recovery. ...
    (comp.lang.python)
  • Re: Fixing case-sensitive file errors? Mac Dev to Unix host
    ... Duncan) for your great replies. ... request for "file.exe" into a request for ... to create a symbolic link, but I'm ...
    (comp.infosystems.www.authoring.html)