VOSpace vs WebDAV

[Walter Landry]

Matthew Graham <mjg at cacr.caltech.edu> wrote:
> Hi Walter,
> 
> This is the presentation that Paul Harrison gave in May 2007 on this subject: 
> 
> http://wiki.ivoa.net/internal/IVOA/InterOpMay2007GridAndWebServices/VOSpaceWebDAV.pdf

Thanks.  I have seen that presentation before.  He claims that the
vos: URI scheme indirection service is a feature.  But he does not
give any use cases where it provides an advantage.  As I noted in my
original email, vos: URI's feel like a reinvention of DNS.  Can you or
anyone else describe a use case where it becomes useful?

Also, on the second to last slide Paul makes the points

  • Let’s not invent our own - WebDAV is the archetypical REST protocol.
    – Make sure that VOSpace is at least a minimal WebDAV server.
  • Perhaps we could engage the WebDAV standardization groups to add VOSpace
    features?

which is definitely not what happened.  VOSpace is not a WebDAV server
with extensions.  If it were, the advantages of VOSpace would be more
clear.

Thanks,
Walter Landry