[DAS2] Alternative feature formats in current DAS/2 spec

Helt,Gregg Gregg_Helt at affymetrix.com
Thu Feb 2 01:03:47 UTC 2006


When discussing alternative feature formats, the spec reads:
The feature query URL supports the optional "format" parameter used to
request that the results be returns in an alternative format.  The
format names are listed in the versioned source document in the
<FORMAT> element of the "feature" <CATEGORY>.
 
I think the second sentence should instead read something like:
The possible format names for a particular feature type are listed in
the types document in the <FORMAT> elements for a given type. 
 
Also, the spec says:
Some of search results may not be expressible in the specified format.
The server should silently skip those feature records and return only
those records which can be converted.
 
I would argue that if any of the search results cannot be returned in
the specified format, then the server should really just return an
error.  Silently suppressing information is not good.  A generic
400-"Bad Request" would work, although a 415-"Unsupported Media Type"
might be more appropriate.
 
        gregg
 




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