Subject: [Errata Held for Document Update] RFC7231 (4436)

From: RFC Errata System <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 7 Aug 2015 07:06:11 -0700 (PDT)

The following errata report has been held for document update 
for RFC7231, "Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Semantics and Content". 

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You may review the report below and at:
http://www.rfc-editor.org/errata_search.php?rfc=7231&eid=4436

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Status: Held for Document Update
Type: Editorial

Reported by: Aron Duby <[email-masked]>
Date Reported: 2015-08-06
Held by: Barry Leiba (IESG)

Section: 4.3.5

Original Text
-------------
If a DELETE method is successfully applied, the origin server SHOULD
send a 202 (Accepted) status code if the action will likely succeed
but has not yet been enacted, a 204 (No Content) status code if the
action has been enacted and no further information is to be supplied,
or a 200 (OK) status code if the action has been enacted and the
response message includes a representation describing the status.

Corrected Text
--------------
If a DELETE method is successfully applied, the origin server SHOULD
send a 202 (Accepted) status code if the action will likely succeed
but has not yet been enacted; a 204 (No Content) status code if the
action has been enacted and no further information is to be supplied;
or a 200 (OK) status code if the action has been enacted and the
response message includes a representation describing the status.

Notes
-----
Using a semicolon creates a stronger delineation of the different options. If you are just quickly trying to parse what status to return if the delete hasn't happened yet and you quickly read "has not yet been enacted, a 204 (No Content)" you could incorrectly read that as return a 204. The semicolon makes it more obvious that "enacted" is the end of that thought and to scan backwards where as the comma in this instance requires knowing the structure of the rest of the paragraph.

----- Verifier Notes -----
There's no reason to use semicolons to delimit this list, because the list items themselves don't contain commas.  Still, the reporter's confusion is noted.  Perhaps a bullet list would be better in this case:

-------
If a DELETE method is successfully applied, the origin server SHOULD
send

  - a 202 (Accepted) status code if the action will likely succeed
    but has not yet been enacted,

  - a 204 (No Content) status code if the action has been enacted and
    no further information is to be supplied, or

  - a 200 (OK) status code if the action has been enacted and the
    response message includes a representation describing the status.
-------

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RFC7231 (draft-ietf-httpbis-p2-semantics-26)
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Title               : Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Semantics and Content
Publication Date    : June 2014
Author(s)           : R. Fielding, Ed., J. Reschke, Ed.
Category            : PROPOSED STANDARD
Source              : Hypertext Transfer Protocol Bis APP
Area                : Applications
Stream              : IETF
Verifying Party     : IESG