Annotation of 2006/webapi/XMLHttpRequest/Overview.src.html, revision 1.222
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1.1 avankest 2: <html lang="en-US">
3: <head>
1.207 avankest 4: <title>XMLHttpRequest</title>
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1.147 avankest 27: <link rel="stylesheet" href="http://www.w3.org/StyleSheets/TR/W3C-[STATUS]">
1.1 avankest 28: </head>
29: <body>
30: <div class="head">
31: <p><a href="http://www.w3.org/"><img height="48" width="72" alt="W3C" src="http://www.w3.org/Icons/w3c_home"></a></p>
1.12 avankest 32:
1.207 avankest 33: <h1 class="head" id="the-xmlhttprequest-object"><code title="">XMLHttpRequest</code></h1>
1.12 avankest 34:
1.149 avankest 35: <h2 class="no-num no-toc" id="w3c-doctype">[LONGSTATUS] [DATE: 3 August 2002]</h2>
1.12 avankest 36:
1.1 avankest 37: <dl>
1.10 avankest 38: <dt>This Version:</dt>
1.173 avankest 39: <dd><a href="[VERSION]/">http://www.w3.org/TR/[YEAR]/ED-XMLHttpRequest-[CDATE]/</a></dd>
1.14 avankest 40:
1.10 avankest 41: <dt>Latest Version:</dt>
1.1 avankest 42: <dd><a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/XMLHttpRequest/">http://www.w3.org/TR/XMLHttpRequest/</a></dd>
1.203 avankest 43:
1.189 avankest 44: <dt>Latest Editor Version:</dt>
45: <dd><a href="http://dev.w3.org/2006/webapi/XMLHttpRequest/">http://dev.w3.org/2006/webapi/XMLHttpRequest/</a></dd>
1.14 avankest 46:
1.10 avankest 47: <dt>Previous Versions:</dt>
1.173 avankest 48: <dd><a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-XMLHttpRequest-20080415/">http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-XMLHttpRequest-20080415/</a></dd>
1.154 avankest 49: <dd><a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/2007/WD-XMLHttpRequest-20071026/">http://www.w3.org/TR/2007/WD-XMLHttpRequest-20071026/</a></dd>
1.133 avankest 50: <dd><a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/2007/WD-XMLHttpRequest-20070618/">http://www.w3.org/TR/2007/WD-XMLHttpRequest-20070618/</a></dd>
1.58 avankest 51: <dd><a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/2007/WD-XMLHttpRequest-20070227/">http://www.w3.org/TR/2007/WD-XMLHttpRequest-20070227/</a></dd>
1.22 avankest 52: <dd><a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/2006/WD-XMLHttpRequest-20060927/">http://www.w3.org/TR/2006/WD-XMLHttpRequest-20060927/</a></dd>
1.1 avankest 53: <dd><a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/2006/WD-XMLHttpRequest-20060619/">http://www.w3.org/TR/2006/WD-XMLHttpRequest-20060619/</a></dd>
54: <dd><a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/2006/WD-XMLHttpRequest-20060405/">http://www.w3.org/TR/2006/WD-XMLHttpRequest-20060405/</a></dd>
1.14 avankest 55:
1.1 avankest 56: <dt>Editor:</dt>
57: <dd><a href="http://annevankesteren.nl/">Anne van Kesteren</a>
58: (<a href="http://www.opera.com/">Opera Software ASA</a>)
59: <<a href="mailto:annevk@opera.com">annevk@opera.com</a>></dd>
60: </dl>
1.14 avankest 61:
1.1 avankest 62: <p class="copyright"><a href="http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/ipr-notice#Copyright">Copyright</a>
1.51 avankest 63: © 2007
64: <a href="http://www.w3.org/"><acronym title="World Wide Web Consortium">W3C</acronym></a><sup>®</sup>
65: (<a href="http://www.csail.mit.edu/"><acronym title="Massachusetts Institute of Technology">MIT</acronym></a>,
66: <a href="http://www.ercim.org/"><acronym title="European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics">ERCIM</acronym></a>,
67: <a href="http://www.keio.ac.jp/">Keio</a>), All Rights Reserved. W3C
68: <a href="http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/ipr-notice#Legal_Disclaimer">liability</a>,
69: <a href="http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/ipr-notice#W3C_Trademarks">trademark</a>
70: and
71: <a href="http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/copyright-documents">document
72: use</a> rules apply.</p>
1.1 avankest 73: </div>
1.12 avankest 74:
1.1 avankest 75: <hr>
1.12 avankest 76:
1.207 avankest 77:
78:
1.1 avankest 79: <h2 class="no-num no-toc" id="specabstract">Abstract</h2>
1.10 avankest 80:
1.207 avankest 81: <p>The <code title="">XMLHttpRequest</code> specification defines an API
82: that provides scripted client functionality for transferring data between
83: a client and a server.</p>
84:
85:
1.12 avankest 86:
1.1 avankest 87: <h2 class="no-num no-toc" id="sotd">Status of this Document</h2>
1.12 avankest 88:
1.1 avankest 89: <p><em>This section describes the status of this document at the time of its
1.36 avankest 90: publication. Other documents may supersede this document. A list of current
91: W3C publications and the latest revision of this technical report can be
92: found in the <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/">W3C technical reports index</a>
1.117 avankest 93: at http://www.w3.org/TR/.</em></p>
1.36 avankest 94:
1.207 avankest 95: <p>This is the [DATE: 3 August 2002] [LONGSTATUS] of the
96: <code title="">XMLHttpRequest</code> specification. Please send comments
97: to <a href="mailto:public-webapps@w3.org">public-webapps@w3.org</a>
98: (<a href="http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-webapps/">archived</a>)
1.172 avankest 99: with either <samp>[XHR]</samp> or <samp title="">[XMLHttpRequest]</samp>
1.207 avankest 100: at the start of the subject line<!-- before befor 2 June 2008-->.</p>
1.51 avankest 101:
1.47 avankest 102: <p>This document is produced by the
1.207 avankest 103: <a href="http://www.w3.org/2008/webapps/">Web Applications</a> (WebApps)
104: Working Group, part of the
105: <a href="http://www.w3.org/2006/rwc/Activity">Rich Web Clients Activity</a>
106: in the W3C <a href="http://www.w3.org/Interaction/">Interaction Domain</a>.
107: Changes made to this document can be found in the
1.47 avankest 108: <a href="http://dev.w3.org/cvsweb/2006/webapi/XMLHttpRequest/Overview.html">W3C
1.117 avankest 109: public CVS server</a>.</p>
1.12 avankest 110:
1.1 avankest 111: <p>Publication as a Working Draft does not imply endorsement by the W3C
1.36 avankest 112: Membership. This is a draft document and may be updated, replaced or
113: obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to cite this
114: document as other than work in progress.</p>
1.12 avankest 115:
1.1 avankest 116: <p>This document was produced by a group operating under the
1.36 avankest 117: <a href="http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Patent-Policy-20040205/">5 February
1.52 avankest 118: 2004 W3C Patent Policy</a>. W3C maintains a
1.207 avankest 119: <a rel="disclosure" href="http://www.w3.org/2004/01/pp-impl/42538/status">public
1.36 avankest 120: list of any patent disclosures</a> made in connection with the deliverables
121: of the group; that page also includes instructions for disclosing a patent.
122: An individual who has actual knowledge of a patent which the individual
123: believes contains
124: <a href="http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Patent-Policy-20040205/#def-essential">Essential
125: Claim(s)</a> must disclose the information in accordance with
126: <a href="http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Patent-Policy-20040205/#sec-Disclosure">section
127: 6 of the W3C Patent Policy</a>.</p>
1.12 avankest 128:
1.207 avankest 129:
130:
1.1 avankest 131: <h2 class="no-num no-toc" id="toc">Table of Contents</h2>
1.21 avankest 132:
1.1 avankest 133: <!--toc-->
1.12 avankest 134:
1.207 avankest 135:
136:
1.1 avankest 137: <h2 id="introduction">Introduction</h2>
1.12 avankest 138:
1.1 avankest 139: <p><em>This section is non-normative.</em></p>
1.12 avankest 140:
1.183 avankest 141: <p>The <code>XMLHttpRequest</code> object implements an interface exposed
142: by a scripting engine that allows scripts to perform HTTP client
143: functionality, such as submitting form data or loading data from a
144: server. It is the ECMAScript HTTP API.</p>
1.24 avankest 145:
1.1 avankest 146: <p>The name of the object is <code>XMLHttpRequest</code> for compatibility
1.183 avankest 147: with the Web, though each component of this name is potentially
148: misleading. First, the object supports any text based format, including
149: XML. Second, it can be used to make requests over both HTTP and HTTPS
150: (some implementations support protocols in addition to HTTP and HTTPS, but
151: that functionality is not covered by this specification). Finally, it
152: supports "requests" in a broad sense of the term as it pertains to HTTP;
153: namely all activity involved with HTTP requests or responses for the
154: defined HTTP methods.</p>
1.12 avankest 155:
1.14 avankest 156: <div class="example">
157: <p>Some simple code to do something with data from an XML document fetched
1.22 avankest 158: over the network:</p>
1.16 avankest 159:
1.58 avankest 160: <pre><code>function test(data) {
1.14 avankest 161: // taking care of data
162: }
163:
164: function handler() {
1.117 avankest 165: if(this.readyState == 4 && this.status == 200) {
1.14 avankest 166: // so far so good
1.117 avankest 167: if(this.responseXML != null && this.responseXML.getElementById('test').firstChild.data)
168: // success!
1.14 avankest 169: test(this.responseXML.getElementById('test').firstChild.data);
170: else
171: test(null);
1.117 avankest 172: } else if (this.readyState == 4 && this.status != 200) {
1.14 avankest 173: // fetched the wrong page or network error...
174: test(null);
175: }
176: }
1.12 avankest 177:
1.14 avankest 178: var client = new XMLHttpRequest();
179: client.onreadystatechange = handler;
180: client.open("GET", "test.xml");
1.58 avankest 181: client.send();</code></pre>
1.16 avankest 182:
1.56 avankest 183: <p>If you just want to log a message to the server:</p>
1.16 avankest 184:
1.58 avankest 185: <pre><code>function log(message) {
1.14 avankest 186: var client = new XMLHttpRequest();
1.56 avankest 187: client.open("POST", "/log");
1.57 avankest 188: client.setRequestHeader("Content-Type", "text/plain;charset=UTF-8");
1.14 avankest 189: client.send(message);
1.58 avankest 190: }</code></pre>
1.16 avankest 191:
1.14 avankest 192: <p>Or if you want to check the status of a document on the server:</p>
1.16 avankest 193:
1.58 avankest 194: <pre><code>function fetchStatus(address) {
1.14 avankest 195: var client = new XMLHttpRequest();
196: client.onreadystatechange = function() {
197: // in case of network errors this might not give reliable results
198: if(this.readyState == 4)
199: returnStatus(this.status);
200: }
201: client.open("HEAD", address);
202: client.send();
1.58 avankest 203: }</code></pre>
1.14 avankest 204: </div>
1.12 avankest 205:
1.203 avankest 206:
207:
1.153 avankest 208: <h2 id="conformance">Conformance</h2>
1.12 avankest 209:
1.27 avankest 210: <p>Everything in this specification is normative except for diagrams,
211: examples, notes and sections marked non-normative.</p>
1.12 avankest 212:
1.1 avankest 213: <p>The key words <em class="ct">must</em>, <em class="ct">must not</em>,
1.74 avankest 214: <em class="ct">should</em> and <em class="ct">may</em> in this document are
215: to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119.
216: [<cite><span>RFC2119</span></cite>]</p>
1.12 avankest 217:
1.1 avankest 218: <p>This specification defines the following classes of products:</p>
1.12 avankest 219:
1.1 avankest 220: <dl>
1.74 avankest 221: <dt><dfn id="conforming-user-agent">Conforming user agent</dfn></dt>
1.24 avankest 222:
1.74 avankest 223: <dd>
224: <p>A user agent <em class="ct">must</em> behave as described in this
1.106 avankest 225: specification in order to be considered conformant.</p>
1.95 avankest 226:
1.140 avankest 227: <p>If the user agent is not a conforming XML user agent the <span>XML
228: response entity body</span> <em class="ct">must</em> (always) be
229: <code>null</code>.</p>
230:
231: <p>User agents <em class="ct">may</em> implement algorithms given in
232: this specification in any way desired, so long as the end result is
233: indistinguishable from the result that would be obtained by the
234: specification's algorithms.</p>
1.110 avankest 235:
1.95 avankest 236: <p class="note">This specification uses both the terms "conforming user
237: agent(s)" and "user agent(s)" to refer to this product class.</p>
1.74 avankest 238: </dd>
1.110 avankest 239:
1.94 avankest 240: <dt><dfn id="conforming-xml-user-agent">Conforming XML user agent</dfn></dt>
1.110 avankest 241:
1.163 avankest 242: <dd><p>An XML user agent <em class="ct">must</em> be a <span>conforming
243: user agent</span> and <em class="ct">must</em> be a conforming XML
244: processor that reports violations of namespace well-formedness.
1.203 avankest 245: [<cite><span>XML</span></cite>]</p></dd>
1.1 avankest 246: </dl>
1.32 avankest 247:
1.203 avankest 248:
1.153 avankest 249: <h3 id="dependencies">Dependencies</h3>
1.33 avankest 250:
1.29 avankest 251: <p>This specification relies on several underlying specifications.</p>
252: <dl>
253: <dt>DOM</dt>
1.33 avankest 254:
1.155 avankest 255: <dd><p>A <span title="conforming user agent">conforming user agent</span>
1.176 avankest 256: <em class="ct">must</em> support at least the subset of the functionality
1.182 avankest 257: defined in DOM Events and DOM Core that this specification relies upon,
258: such as various exceptions and <code>EventTarget</code>.
1.155 avankest 259: [<cite><span>DOM2Events</span></cite>]
260: [<cite><span>DOM3Core</span></cite>]</p></dd>
1.29 avankest 261:
1.161 avankest 262: <dt>HTML 5</dt>
263:
264: <dd>
1.189 avankest 265: <p>A <span>conforming user agent</span> <em class="ct">must</em> support
266: at least the subset of the functionality defined in HTML 5 that
1.197 avankest 267: this specification relies upon, such as the basics of the
268: <code>Window</code> object and serializing a <code>Document</code>
269: object. [<cite><span>HTML5</span></cite>]</p>
1.161 avankest 270:
271: <p class="note">The
272: <a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/2006/WD-Window-20060407/">Window Object
273: 1.0</a> draft is not referenced normatively as it appears to be no
274: longer maintained and HTML 5 defines the <code>Window</code> object
275: in more detail. This specification already depends on HTML 5 for
276: other reasons so there is not much additional overhead because of
277: this.</p>
278:
1.29 avankest 279: <dt>HTTP</dt>
1.33 avankest 280:
1.29 avankest 281: <dd>
1.155 avankest 282: <p>A <span>conforming user agent</span>
1.126 avankest 283: <em class="ct">must</em> support some version of the HTTP protocol. It
284: <em class="ct">should</em> support any HTTP method that matches the
1.210 avankest 285: <span>Method token</span> production and <em class="ct">must</em>
1.149 avankest 286: at least support the following methods:</p>
1.58 avankest 287:
288: <ul>
289: <li><code>GET</code></li>
290: <li><code>POST</code></li>
291: <li><code>HEAD</code></li>
292: <li><code>PUT</code></li>
293: <li><code>DELETE</code></li>
294: <li><code>OPTIONS</code></li>
295: </ul>
1.135 avankest 296:
1.58 avankest 297: <p>Other requirements regarding HTTP are made throughout the
1.39 avankest 298: specification. [<cite><span>RFC2616</span></cite>]</p>
1.29 avankest 299: </dd>
1.189 avankest 300:
1.181 avankest 301: <dt>Web IDL</dt>
1.203 avankest 302:
1.181 avankest 303: <dd>A <span>conforming user agent</span> <em class="ct">must</em> also be
304: a conforming implementation of the IDL fragment in this specification, as
305: described in the Web IDL specification.
306: [<cite><span>WebIDL</span></cite>]
1.29 avankest 307: </dl>
1.12 avankest 308:
1.157 avankest 309:
1.153 avankest 310: <h3 id="terminology">Terminology</h3>
1.209 avankest 311:
312: <p>Comparing two strings in a
313: <dfn id="case-sensitive">case-sensitive</dfn> manner means comparing them
314: exactly, codepoint for codepoint.</p>
315:
316: <p>Comparing two strings in an
317: <dfn id="ascii-case-insensitive">ASCII case-insensitive</dfn> manner means
318: comparing them exactly, codepoint for codepoint, except that the
319: characters in the range U+0041 .. U+005A (i.e. LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A to
320: LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z) and the corresponding characters in the range
321: U+0061 .. U+007A (i.e. LATIN SMALL LETTER A to LATIN SMALL LETTER Z) are
322: considered to also match.</p>
323:
324: <p><dfn id="converted-to-ascii-upercase" title="converted to ASCII uppercase">Converting a string to ASCII uppercase</dfn>
325: means replacing all characters in the range U+0061 .. U+007A (i.e.
326: LATIN SMALL LETTER A to LATIN SMALL LETTER Z) with the corresponding
327: characters in the range U+0041 .. U+005A (i.e. LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A to
328: LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z).</p>
1.12 avankest 329:
1.200 avankest 330: <p>The terms and algorithms
331: <dfn id="url-fragment"><fragment></dfn>,
332: <dfn id="url-scheme"><scheme></dfn>,
1.203 avankest 333: <dfn id="document-base-url">document base URL</dfn>,
1.205 avankest 334: <dfn id="event-handler-attributes-0">event handler attributes</dfn>,
1.203 avankest 335: <dfn id="event-handler-event-type">event handler event type</dfn>,
336: <dfn id="fully-active">fully active</dfn>,
1.206 avankest 337: <dfn id="function"><code>Function</code></dfn>,
1.200 avankest 338: <dfn id="origin">origin</dfn>,
1.203 avankest 339: <dfn id="resolve-a-url">resolve a URL</dfn>,
340: <dfn id="same-origin">same origin</dfn>,
341: <dfn id="storage-mutex">storage mutex</dfn>,
342: <dfn id="task">task</dfn>,
343: <dfn id="task-source">task source</dfn>,
344: <dfn id="url">URL</dfn>,
1.208 avankest 345: <dfn id="url-character-encoding">URL character encoding</dfn>,
346: <dfn id="queue-a-task">queue a task</dfn>, and
347: <dfn id="xml-fragment-serialization-algorithm">XML fragment serialization algorithm</dfn>
1.200 avankest 348: are defined by the HTML 5 specification.
1.157 avankest 349: [<cite><span>HTML5</span></cite>]</p>
1.210 avankest 350:
351: <!-- XXX Things might be splitted out of HTML5 -->
1.203 avankest 352:
353: <p>The term <dfn id="entity-body">entity body</dfn> is used as described
354: in RFC 2616. <dfn id="method-token">Method token</dfn> is used as
355: described in section 5.1.1 of RFC 2616. <dfn><code>field-name</code></dfn>
356: and <dfn><code>field-value</code></dfn> are used as described in section
357: 4.2 of RFC 2616. [<cite><span>RFC2616</span></cite>]</p>
1.218 avankest 358:
1.203 avankest 359: <p><dfn><code>userinfo</code></dfn> is used as described in section 3.2.1
360: of RFC 3986. [<cite><span>RFC3986</span></cite>]</p>
361:
362: <p>To <dfn id="dispatch-readystatechange-event">dispatch a
363: <code>readystatechange</code> event</dfn> means that an event with the
364: name <code>readystatechange</code>, with no namespace, which does not
365: bubble and is not cancelable, and which uses the <code>Event</code>
1.218 avankest 366: interface, is to be dispatched at the <code>XMLHttpRequest</code>
367: object.</p>
1.80 avankest 368:
1.153 avankest 369: <h3 id="extensibility">Extensibility</h3>
1.12 avankest 370:
1.81 avankest 371: <p>Extensions of the API defined by this specification are <em>strongly
1.22 avankest 372: discouraged</em>. User agents, Working Groups and other interested parties
1.33 avankest 373: should discuss extensions on a relevant public forum, preferably
1.22 avankest 374: <a href="mailto:public-webapi@w3.org">public-webapi@w3.org</a>.</p>
1.12 avankest 375:
1.153 avankest 376:
1.157 avankest 377:
1.153 avankest 378: <h2 id="security">Security Considerations</h2>
1.203 avankest 379:
380: <p>Security related requirements are made throughout this
381: specification.</p>
1.153 avankest 382:
383:
1.157 avankest 384:
1.153 avankest 385: <h2 id="xmlhttprequest">The <code title="">XMLHttpRequest</code>
386: Object</h2>
1.12 avankest 387:
1.58 avankest 388: <p>The <code>XMLHttpRequest</code> object can be used by scripts to
1.22 avankest 389: programmatically connect to their originating server via HTTP.</p>
1.12 avankest 390:
1.203 avankest 391: <pre class="idl">[<span title="XMLHttpRequest constructor">Constructor</span>,
392: Implements=EventTarget]
393: interface <dfn id="xmlhttprequest-object">XMLHttpRequest</dfn> {
1.206 avankest 394: // <a href="#event-handler-attributes">event handler attributes</a>
395: attribute <span>Function</span> <span>onreadystatechange</span>;
1.58 avankest 396:
1.205 avankest 397: // <a href="#states">states</a>
1.71 avankest 398: const unsigned short <span title="UNSENT state">UNSENT</span> = 0;
1.134 avankest 399: const unsigned short <span title="OPENED state">OPENED</span> = 1;
1.123 avankest 400: const unsigned short <span title="HEADERS_RECEIVED state">HEADERS_RECEIVED</span> = 2;
1.86 avankest 401: const unsigned short <span title="LOADING state">LOADING</span> = 3;
1.117 avankest 402: const unsigned short <span title="DONE state">DONE</span> = 4;
1.70 avankest 403: readonly attribute unsigned short <span>readyState</span>;
1.58 avankest 404:
1.205 avankest 405: // <a href="#request">request</a>
1.203 avankest 406: void <span>open</span>(in DOMString <var>method</var>, in DOMString <var title="">url</var>);
407: void <span>open</span>(in DOMString <var>method</var>, in DOMString <var title="">url</var>, in boolean <var>async</var>);
408: void <span>open</span>(in DOMString <var>method</var>, in DOMString <var title="">url</var>, in boolean <var>async</var>, [Null=Null, Undefined=Null] in DOMString <var>user</var>);
409: void <span>open</span>(in DOMString <var>method</var>, in DOMString <var title="">url</var>, in boolean <var>async</var>, [Null=Null, Undefined=Null] in DOMString <var>user</var>, [Null=Null, Undefined=Null] in DOMString <var>password</var>);
1.70 avankest 410: void <span>setRequestHeader</span>(in DOMString <var>header</var>, in DOMString <var>value</var>);
411: void <span>send</span>();
1.181 avankest 412: void <span>send</span>([Null=Null, Undefined=Null] in DOMString <var>data</var>);
1.70 avankest 413: void <span>send</span>(in Document <var>data</var>);
414: void <span>abort</span>();
1.58 avankest 415:
1.205 avankest 416: // <a href="#response">response</a>
1.203 avankest 417: readonly attribute unsigned short <span>status</span>;
418: readonly attribute DOMString <span>statusText</span>;
419: DOMString <span>getResponseHeader</span>(in DOMString <var>header</var>);
1.70 avankest 420: DOMString <span>getAllResponseHeaders</span>();
421: readonly attribute DOMString <span>responseText</span>;
422: readonly attribute Document <span>responseXML</span>;
1.1 avankest 423: };</pre>
1.8 avankest 424:
1.124 avankest 425:
1.203 avankest 426: <h3>Origin and Base URL</h3>
427:
428: <p>Each <code>XMLHttpRequest</code> object has an associated
429: <dfn id="xmlhttprequest-origin"><code>XMLHttpRequest</code> origin</dfn>
430: and an
431: <dfn id="xmlhttprequest-base-url"><code>XMLHttpRequest</code> base URL</dfn>.
432:
433: <p>This specification defines their values when the global object is
434: represented by the <code>Window</code> object. When the
435: <code>XMLHttpRequest</code> object used in other contexts their values
436: will have to be defined as appropriate for that context. That is
437: considered to be out of scope for this specification.</p>
438:
439: <hr>
440:
441: <p>In environments where the global object is represented by the
442: <code>Window</code> object the <code>XMLHttpRequest</code> object has an
443: associated
444: <dfn id="xmlhttprequest-document"><code>XMLHttpRequest</code> <code>Document</code></dfn>
445: which is the <code>Document</code> object associated with the
446: <code>Window</code> object for which the <code>XMLHttpRequest</code>
447: interface object was created.</p>
448:
449: <p class="note">The
450: <span><code>XMLHttpRequest</code> <code>Document</code></span> is used to
451: determine the <span><code>XMLHttpRequest</code> origin</span> and
452: <span><code>XMLHttpRequest</code> base URL</span> at a later stage.</p>
453:
454: <!-- XXX what happens if the document is not fully active?
455: e.g. should the constructor throw?
456: -->
457:
458:
459: <h3>Task Sources</h3>
1.218 avankest 460:
1.203 avankest 461: <p>The following <span title="task source">task sources</span> are used by
462: this specification:</p>
1.218 avankest 463:
1.203 avankest 464: <dl>
465: <dt>The <dfn><code>XMLHttpRequest</code> event task source</dfn></dt>
1.218 avankest 466:
1.203 avankest 467: <dd>This <span>task source</span> is used for events that are to be
468: asynchronously dispatched.</dd>
1.218 avankest 469:
1.203 avankest 470: <dt>The <dfn><code>XMLHttpRequest</code> networking task source</dfn></dt>
1.218 avankest 471:
1.203 avankest 472: <dd>This <span>task source</span> is used for network activity.</dd>
473: </dl>
1.218 avankest 474:
1.203 avankest 475: <p>Unless otherwise stated the <span>task source</span> used for all tasks
476: <span title="queue a task">queued</span> in this specification is the
477: <span><code>XMLHttpRequest</code> event task source</span>.</p>
478:
479:
1.211 avankest 480: <h3 id="constructors">Constructors</h3>
1.203 avankest 481:
482: <p>When the
483: <dfn id="xmlhttprequest-constructor" title="XMLHttpRequest constructor"><code title="">XMLHttpRequest()</code></dfn>
484: constructor is invoked, the user agent <em class="ct">must</em> return a
485: new <code>XMLHttpRequest</code> object.</p>
486:
487:
1.205 avankest 488: <h3 id="event-handler-attributes">Event Handler Attributes</h3>
489:
490: <p>The following is the
491: <span title="event handler attributes">event handler attribute</span> (and
492: its corresponding <span>event handler event type</span>) that
493: <em class="ct">must</em> be supported as DOM attribute by the
494: <code>XMLHttpRequest</code> object:</p>
495:
496: <table>
497: <thead>
498: <tr>
499: <th><span title="event handler attributes">event handler attribute</span>
500: <th><span>event handler event type</span>
501: <tbody>
502: <tr>
503: <td><dfn id="onreadystatechange"><code>onreadystatechange</code></dfn>
504: <td><code>readystatechange</code></td>
505: </table>
506:
507:
508: <h3 id="states">States</h3>
1.203 avankest 509:
510: <p>The <code>XMLHttpRequest</code> object can be in several states. The
511: <dfn id="readystate"><code>readyState</code></dfn> attribute, on getting,
512: <em class="ct">must</em> return the current state, which
513: <em class="ct">must</em> be one of the following values:</p>
514:
515: <dl>
516: <dt><dfn id="unsent-state" title="UNSENT state"><code>UNSENT</code></dfn>
517: (numeric value 0)</dt>
518: <dd><p>The object has been constructed.</p></dd>
519:
520: <dt><dfn id="opened-state" title="OPENED state"><code>OPENED</code></dfn>
521: (numeric value 1)</dt>
522: <dd><p>The <code>open()</code> method has been successfully invoked.
523: During this state request headers can be set using
524: <code>setRequestHeader()</code> and the request can be made using the
525: <code>send()</code> method.</p></dd>
526:
527: <dt><dfn id="headers-received-state" title="HEADERS_RECEIVED state"><code>HEADERS_RECEIVED</code></dfn>
528: (numeric value 2)</dt>
529: <dd><p>All HTTP headers have been received. Several response members of
530: the object are now available.</p></dd>
531:
532: <dt><dfn id="loading-state" title="LOADING state"><code>LOADING</code></dfn>
533: (numeric value 3)</dt>
534: <dd><p>The <span>response entity body</span> is being received.</p></dd>
535:
536: <dt><dfn id="done-state" title="DONE state"><code>DONE</code></dfn>
537: (numeric value 4)</dt>
538: <dd><p>The data transfer has been completed or something went wrong
539: during the transfer (e.g. infinite redirects).</p></dd>
540: </dl>
541:
542: <p>The <span title="OPENED state">OPENED</span> state has an associated
543: <dfn id="send-flag"><code>send()</code> flag</dfn> that indicates whether
544: the <code>send()</code> method has been invoked. It can be either true
545: or false and has an initial value of false.</p>
546:
547: <p>The <span title="DONE state">DONE</span> state has an associated
548: <dfn id="error-flag">error flag</dfn> that indicates some type of network
549: error or abortion. It can be either true or false and has an initial value
550: of false.</p>
551:
552:
1.205 avankest 553: <h3 id="request">Request</h3>
1.203 avankest 554:
555: <p>The <code>XMLHttpRequest</code> object holds the following request
556: metadata variables:</p>
557:
1.204 avankest 558: <dl>
559: <dt>The <dfn>asynchronous flag</dfn></dt>
560: <dd>A flag that is either true or false that indicates whether the
561: request is done asynchronously.</dd>
562:
563: <dt>The <dfn>request method</dfn></dt>
564: <dd>The method used in the request.</dd>
565:
566: <dt>The <dfn>request URL</dfn></dt>
567: <dd>The <span>URL</span> used in the request.</dd>
1.218 avankest 568:
1.204 avankest 569: <dt>The <dfn>request username</dfn></dt>
570: <dd>The username used in the request or null if there is no
571: username.</dd>
1.218 avankest 572:
1.204 avankest 573: <dt>The <dfn>request password</dfn></dt>
574: <dd>The password used in the request or null if there is no
575: password.</dd>
1.218 avankest 576:
1.204 avankest 577: <dt>The <dfn id="author-request-headers">author request headers</dfn></dt>
578: <dd>A list consisting of HTTP header name/value pairs to be used in the
579: request.</p>
1.203 avankest 580:
1.204 avankest 581: <dt>The <dfn>request entity body</dfn></dt>
1.218 avankest 582: <dd>The <span>entity body</span> used in the request.</dd>
1.204 avankest 583: </dl>
1.203 avankest 584:
585:
586: <h4>The <code title="">open()</code> method</h4>
1.88 avankest 587:
1.203 avankest 588: <p>When the <dfn id="open" title="open"><code>open(<var>method</var>,
589: <var title="">url</var>, <var>async</var>, <var>user</var>,
590: <var>password</var>)</code></dfn> method is invoked, the user agent
1.217 avankest 591: <em class="ct">must</em> run these steps (unless otherwise indicated):</p>
1.90 avankest 592:
1.88 avankest 593: <ol>
1.203 avankest 594: <li>
595: <p>If the <code>XMLHttpRequest</code> object has an associated
596: <span><code>XMLHttpRequest</code> <code>Document</code></span> run
597: these substeps:</p>
1.90 avankest 598:
1.203 avankest 599: <ol>
600: <li><p>If the
601: <span><code>XMLHttpRequest</code> <code>Document</code></span> is not
602: <span>fully active</span> raise an <code>INVALID_STATE_ERR</code>
603: exception and terminate the overall set of steps.</p></li>
604:
605: <li><p>Let <span><code>XMLHttpRequest</code> base URL</span> be the
606: <span>document base URL</span> of the
607: <span><code>XMLHttpRequest</code> <code>Document</code></span>.</p></li>
608:
609: <li><p>Let <span><code>XMLHttpRequest</code> origin</span> be the
610: <span>origin</span> of the
611: <span><code>XMLHttpRequest</code> <code>Document</code></span>.</p></li>
612: </ol>
613: </li>
1.90 avankest 614:
1.203 avankest 615: <li><p>If <var>method</var> does not match the
1.210 avankest 616: <span>Method token</span> production raise a <code>SYNTAX_ERR</code>
617: exception and terminate these steps.</p></li>
1.118 avankest 618:
1.115 avankest 619: <li>
1.203 avankest 620: <p>If <var>method</var> is an
621: <span>ASCII case-insensitive</span> match for
622: <code>CONNECT</code>, <code>DELETE</code>, <code>GET</code>,
623: <code>HEAD</code>, <code>OPTIONS</code>, <code>POST</code>,
624: <code>PUT</code>, <code>TRACE</code>, or <code>TRACK</code>
1.209 avankest 625: <span title="converted to ASCII uppercase">convert <var>method</var> to ASCII uppercase</span>.</p>
1.118 avankest 626:
1.203 avankest 627: <p class="note">If it does not match any of the above, it is passed
628: through <em>literally</em>, including in the final request.</p>
1.115 avankest 629: </li>
1.203 avankest 630: <!-- WebKit (and supposedly Gecko) also uppercase: COPY, INDEX, LOCK,
631: M-POST, MKCOL, MOVE, PROPFIND, PROPPATCH, and UNLOCK. -->
1.118 avankest 632:
1.111 avankest 633: <li>
1.209 avankest 634: <p>If <var>method</var> is a <span>case-sensitive</span> match for
635: <code>CONNECT</code>, <code>TRACE</code>, or <code>TRACK</code> the
636: user agent <em class="ct">should</em> raise a <code>SECURITY_ERR</code>
637: exception and terminate these steps.</p>
1.117 avankest 638:
1.203 avankest 639: <p class="note">Allowing these methods poses a security risk.
640: [<cite><span>HTTPVERBSEC</span></cite>]</p>
1.111 avankest 641: </li>
642:
1.203 avankest 643: <li><p>Let <var title="">url</var> be a <span>URL</span>.</p></li>
644:
1.209 avankest 645: <li><p>Let <span>URL character encoding</span> of <var title="">url</var>
646: be UTF-8.</p></li>
1.113 avankest 647:
1.203 avankest 648: <li><p><span title="Resolve a URL">Resolve <var title="">url</var></span>
649: relative to the <span><code>XMLHttpRequest</code> base URL</span>.
650: If the algorithm returns an error raise a <code>SYNTAX_ERR</code>
651: exception and terminate these steps.</p></li>
652:
653: <!-- Presto and Gecko override the encoding. WebKit does not. Trident
654: does not support non-ASCII URLs. This matters for the <query> component,
655: see HTML5. -->
656:
657: <li><p>Drop <code><fragment></code> from <var title="">url</var>.</p></li>
658:
659: <li><p>If <var title="">url</var> contains an unsupported <code><scheme></code>
660: raise a <code>NOT_SUPPORTED_ERR</code> and terminate these
661: steps.</p></li>
662:
663: <li><p>If the <code>"user:password"</code> format in the
664: <code>userinfo</code> production is not supported for the relevant scheme
665: and <var title="">url</var> contains this format raise a
666: <code>SYNTAX_ERR</code> and terminate these steps.</p></li>
667:
668: <li><p>If <var title="">url</var> contains the <code>"user:password"</code>
669: format let <var>temp user</var> be the user part and
670: <var>temp password</var> be the password part.</p></li>
671:
672: <li><p>If <var title="">url</var> just contains the <code>"user"</code>
673: format let <var>temp user</var> be the user part.</p></li>
674:
675: <li><p>If the <span>origin</span> of <var title="">url</var> is not
676: <span>same origin</span> with the
677: <span><code>XMLHttpRequest</code> origin</span> the user agent
678: <em class="ct">should</em> raise a <code>SECURITY_ERR</code> exception
679: and terminate these steps.</p></li>
680:
1.211 avankest 681: <li><p>Let <var>async</var> be the value of the <var>async</var> argument
682: or <code>true</code> if it was omitted.</p></li>
1.203 avankest 683:
684: <li>
685: <p>If the <var>user</var> argument was not omitted follow these sub
686: steps:</p>
1.90 avankest 687:
1.203 avankest 688: <ol>
689: <li><p>If the syntax of <var>user</var> does not match the syntax
690: specified by the relevant authentication scheme, raise a
691: <code>SYNTAX_ERR</code> exception and terminate the overall set of
692: steps.</p></li>
1.163 avankest 693:
1.203 avankest 694: <li><p>If <var>user</var> is <code>null</code> let <var>temp user</var>
695: be null.</p></li>
1.90 avankest 696:
1.203 avankest 697: <li><p>Otherwise let <var>temp user</var> be <var>user</var>.</p></li>
698: </ol>
1.88 avankest 699:
1.203 avankest 700: <p class="note">These steps override anything that may have been set by
701: the <var title="">url</var> argument.</p>
702: </li>
1.88 avankest 703:
1.128 avankest 704: <li>
1.203 avankest 705: <p>If the <var>password</var> argument was not omitted follow these sub
706: steps:</p>
707:
708: <ol>
709: <li><p>If the syntax of <var>password</var> does not match the syntax
710: specified by the relevant authentication scheme, raise a
711: <code>SYNTAX_ERR</code> exception and terminate the overall set of
712: steps.</p></li>
1.167 avankest 713:
1.203 avankest 714: <li><p>If <var>password</var> is <code>null</code> let
715: <var>temp password</var> be null.</p></li>
716:
717: <li><p>Otherwise let <var>temp password</var> be
718: <var>password</var>.</p></li>
719: </ol>
720:
721: <p class="note">These steps override anything that may have been set by
722: the <var title="">url</var> argument.</p>
1.128 avankest 723: </li>
1.88 avankest 724:
1.203 avankest 725: <li><p><span title="abort send()">Abort the <code>send()</code> algorithm</span>.</p></li>
726:
727: <li><p>The user agent <em class="ct">should</em> cancel any network
728: activity for which the object is responsible.</p></li>
729: <!-- we can hardly require it... -->
730:
731: <li>
732: <p>Set variables associated with the object as follows:</p>
733:
734: <ul>
735: <li><p>Set the <span><code>send()</code> flag</span> to false.</p></li>
736:
737: <li><p>Set <span>response entity body</span> to null.</p></li>
738:
739: <li><p>Empty the list of <span>author request headers</span>.</p>
740:
741: <li><p>Set the <span>request method</span> to <var>method</var>.</p></li>
742:
743: <li><p>Set the <span>request URL</span> to <var title="">url</var>.</p></li>
1.58 avankest 744:
1.203 avankest 745: <li><p>Set the <span>request username</span> to <var>temp user</var>.</p></li>
1.12 avankest 746:
1.203 avankest 747: <li><p>Set the <span>request password</span> to <var>temp password</var>.</p></li>
1.12 avankest 748:
1.203 avankest 749: <li><p>Set the <span>asynchronous flag</span> to true if <var>async</var> is
750: <code>true</code>. Otherwise set it to false.</p></li>
751: </ul>
752: </li>
1.58 avankest 753:
1.203 avankest 754: <li><p>Switch the the state to
755: <span title="OPENED state">OPENED</span>.</p></li>
1.58 avankest 756:
1.203 avankest 757: <li><p><span>Dispatch a <code>readystatechange</code> event</span>.</p></li>
758: </ol>
1.14 avankest 759:
1.203 avankest 760: <p class="note">A future version or extension of this specification will
761: define a way of doing cross-origin requests.</p>
1.58 avankest 762:
1.14 avankest 763:
1.203 avankest 764: <h4>The <code title="">setRequestHeader()</code> method</h4>
1.12 avankest 765:
1.203 avankest 766: <!-- XXX authors
767: The <code>setRequestHeader()</code> method can be used to set new request
1.184 avankest 768: headers and append to request headers already in the list.</p>
1.203 avankest 769: -->
1.45 avankest 770:
1.203 avankest 771: <p>As indicated in the algorithm below certain headers cannot be set and
772: are left up to the user agent. In addition there are certain other headers
773: the user agent will take control of if they are not set by the author as
774: indicated at the end of the <code>send()</code> method section.</p>
775:
776: <p class="note">The <code>setRequestHeader()</code> method appends a
777: value if the HTTP header given as argument is already part of the
778: <span>author request headers</span> list.</p>
779:
780: <p>When the
781: <dfn id="setrequestheader" title="setrequestheader"><code>setRequestHeader(<var>header</var>,
782: <var>value</var>)</code></dfn> method is invoked, the user agent
1.217 avankest 783: <em class="ct">must</em> run these steps (unless otherwise indicated):</p>
1.14 avankest 784:
1.203 avankest 785: <ol>
786: <li><p>If the state is not <span title="OPENED state">OPENED</span> raise
787: an <code>INVALID_STATE_ERR</code> exception and terminate these
788: steps.</p></li>
789:
790: <li><p>If the <span><code>send()</code> flag</span> is true raise an
791: <code>INVALID_STATE_ERR</code> exception and terminate these
792: steps.</p></li>
793:
794: <li><p>If <var>header</var> does not match the <code>field-name</code>
795: production raise a <code>SYNTAX_ERR</code> exception and terminate these
796: steps.</p></li>
797:
798: <li>
799: <p>If the <var>value</var> argument does not match the
800: <code>field-value</code> production raise a <code>SYNTAX_ERR</code> and
801: terminate these steps.</p>
802:
803: <p class="note">The empty string is legal and represents the empty
804: header value.</p>
805: </li>
806:
807: <li>
808: <p>For security reasons, these steps <em class="ct">should</em> be
809: terminated if <var>header</var> is an
810: <span>ASCII case-insensitive</span> match for one of the following
811: headers:</p>
812:
813: <ul>
814: <li><code>Accept-Charset</code></li>
815: <li><code>Accept-Encoding</code></li>
816: <li><code>Connection</code></li>
817: <li><code>Content-Length</code></li>
818: <li><code>Cookie</code></li>
819: <li><code>Cookie2</code></li>
820: <li><code>Content-Transfer-Encoding</code></li>
821: <li><code>Date</code></li>
822: <li><code>Expect</code></li>
823: <li><code>Host</code></li>
824: <li><code>Keep-Alive</code></li>
825: <li><code>Referer</code></li>
826: <li><code>TE</code></li>
827: <li><code>Trailer</code></li>
828: <li><code>Transfer-Encoding</code></li>
829: <li><code>Upgrade</code></li>
830: <li><code>User-Agent</code></li>
831: <li><code>Via</code></li>
832: </ul>
1.96 avankest 833:
1.203 avankest 834: <p>… or if the start of <var>header</var> is an
835: <span>ASCII case-insensitive</span> match for <code>Proxy-</code> or
836: <code>Sec-</code> (including when <var>header</var> is just
837: <code>Proxy-</code> or <code>Sec-</code>).</p>
838:
839: <p class="note">The above headers are not allowed to be set as they are
840: better controlled by the user agent as it knows best what value they
841: should have. Header names starting with <code>Sec-</code> are not
842: allowed to be set to allow new headers to be minted in the future that
843: are guaranteed not to come from <code>XMLHttpRequest</code>. (Older
844: clients would however still be vulnerable as they allow such headers to
845: be set.)</p>
846: </li>
1.14 avankest 847:
1.203 avankest 848: <li><p>If <var>header</var> is not in the
849: <span>author request headers</span> list append <var>header</var> with
850: its associated <var>value</var> to the list and terminate these
851: steps.</p></li>
852:
853: <li><p>If <var>header</var> is in the <span>author request headers</span>
854: list either use multiple headers, combine the values or use a combination
855: of those (section 4.2, RFC 2616).
856: [<cite><span>RFC2616</span></cite>]</p></li>
857: <!-- XXX it seems UAs always combine the values -->
858: </ol>
1.45 avankest 859:
1.203 avankest 860: <p class="note">See also the <code>send()</code> method regarding user
861: agent header handling for caching, authentication, proxies, and
862: cookies.</p>
1.14 avankest 863:
1.203 avankest 864: <div class="example">
865: <pre><code>// The following script:
1.14 avankest 866: var client = new XMLHttpRequest();
867: client.open('GET', 'demo.cgi');
868: client.setRequestHeader('X-Test', 'one');
869: client.setRequestHeader('X-Test', 'two');
870: client.send();
871:
872: // ...would result in the following header being sent:
873: ...
874: X-Test: one, two
1.58 avankest 875: ...</code></pre>
1.203 avankest 876: </div>
1.218 avankest 877:
1.203 avankest 878:
879: <h4>The <code title="">send()</code> method</h4>
1.12 avankest 880:
1.203 avankest 881: <p>The <code>send()</code> method initiates the request and its optional
1.204 avankest 882: argument provides the <span>request entity body</span>.</p>
1.12 avankest 883:
1.203 avankest 884: <p class="note">Authors are encouraged to ensure that they have specified
885: the <code>Content-Type</code> header via <code>setRequestHeader()</code>
886: before invoking <code>send()</code> with a non-<code>null</code>
887: <var>data</var> argument.</p>
888:
889: <p>When the
890: <dfn id="send" title="send"><code>send(<var>data</var>)</code></dfn>
891: method is invoked, the user agent <em class="ct">must</em> run the
892: following steps (unless otherwise noted). This algorithm gets aborted when
893: the <code>open()</code> or <code>abort()</code> method is invoked. When
894: the
895: <dfn title="abort send()" id="abort-send-algorithm"><code>send()</code> algorithm is aborted</dfn>
896: the user agent <em class="ct">must</em> terminate the algorithm after
897: finishing the step it is on.</p>
898:
899: <p class="note">The <code title="">send()</code> algorithm can only be
900: aborted when the <span>asynchronous flag</span> is true and only after the
901: method call has returned.</p>
1.181 avankest 902:
1.203 avankest 903: <ol>
904: <li><p>If the state is not <span title="OPENED state">OPENED</span> raise
905: an <code>INVALID_STATE_ERR</code> exception and terminate these
906: steps.</p></li>
907:
908: <li><p>If the <span><code>send()</code> flag</span> is true raise an
909: <code>INVALID_STATE_ERR</code> exception and terminate these
910: steps.</p></li>
1.58 avankest 911:
1.203 avankest 912: <li>
913: <p>If the <span>request method</var> is <code>GET</code> or
914: <code>HEAD</code> act as if <var>data</var> is <code>null</code>.</p>
1.96 avankest 915:
1.203 avankest 916: <p>If the <var>data</var> argument has not been omitted and is not
1.204 avankest 917: <code>null</code> use it for the <span>request entity body</span>
918: observing the following rules:</p>
1.203 avankest 919:
920: <dl class="switch">
921: <dt><var>data</var> is a <code>DOMString</code></dt>
922:
923: <dd>
924: <p>Encode <var>data</var> using UTF-8 for transmission.</p>
925:
926: <p>If a <code>Content-Type</code> header is set using
927: <code>setRequestHeader()</code> and its value is not malformed, set
928: the <code>charset</code> parameter of that header, by either
929: changing the <code>charset</code> parameter (if one is present) or
930: appending one, to <code>UTF-8</code>.</p>
931:
932: <p>If no <code>Content-Type</code> header has been set using
933: <code>setRequestHeader()</code> set a <code>Content-Type</code>
934: request header with a value of
935: <code>text/plain;charset=UTF-8</code>.</p>
1.218 avankest 936:
1.208 avankest 937: <!-- XXX not all UAs modify Content-Type -->
1.203 avankest 938: </dd>
939:
940: <dt><var>data</var> is a <code>Document</code>
941:
942: <dd>
1.208 avankest 943: <p>Let <var>tempdata</var> be the result of following the
944: <span>XML fragment serialization algorithm</span> for a
945: <code>Document</code> on <var>data</var> and encode it using
1.203 avankest 946: <code><var>data</var>.inputEncoding</code> or UTF-8 if
1.208 avankest 947: <code><var>data</var>.inputEncoding</code> is <code>null</code>.
948: Re-raise any exception this algorithm raises.</p>
1.218 avankest 949:
1.217 avankest 950: <p class="note">If the document cannot be serialized an
951: <code>INVALID_STATE_ERR</code> exception is raised.</p>
952:
1.208 avankest 953: <p>Let <var>data</var> be <var>tempdata</var>.</p>
1.203 avankest 954:
955: <p>If a <code>Content-Type</code> header is set using
956: <code>setRequestHeader()</code> and its value is not malformed, set
957: the <code>charset</code> parameter of that header, by either
958: changing the <code>charset</code> parameter (if one is present) or
1.208 avankest 959: appending one, to the encoding used to encode <var>data</var>.</p>
1.203 avankest 960:
961: <p>If no <code>Content-Type</code> header has been set using
962: <code>setRequestHeader()</code> set a <code>Content-Type</code>
963: request header with a value of
964: <code>application/xml;charset=<var>charset</var></code> where
1.208 avankest 965: <var>charset</var> is the encoding used to encode <var>data</var>.</p>
1.203 avankest 966:
967: <p class="note">Subsequent changes to the <code>Document</code> have
968: no effect on what is submitted.</p>
1.218 avankest 969:
1.208 avankest 970: <!-- XXX not all UAs modify Content-Type
971: different algorithm for HTML? -->
1.203 avankest 972: </dd>
973:
974: <dt><var>data</var> is not a <code>DOMString</code> or
975: <code>Document</code></dt>
976:
977: <dd><p>Use the stringification mechanisms of the host language on
978: <var>data</var> and treat the result as if <var>data</var> is a
1.208 avankest 979: <code>DOMString</code>. Re-raise any exceptions the stringification
980: mechanism raises.</p></dd>
1.218 avankest 981:
1.208 avankest 982: <!-- XXX do we need to state this? -->
1.203 avankest 983: </dl>
1.58 avankest 984:
1.203 avankest 985: <p>If the <var>data</var> argument has been omitted, or is
1.204 avankest 986: <code>null</code>, no <span>request entity body</span> is used in the
987: request.</p>
1.203 avankest 988: </li>
1.202 avankest 989:
1.203 avankest 990: <li><p>If the <span>asynchronous flag</span> is false release the
991: <span>storage mutex</span>.</p></li>
1.103 avankest 992:
1.203 avankest 993: <li><p>Set the <span>error flag</span> to false.</p></li>
1.218 avankest 994:
1.211 avankest 995: <li>
996: <p>If the <span>asynchronous flag</span> is true run these substeps:</p>
1.218 avankest 997:
1.211 avankest 998: <ol>
1.217 avankest 999: <li><p>Set the <span><code>send()</code> flag</span> to true.</p></li>
1000:
1.211 avankest 1001: <li>
1002: <p><span>Dispatch a <code>readystatechange</code> event</span>.</p>
1.145 avankest 1003:
1.211 avankest 1004: <p class="note">The state does not change. The event is dispatched for
1005: historical reasons.</p>
1006: </li>
1007:
1008: <li><p>Return the <code>send()</code> method call, but continue running
1009: the steps in this algorithm.</p></li>
1010: </ol>
1011: </li>
1.218 avankest 1012:
1.203 avankest 1013: <li>
1.211 avankest 1014: <p>Make a request to <span>request URL</span>, using HTTP method
1015: <span>request method</span>, user <span>request username</span> (if
1016: non-null) and password <span>request password</span> (if non-null),
1017: taking into account the <span>request entity body</span>, list of
1018: <span>author request headers</span> and the rules listed at the end of
1019: this section.</p>
1020:
1.216 avankest 1021: <p>If there are cookies to be set, run the
1022: <span>cookie steps</span>.</p>
1.218 avankest 1023:
1.203 avankest 1024: <dl>
1025: <dt>If the <span>asynchronous flag</span> is false</dt>
1026: <dd>
1.211 avankest 1027: <p>While making the request also follow the
1.219 avankest 1028: <span>same-origin request event rules</span>.</p>
1.211 avankest 1029:
1030: <!--
1031: This cannot involve any task queue whatsoever because that would
1032: mean other tasks on the task queue might get processed as well which
1033: is counter to the whole idea of doing things synchronous.
1034: -->
1035:
1036: <p class="note">The <code>send()</code> method call will now be
1037: returned by virtue of this algorithm ending.</p>
1.203 avankest 1038: </dd>
1039:
1040: <dt>If the <span>asynchronous flag</span> is true</dt>
1041: <dd>
1.211 avankest 1042: <p>While processing the request, as data becomes available and when
1043: the user interferes with the request,
1044: <span title="queue a task">queue tasks</span> to follow the
1.219 avankest 1045: <span>same-origin request event rules</span> using the
1.211 avankest 1046: <span><code>XMLHttpRequest</code> networking task source</span> as
1047: <span>task source</span>.</p>
1.203 avankest 1048: </dd>
1049: </dl>
1050: </li>
1051: </ol>
1.60 avankest 1052:
1.203 avankest 1053: <hr>
1054:
1.212 avankest 1055: <p>If the user agent allows the user to configure a proxy it
1056: <em class="ct">should</em> modify the request appropriately;
1057: i.e. connect to the proxy host instead of the origin server, modify the
1058: <code>Request-Line</code> and
1059: send <code>Proxy-Authorization</code> headers as specified.</p>
1060:
1.218 avankest 1061: <p>If the user agent supports HTTP Authentication and
1062: <code>Authorization</code> is not in the list of
1063: <span>author request headers</span>, it <em class="ct">should</em>
1064: consider requests originating from the <code>XMLHttpRequest</code> object
1065: to be part of the protection space that includes the accessed URIs and
1066: send <code>Authorization</code> headers and handle
1067: <code>401 Unauthorized</code> requests appropriately. If authentication
1068: fails, and <span>request username</var> and <span>request password</span>
1069: are both null, user agents <em class="ct">should</em> prompt the user for
1070: credentials. If authentication fails, and <span>request username</span>
1071: and <span>request password</span> are provided, user agents
1.212 avankest 1072: <em class="ct">must not</em> prompt the user for credentials.
1073: [<cite><span>RFC2617</span></cite>]</p>
1074:
1075: <p class="note">Users are not prompted if credentials are provided
1076: through the <code>open()</code> API so that authors can implement their
1077: own user interface.</p>
1078:
1079: <p>If the user agent supports HTTP State Management it
1080: <em class="ct">should</em> persist, discard and send cookies (as received
1081: in the <code>Set-Cookie</code> and <code>Set-Cookie2</code> response
1082: headers, and sent in the <code>Cookie</code> header) as applicable.
1083: [<cite><span>COOKIES</span></cite>]</p>
1084:
1085: <p>If the user agent implements a HTTP cache it <em class="ct">should</em>
1086: respect <code>Cache-Control</code> request headers set by
1087: <code>setRequestHeader()</code> (e.g., <code>Cache-Control: no-cache</code>
1088: bypasses the cache). It <em class="ct">must not</em> send
1089: <code>Cache-Control</code> or <code>Pragma</code> request headers
1090: automatically unless the user explicitly requests such behavior
1091: (e.g. by (force-)reloading the page).</p>
1092:
1093: <p>For <code>304 Not Modified</code> responses that are a result of a
1094: user agent generated conditional request the user agent
1095: <em class="ct">must</em> act as if the server gave a <code>200 OK</code>
1096: response with the appropriate content. The user agent
1097: <em class="ct">must</em> allow <code>setRequestHeader()</code> to
1098: override automatic cache validation by setting request headers (e.g.,
1099: <code>If-None-Match</code>, <code>If-Modified-Since</code>), in which
1100: case <code>304 Not Modified</code> responses <em class="ct">must</em> be
1101: passed through. [<cite><span>RFC2616</span></cite>]</p>
1102:
1103: <p>If the user agent implements server-driven content-negotiation
1104: it <em class="ct">should</em> set <code>Accept-Encoding</code> and
1105: <code>Accept-Charset</code> headers as appropriate.
1106: Unless set through <code>setRequestHeader()</code> user agents
1107: <em class="ct">should</em> set the <code>Accept</code> and
1108: <code>Accept-Language</code> headers as well. If <code>Accept</code> is
1109: set by the user agent it <em class="ct">must</em> have the value
1110: <code>*/*</code>. Responses <em class="ct">must</em> have the
1111: content-encodings automatically decoded.
1112: [<cite><span>RFC2616</span></cite>]</p>
1113:
1114: <p>Besides the <span>author request headers</span> user agents
1115: <em class="ct">should not</em> include additional request headers other
1116: than those mentioned above or other than those authors are not allowed
1117: to set using <code>setRequestHeader()</code>. This ensures that authors
1118: have a reasonably predictable API.</p>
1.218 avankest 1119:
1.212 avankest 1120:
1121: <h4>Infrastructure for the <code title="">send()</code> method</h4>
1.216 avankest 1122:
1123: <p>The <dfn>cookie steps</dfn> are as follows:</p>
1.218 avankest 1124:
1.216 avankest 1125: <ol>
1126: <li><p>Wait until ownership of the <span>storage mutex</span> can be
1127: taken.</p></li>
1.218 avankest 1128:
1.216 avankest 1129: <li><p>Take ownership of the <span>storage mutex</span>.</p></li>
1.218 avankest 1130:
1.216 avankest 1131: <li><p>Update the cookies. [<cite><span>COOKIES</span></cite>]</p></li>
1132:
1133: <li><p>Release the <span>storage mutex</span> so that it is once again
1134: free.</p></li>
1135: </ol>
1.218 avankest 1136:
1.216 avankest 1137: <hr>
1.218 avankest 1138:
1.219 avankest 1139: <p>The <dfn>same-origin request event rules</dfn> are as follows:</p>
1.118 avankest 1140:
1.203 avankest 1141: <dl class="switch">
1142: <dt>If the response is an HTTP redirect</dt>
1143: <dd>
1144: <p>If the redirect does not violate security (it is
1145: <span>same origin</span> for instance), infinite loop precautions, and
1146: the scheme is supported, transparently follow the redirect while
1.219 avankest 1147: observing the <span>same-origin request event rules</span>.</p>
1.203 avankest 1148:
1149: <p class="note">HTTP places requirements on the user agent regarding the
1.204 avankest 1150: preservation of the <span>request method</span> and
1151: <span>request entity body</span> during redirects, and also requires
1152: users to be notified of certain kinds of automatic redirections.</p>
1.203 avankest 1153: <!-- XXX HTTP needs fixing here -->
1.118 avankest 1154:
1.213 avankest 1155: <p>Otherwise, this is a <span>network error</span>.</p>
1156: </dd>
1.121 avankest 1157:
1.213 avankest 1158: <dt>If the user cancels the download</dt>
1159: <dd><p>This is an <span>abort error</span>.</p></dd>
1.60 avankest 1160:
1.214 avankest 1161: <dt>In case of network errors</dt>
1.213 avankest 1162: <dd>
1163: <p>In case of DNS errors, TLS negotiation failure, or other type of
1164: network errors, this is a <span>network error</span>. Do not request any
1165: kind of user interaction.</p>
1.121 avankest 1166:
1.213 avankest 1167: <p class="note">This does not include HTTP responses that indicate
1168: some type of error, such as HTTP status code 410.</p>
1169: </dd>
1.60 avankest 1170:
1.213 avankest 1171: <dt>Once all HTTP headers have been received and the
1172: <span>asynchronous flag</span> is true</dt>
1173: <dd><p><span>Switch to the HEADERS_RECEIVED state</span>.</p></dd>
1.186 avankest 1174:
1.220 avankest 1175: <dt>Once the first byte (or more) of the
1176: <span>response entity body</span> has been received and the
1177: <span>asynchronous flag</span> is true</dt>
1178: <dt>If there is no <span>response entity body</span> and the
1.213 avankest 1179: <span>asynchronous flag</span> is true</dt>
1.215 avankest 1180: <dd><p><span>Switch to the LOADING state</span>.</p></dd>
1.220 avankest 1181:
1182: <dt>Once the whole <span>response entity body</span> has been
1183: received</dt>
1184: <dt>If there is no <span>response entity body</span> and the state is
1.221 avankest 1185: <span title="LOADING state">LOADING</span></dt>
1.220 avankest 1186: <dd><p><span>Switch to the DONE state</span>.</p></dd>
1.213 avankest 1187: </dl>
1.218 avankest 1188:
1.213 avankest 1189: <hr>
1.218 avankest 1190:
1.213 avankest 1191: <p>When something is said to be a <dfn>network error</dfn> run these
1192: steps:</p>
1.118 avankest 1193:
1.213 avankest 1194: <ol>
1195: <li><p>Set the <span>response entity body</span> to null.</p></li>
1.118 avankest 1196:
1.213 avankest 1197: <li><p>Set the the <span>error flag</span> to true.</p></li>
1.118 avankest 1198:
1.213 avankest 1199: <li><p>Empty the list of <span>author request headers</span>.</p></li>
1.118 avankest 1200:
1.213 avankest 1201: <li><p>Switch the state to <span title="DONE state">DONE</span>.</p></li>
1.118 avankest 1202:
1.213 avankest 1203: <li><p>If the <span>asynchronous flag</span> is false raise a
1204: <code>NETWORK_ERR</code> exception and terminate the overall set of
1205: steps.</p></li>
1.60 avankest 1206:
1.213 avankest 1207: <li><p>If the <span>asynchronous flag</span> is true
1208: <span>queue a task</span> to
1209: <span>dispatch a <code>readystatechange</code> event</span>.</p></li>
1.118 avankest 1210:
1.213 avankest 1211: <li><p>Terminate the overall set of steps.</p></li>
1212: </ol>
1.153 avankest 1213:
1.213 avankest 1214: <p class="note">It is likely that a future version of this specification
1215: will dispatch an <code>error</code> event here as well.</p>
1.153 avankest 1216:
1.213 avankest 1217: <hr>
1.14 avankest 1218:
1.213 avankest 1219: <p>When something is said to be an <dfn>abort error</dfn> run these
1220: steps:</p>
1.12 avankest 1221:
1.213 avankest 1222: <ol>
1223: <li><p>Set the <span>response entity body</span> to null.</p></li>
1.203 avankest 1224:
1.213 avankest 1225: <li><p>Set the the <span>error flag</span> to true.</p></li>
1.12 avankest 1226:
1.213 avankest 1227: <li><p>Empty the list of <span>author request headers</span>.</p></li>
1.203 avankest 1228:
1.213 avankest 1229: <li><p>Switch the state to <span title="DONE state">DONE</span>.</p></li>
1.203 avankest 1230:
1.213 avankest 1231: <li><p>If the <span>asynchronous flag</span> is false raise a
1232: <code>ABORT_ERR</code> exception and terminate the overall set of
1233: steps.</p></li>
1.203 avankest 1234:
1.213 avankest 1235: <li><p>If the <span>asynchronous flag</span> is true
1236: <span>queue a task</span> to
1237: <span>dispatch a <code>readystatechange</code> event</span>.</p></li>
1.203 avankest 1238:
1.213 avankest 1239: <li><p>Terminate the overall set of steps.</p></li>
1240: </ol>
1.203 avankest 1241:
1.213 avankest 1242: <p class="note">It is likely that a future version of this specification
1243: will dispatch an <code>abort</code> event here as well.</p>
1.203 avankest 1244:
1.213 avankest 1245: <hr>
1.203 avankest 1246:
1.213 avankest 1247: <p>When it is said to
1248: <dfn id="switch-headers-received">switch to the HEADERS_RECEIVED state</dfn>
1249: run these steps:</p>
1.203 avankest 1250:
1.213 avankest 1251: <ol>
1252: <li><p>Switch the state to <span title="HEADERS_RECEIVED state">HEADERS_RECEIVED</span>.</p></li>
1.203 avankest 1253:
1.213 avankest 1254: <li><p><span>Queue a task</span> to
1255: <span>dispatch a <code>readystatechange</code> event</span>.</p></li>
1256: </ol>
1.218 avankest 1257:
1.213 avankest 1258: <hr>
1.60 avankest 1259:
1.213 avankest 1260: <p>When it is said to
1261: <dfn id="switch-loading">switch to the LOADING state</dfn> run these
1262: steps:</p>
1.218 avankest 1263:
1.213 avankest 1264: <ol>
1265: <li><p>Switch the state to <span title="LOADING state">LOADING</span>.</p></li>
1.203 avankest 1266:
1.213 avankest 1267: <li><p><span>Queue a task</span> to
1268: <span>dispatch a <code>readystatechange</code> event</span>.</p></li>
1269: </ol>
1.218 avankest 1270:
1.216 avankest 1271: <hr>
1272:
1273: <p>When it is said to
1274: <dfn id="switch-done">switch to the DONE state</dfn> run these steps:</p>
1.218 avankest 1275:
1.216 avankest 1276: <ol>
1277: <li><p>Switch the state to <span title="DONE state">DONE</span>.</p></li>
1278:
1.220 avankest 1279: <li><p>If the <span>asynchronous flag</span> is false
1280: <span>dispatch a <code>readystatechange</code> event</span>.</p></li>
1281:
1282: <li><p>If the <span>asynchronous flag</span> is true
1283: <span>queue a task</span> to
1284: <span>dispatch a <code>readystatechange</code> event</span>.</p></li>
1.216 avankest 1285: </ol>
1.218 avankest 1286:
1.203 avankest 1287:
1288: <h4>The <code title="">abort()</code> method</h4>
1289:
1290: <p>When the <dfn id="abort"><code>abort()</code></dfn> method is invoked,
1.217 avankest 1291: the user agent <em class="ct">must</em> run these steps (unless otherwise
1292: noted):</p>
1.12 avankest 1293:
1.203 avankest 1294: <ol>
1295: <li><p><span title="abort send()">Abort the <code>send()</code> algorithm</span>.</p></li>
1296:
1297: <li><p>The user agent <em class="ct">should</em> cancel any network
1298: activity for which the object is responsible.</p></li>
1299:
1300: <li><p>Set the <span>response entity body</span> to null.</p></li>
1301:
1302: <li><p>Set the <span>error flag</span> to true.</p></li>
1303:
1304: <li><p>Empty the list of <span>author request headers</span>.</p></li>
1305:
1306: <li>
1307: <p>If the state is <span title="UNSENT state">UNSENT</span>,
1308: <span title="OPENED state">OPENED</span> with the
1309: <span><code>send()</code> flag</span> being false, or
1310: <span title="DONE state">DONE</span> go to the next step.</p>
1.12 avankest 1311:
1.203 avankest 1312: <p>Otherwise run these substeps:</p>
1.58 avankest 1313:
1314: <ol>
1.203 avankest 1315: <li><p>Switch the state to <span title="DONE state">DONE</span>.</p></li>
1.170 avankest 1316:
1.203 avankest 1317: <li><p>Set the <span><code>send()</code> flag</span> to false.</p></li>
1.96 avankest 1318:
1.203 avankest 1319: <li><p><span>Dispatch a <code>readystatechange</code> event</span>.</p></li>
1.58 avankest 1320: </ol>
1.218 avankest 1321:
1322: <p class="note">It is likely that a future version of this specification
1323: will dispatch an <code title="">abort</code> event here.</p>
1.203 avankest 1324: </li>
1325:
1326: <li>
1327: <p>Switch the state to <span title="UNSENT state">UNSENT</span>.</p>
1328:
1329: <p class="note">No <code>readystatechange</code> event is dispatched.</p>
1330: </li>
1331: </ol>
1332:
1333:
1334:
1.205 avankest 1335: <h3 id="response">Response</h3>
1.203 avankest 1336:
1337:
1338: <h4>The <code title="">status</code> attribute</h4>
1339:
1340: <p>The <dfn id="status"><code>status</code></dfn> attribute
1.222 ! avankest 1341: <em class="ct">must</em> return the result of running these steps:</p>
! 1342:
! 1343: <ol>
! 1344: <li><p>If the state is <span title="UNSENT state">UNSENT</span> or
! 1345: <span title="OPENED state">OPENED</span> raise an
! 1346: <code>INVALID_STATE_ERR</code> exception and terminate these
! 1347: steps.</p></li>
! 1348:
! 1349: <li><p>If the <span>error flag</span> is true return <code>0</code> and
! 1350: terminate these steps.</p></li>
! 1351:
! 1352: <li><p>Return the HTTP status code.</p></li>
! 1353: </ol>
1.203 avankest 1354:
1355:
1356: <h4>The <code title="">statusText</code> attribute</h4>
1357:
1358: <p>The <dfn id="statustext"><code>statusText</code></dfn> attribute
1.222 ! avankest 1359: <em class="ct">must</em> return the result of running these steps:</p>
! 1360:
! 1361: <ol>
! 1362: <li><p>If the state is <span title="UNSENT state">UNSENT</span> or
! 1363: <span title="OPENED state">OPENED</span> raise an
! 1364: <code>INVALID_STATE_ERR</code> exception and terminate these
! 1365: steps.</p></li>
! 1366:
! 1367: <li><p>If the <span>error flag</span> is true return the empty string and
! 1368: terminate these steps.</p></li>
! 1369:
! 1370: <li><p>Return the HTTP status text.</p></li>
! 1371: </ol>
1.203 avankest 1372:
1373:
1374: <h4>The <code title="">getResponseHeader()</code> method</h4>
1375:
1376: <p>When the
1377: <dfn id="getresponseheader" title="getresponseheader"><code>getResponseHeader(<var>header</var>)</code></dfn>
1.217 avankest 1378: is invoked, the user agent <em class="ct">must</em> run these steps:</p>
1.203 avankest 1379:
1380: <ol>
1381: <li><p>If the state is <span title="UNSENT state">UNSENT</span> or
1382: <span title="OPENED state">OPENED</span> raise an
1383: <code>INVALID_STATE_ERR</code> exception and terminate these
1384: steps.</p></li>
1385:
1386: <li><p>If <var>header</var> does not match the <code>field-name</code>
1387: production return <code>null</code> and terminate these steps.</p></li>
1388:
1389: <li><p>If the <span>error flag</span> is true return <code>null</code>
1390: and terminate these steps.</p></li>
1391:
1392: <li><p>If <var>header</var> is an <span>ASCII case-insensitive</span>
1393: match for <code>Set-Cookie</code> or <code>Set-Cookie2</code> return
1394: <code>null</code> and terminate these steps.</p></li>
1395:
1396: <li><p>If <var>header</var> is an <span>ASCII case-insensitive</span>
1397: match for multiple HTTP response headers, return the values of these
1398: headers as a single concatenated string separated from each other by a
1399: U+002C COMMA U+0020 SPACE character pair and terminate these
1400: steps.</p></li>
1401:
1402: <li><p>If <var>header</var> is an <span>ASCII case-insensitive</span>
1403: match for a single HTTP response header, return the value of that header
1404: and terminate these steps.</p></li>
1405:
1406: <li><p>Return <code>null</code>.</p></li>
1407: </ol>
1408:
1409: <div class="example">
1410: <pre><code>// The following script:
1.5 avankest 1411: var client = new XMLHttpRequest();
1.14 avankest 1412: client.open("GET", "test.txt", true);
1.5 avankest 1413: client.send();
1.12 avankest 1414: client.onreadystatechange = function() {
1.179 avankest 1415: if(this.readyState == 2) {
1.203 avankest 1416: print(client.getResponseHeader("Content-Type"));
1.12 avankest 1417: }
1418: }
1.5 avankest 1419:
1420: // ...should output something similar to the following text:
1.58 avankest 1421: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8</code></pre>
1.203 avankest 1422: </div>
1.12 avankest 1423:
1424:
1.203 avankest 1425: <h4>The <code title="">getAllResponseHeaders()</code> method</h4>
1.14 avankest 1426:
1.203 avankest 1427: <p>When the
1428: <dfn id="getallresponseheaders"><code>getAllResponseHeaders()</code></dfn>
1429: method is invoked, the user agent <em class="ct">must</em> run the
1430: following steps:</p>
1.58 avankest 1431:
1.203 avankest 1432: <ol>
1433: <li><p>If the state is <span title="UNSENT state">UNSENT</span> or
1434: <span title="OPENED state">OPENED</span> raise an
1435: <code>INVALID_STATE_ERR</code> exception and terminate these
1436: steps.</p></li>
1437:
1438: <li><p>If the <span>error flag</span> is true return the empty string and
1439: terminate these steps.</p></li>
1440:
1441: <li><p>Return all the HTTP headers, excluding headers that are an
1442: <span>ASCII case-insensitive</span> match for <code>Set-Cookie</code> or
1443: <code>Set-Cookie2</code>, as a single string, with each header line
1444: separated by a U+000D CR U+000A LF pair excluding the status line, and
1445: with each header name and header value separated by a
1446: U+003A COLON U+0020 SPACE pair.</p></li>
1447: </ol>
1.58 avankest 1448:
1.203 avankest 1449: <div class="example">
1450: <pre><code>// The following script:
1.1 avankest 1451: var client = new XMLHttpRequest();
1.14 avankest 1452: client.open("GET", "test.txt", true);
1.5 avankest 1453: client.send();
1.12 avankest 1454: client.onreadystatechange = function() {
1.179 avankest 1455: if(this.readyState == 2) {
1.203 avankest 1456: print(this.getAllResponseHeaders());
1.12 avankest 1457: }
1458: }
1.1 avankest 1459:
1.5 avankest 1460: // ...should output something similar to the following text:
1.203 avankest 1461: Date: 2004年10月24日 04:58:38 GMT
1462: Server: Apache/1.3.31 (Unix)
1463: Keep-Alive: timeout=15, max=99
1464: Connection: Keep-Alive
1465: Transfer-Encoding: chunked
1466: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8</code></pre>
1467: </div>
1468:
1469:
1470: <h4>Response Entity Body</h4>
1471:
1472: <p>The <dfn id="response-entity-body">response entity body</dfn> is the
1473: fragment of the <span>entity body</span> received so far
1474: (<span title="LOADING state">LOADING</span> state) or the complete
1475: <span>entity body</span> (<span title="DONE state">DONE</span> state). If
1476: there is no <span>entity body</span> the
1477: <span>response entity body</span> is null.</p>
1478:
1479: <hr>
1480:
1481: <p>The <dfn id="text-response-entity-body">text response entity body</dfn>
1482: is a <code>DOMString</code> representing the
1483: <span>response entity body</span>. The
1484: <span>text response entity body</span> is the return value of the
1485: following algorithm:</p>
1486:
1487: <ol>
1488: <li><p>If the <span>response entity body</span> is null return the empty
1489: string and terminate these steps.</p>
1490:
1491: <li><p>Let <var>charset</var> be null.</p></li>
1492:
1493: <li><p>If there is no <code>Content-Type</code> header or there is a
1494: <code>Content-Type</code> header which contains a MIME type that is
1495: <code>text/xml</code>, <code>application/xml</code> or ends in
1496: <code title="">+xml</code> (ignoring any parameters) use the rules set
1497: forth in the XML specifications to determine the character encoding. Let
1498: <var>charset</var> be the determined character encoding.
1499: [<cite><span>XML</span></cite>]</p></li>
1500:
1501: <li><p>If the <code>Content-Type</code> header contains a
1502: <code>text/html</code> MIME type follow the rules set forth in the
1503: HTML 5 specification to determine the character encoding. Let
1504: <var>charset</var> be the determined character encoding.
1505: [<cite><span>HTML5</span></cite>]</p></li>
1506:
1507: <li>
1508: <p>If the MIME type specified by the <code>Content-Type</code> header
1509: contains a <code>charset</code> parameter and <var>charset</var> is
1510: null let <var>charset</var> be the value of that parameter.</p>
1511:
1512: <p class="note">The algorithms described by the XML and HTML
1513: specifications already take <code>Content-Type</code> into account.</p>
1514: </li>
1515:
1516: <li>
1517: <!-- This stuff is copied from HTML5. Thanks Hixie! -->
1518: <p>If <var>charset</var> is null then, for each of the rows in the
1519: following table, starting with the first one and going down, if the first
1520: bytes of <var>bytes</var> match the bytes given in the first column, then
1521: let <var>charset</var> be the encoding given in the cell in the second
1522: column of that row. If there is no match <var>charset</var> remains
1523: null.</p>
1524:
1525: <table>
1526: <thead>
1527: <tr>
1528: <th>Bytes in Hexadecimal
1529: <th>Description
1530: <tbody><!-- UTF-32 is dead
1531: <tr>
1532: <td>00 00 FE FF
1533: <td>UTF-32BE BOM
1534: <tr>
1535: <td>FF FE 00 00
1536: <td>UTF-32LE BOM-->
1537: <tr>
1538: <td>FE FF
1539: <td>UTF-16BE BOM
1540: <tr>
1541: <td>FF FE
1542: <td>UTF-16LE BOM
1543: <tr>
1544: <td>EF BB BF
1545: <td>UTF-8 BOM<!-- nobody uses this
1546: <tr>
1547: <td>DD 73 66 73
1548: <td>UTF-EBCDIC
1549: -->
1550: </table>
1551: </li>
1552:
1553: <li><p>If <var>charset</var> is null let <var>charset</var> be
1554: UTF-8.</p></li>
1555:
1556: <li><p>Return the result of decoding the response entity body using
1557: <var>charset</var>. Replace bytes or sequences of bytes that are not
1558: valid according to the <var>charset</var> with a single U+FFFD
1559: REPLACEMENT CHARACTER character.</p></li>
1560: </ol>
1561:
1562: <p class="note">Authors are strongly encouraged to encode their resources
1563: using UTF-8.</p>
1564:
1565: <hr>
1566:
1567: <p>The <dfn id="xml-response-entity-body">XML response entity body</dfn>
1568: is either a <code>Document</code> representing the
1569: <span>response entity body</span> or <code>null</code>. The
1570: <span>XML response entity body</span> is the return value of the following
1571: algorithm:</p>
1.12 avankest 1572:
1.203 avankest 1573: <ol>
1574: <li><p>If the <span>response entity body</span> is null terminate these
1575: steps and return <code>null</code>.</p></li>
1.12 avankest 1576:
1.203 avankest 1577: <li><p>If a <code>Content-Type</code> is present and it does not contain
1578: a MIME type (ignoring any parameters) that is <code>text/xml</code>,
1579: <code>application/xml</code> or ends in <code title="">+xml</code> terminate
1580: these steps and return <code>null</code>. (Do not terminate these steps if
1581: there is no <code>Content-Type</code> header at all.)</p></li>
1582:
1583: <li>
1584: <p>Parse the <span>response entity body</span> into a document tree
1585: following the rules from the XML specifications. Let the result be
1586: <var>parsed document</var>. If this fails (unsupported character
1587: encoding, namespace well-formedness error, et cetera) terminate these
1588: steps return <code>null</code>. [<cite><span>XML</span></cite>]</p>
1589:
1590: <p class="note">Scripts in the resulting document tree will not be
1591: executed, resources referenced will not be loaded and no associated XSLT
1592: will be applied.</p>
1593: </li>
1.88 avankest 1594:
1.203 avankest 1595: <li><p>Return an object implementing the <code>Document</code>
1596: interface representing the <var>parsed document</var>.</p></li>
1597: </ol>
1.12 avankest 1598:
1599:
1.203 avankest 1600: <h4>The <code title="">responseText</code> attribute</h4>
1.12 avankest 1601:
1.203 avankest 1602: <p>The <dfn id="responsetext"><code>responseText</code></dfn> attribute
1.217 avankest 1603: <em class="ct">must</em> return the result of running these steps:</p>
1.79 avankest 1604:
1.203 avankest 1605: <ol>
1606: <li><p>If the state is not <span title="LOADING state">LOADING</span>
1607: or <span title="DONE state">DONE</span> return the empty string and
1608: terminate these steps.</p></li>
1.75 avankest 1609:
1.203 avankest 1610: <li><p>Return the <span>text response entity body</span>.</p></li>
1611: </ol>
1.12 avankest 1612:
1613:
1.203 avankest 1614: <h4>The <code title="">responseXML</code> attribute</h4>
1.12 avankest 1615:
1.203 avankest 1616: <p>The <dfn id="responsexml"><code>responseXML</code></dfn> attribute
1.217 avankest 1617: <em class="ct">must</em> return the result of running these steps:</p>
1.12 avankest 1618:
1.203 avankest 1619: <ol>
1620: <li><p>If the state is not <span title="DONE state">DONE</span> return
1621: <code>null</code> and terminate these steps.</p></li>
1.12 avankest 1622:
1.203 avankest 1623: <li><p>Return the <span>XML response entity body</span>.</p></li>
1624: </ol>
1.121 avankest 1625:
1.12 avankest 1626:
1.203 avankest 1627: <h3 id="exceptions">Exceptions</h3>
1.24 avankest 1628:
1.203 avankest 1629: <!-- XXX HTML5 assumes Web DOM Core will define these -->
1.32 avankest 1630:
1.138 avankest 1631: <p>Several algorithms in this specification may result in an exception
1632: being thrown. These exceptions are all part of the group
1.185 avankest 1633: <code>ExceptionCode</code> and use the <code>DOMException</code> object,
1.138 avankest 1634: which is defined in DOM Level 3 Core. In addition this specification
1635: extends the <code>ExceptionCode</code> group with several new
1636: constants as indicated below. [<cite><span>DOM3Core</span></cite>]</p>
1.203 avankest 1637:
1.193 avankest 1638: <p class="note">Thus, exceptions used by this specification and not
1639: defined in this section are defined by DOM Level 3 Core.</p>
1.31 avankest 1640:
1.138 avankest 1641: <pre class="idl">const unsigned short <span>SECURITY_ERR</span> = 18;
1.199 avankest 1642: const unsigned short <span>NETWORK_ERR</span> = 19;
1643: const unsigned short <span>ABORT_ERR</span> = 20;</pre>
1.31 avankest 1644:
1.138 avankest 1645: <p>The <dfn id="security-err"><code>SECURITY_ERR</code></dfn> exception is
1646: raised if an attempt is made to perform an operation or access some data
1647: in a way that would be a security risk or a violation of the user agent's
1648: security policy.</p>
1649:
1650: <!-- http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-webapi/2006May/0027.html -->
1651:
1.33 avankest 1652: <p>The <dfn id="network-err"><code>NETWORK_ERR</code></dfn> exception is
1.138 avankest 1653: raised when a network error occurs in synchronous requests.</p>
1.121 avankest 1654:
1.138 avankest 1655: <p>The <dfn id="abort-err"><code>ABORT_ERR</code></dfn> exception is
1656: raised when the user aborts a request in synchronous requests.</p>
1.203 avankest 1657:
1.199 avankest 1658: <p class="note">These exceptions might be folded into an update of
1659: DOM Level 3 Core in due course, as they are appropriate for other API
1660: specifications as well.</p>
1.121 avankest 1661:
1662:
1.203 avankest 1663:
1.29 avankest 1664: <h2 class="no-num" id="notcovered">Not in this Specification</h2>
1665:
1.143 avankest 1666: <p><em>This section is non-normative.</em></p>
1.29 avankest 1667:
1.72 avankest 1668: <p>This specification does not include the following features which are
1669: being considered for a future version of this specification:</p>
1.29 avankest 1670:
1671: <ul>
1672: <li><code>load</code> event and <code>onload</code> attribute;</li>
1673: <li><code>error</code> event and <code>onerror</code> attribute;</li>
1674: <li><code>progress</code> event and <code>onprogress</code> attribute;</li>
1675: <li><code title="">abort</code> event and <code>onabort</code> attribute;</li>
1676: <li>Timers have been suggested, perhaps an <code>ontimeout</code>
1677: attribute;</li>
1678: <li>Property to disable following redirects;</li>
1.30 avankest 1679: <li><code title="">responseXML</code> for <code>text/html</code>
1680: documents;</li>
1.203 avankest 1681: <li>Cross-origin <code title="">XMLHttpRequest</code>;</li>
1.87 avankest 1682: <li><code>responseBody</code> to deal with byte streams;</li>
1.114 avankest 1683: <li><code>overrideMimeType</code> to fix up MIME types;</li>
1.87 avankest 1684: <li><code>getRequestHeader()</code> and
1685: <code>removeRequestHeader()</code>.</li>
1.29 avankest 1686: </ul>
1687:
1.203 avankest 1688:
1689:
1.1 avankest 1690: <h2 class="no-num" id="bibref">References</h2>
1.203 avankest 1691:
1.177 avankest 1692: <p>Unless marked "Non-normative" these references are normative.</p>
1.11 avankest 1693:
1.6 avankest 1694: <dl>
1.203 avankest 1695: <dt>[<dfn id="ref-cookies=">COOKIES</dfn>]</dt>
1696: <dd><cite><a href="http://ietf.org/rfc/rfc2109">HTTP State Management
1697: Mechanism</a></cite>, D. Kristol, L. Montulli, editors. IETF, February
1698: 1997.</dd>
1699: <dd><cite><a href="http://ietf.org/rfc/rfc2965">HTTP State Management
1700: Mechanism</a></cite>, D. Kristol, L. Montulli, editors. IETF, October
1.218 avankest 1701: 2000.</dd>
1.211 avankest 1702:
1.203 avankest 1703: <!-- XXX These specs do not match reality. Also, the latter obsoletes the
1704: former -->
1705:
1.155 avankest 1706: <dt>[<dfn id="ref-dom2events">DOM2Events</dfn>]</dt>
1707: <dd><cite><a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/DOM-Level-2-Events/">Document
1.160 avankest 1708: Object Model (DOM) Level 2 Events Specification</a></cite>, T. Pixley,
1709: editor. W3C, November 2000.</dd>
1.155 avankest 1710:
1.145 avankest 1711: <dt>[<dfn id="ref-dom3core">DOM3Core</dfn>]</dt>
1.11 avankest 1712: <dd><cite><a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/DOM-Level-3-Core">Document Object
1.92 avankest 1713: Model (DOM) Level 3 Core Specification</a></cite>, A. Le Hors, P. Le
1.139 avankest 1714: Hégaret, L. Wood, G. Nicol, J. Robie, M. Champion, S. Byrne,
1715: editors. W3C, April 2004.</dd>
1.11 avankest 1716:
1.117 avankest 1717: <dt>[<dfn id="ref-ecmascript">ECMAScript</dfn>]</dt>
1.92 avankest 1718: <dd><cite><a href="http://www.ecma-international.org/publications/standards/Ecma-262.htm">ECMAScript
1719: Language Specification</a></cite>, Third Edition. ECMA, December 1999.</dd>
1.171 avankest 1720:
1.145 avankest 1721: <dt>[<dfn id="ref-html5">HTML5</dfn>]</dt>
1.171 avankest 1722: <dd><cite><a href="http://www.w3.org/html/wg/html5/">HTML 5</a></cite>
1723: (work in progress), I. Hickson, D. Hyatt, editors. W3C, 2008.</dd>
1.142 avankest 1724: <dd><cite><a href="http://www.whatwg.org/specs/web-apps/current-work/">HTML 5</a></cite>
1.171 avankest 1725: (work in progress), I. Hickson, editor. WHATWG, 2008.</dd>
1.198 avankest 1726:
1727: <dt>[<dfn id="ref-httpverbsec">HTTPVERBSEC</dfn>]</dt>
1728: <dd>(Non-normative) <cite><a href="http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/867593">Multiple
1729: vendors' web servers enable HTTP TRACE method by default</a></cite>,
1730: US-CERT.</dd>
1731: <dd>(Non-normative) <cite><a href="http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/288308">Microsoft
1732: Internet Information Server (IIS) vulnerable to cross-site scripting via
1733: HTTP TRACK method</a></cite>, US-CERT.</dd>
1734: <dd>(Non-normative) <cite><a href="http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/150227">HTTP
1735: proxy default configurations allow arbitrary TCP connections</a></cite>,
1736: US-CERT.</dd>
1737:
1.145 avankest 1738: <dt>[<dfn id="ref-rfc2119">RFC2119</dfn>]</dt>
1.117 avankest 1739: <dd><cite><a href="http://ietf.org/rfc/rfc2119">Key words for use in RFCs to
1740: Indicate Requirement Levels</a></cite>, S. Bradner. IETF, March 1997.</dd>
1.12 avankest 1741:
1.145 avankest 1742: <dt>[<dfn id="ref-rfc2616">RFC2616</dfn>]</dt>
1.11 avankest 1743: <dd><cite><a href="http://ietf.org/rfc/rfc2616">Hypertext Transfer Protocol
1.92 avankest 1744: -- HTTP/1.1</a></cite>, R. Fielding, J. Gettys, J. Mogul, H. Frystyk, L.
1745: Masinter, P. Leach, T. Berners-Lee, editors. IETF, June 1999.</dd>
1.12 avankest 1746:
1.37 avankest 1747: <dt>[<dfn id="ref-rfc2617">RFC2617</dfn>]</dt>
1.11 avankest 1748: <dd><cite><a href="http://ietf.org/rfc/rfc2617">HTTP Authentication: Basic
1.92 avankest 1749: and Digest Access Authentication</a></cite>, P. Hallam-Baker, J.
1750: Hostetler, S. Lawrence, P. Leach, A. Luotonen, L. Stewart, editors. IETF,
1751: June 1999.</dd>
1.12 avankest 1752:
1.37 avankest 1753: <dt>[<dfn id="ref-rfc3986">RFC3986</dfn>]</dt>
1.11 avankest 1754: <dd><cite><a href="http://ietf.org/rfc/rfc3986">Uniform Resource Identifier
1.92 avankest 1755: (URI): Generic Syntax</a></cite>, T. Berners-Lee, R. Fielding, L. Masinter,
1756: editors. IETF, January 2005.</dd>
1.184 avankest 1757:
1.203 avankest 1758: <dt>[<dfn id="ref-webidl">WebIDL</dfn>]</dt>
1.200 avankest 1759: <dd><cite><a href="http://dev.w3.org/2006/webapi/WebIDL/">Web
1.203 avankest 1760: IDL</a></cite> (work in progress), C. McCormack, editor. W3C, 2009.</dd>
1.181 avankest 1761:
1.92 avankest 1762: <dt>[<dfn id="ref-xml">XML</dfn>]</dt>
1763: <dd><cite><a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/xml/">Extensible Markup Language
1.203 avankest 1764: (XML) 1.0 (Fifth Edition)</a></cite>, T. Bray, J. Paoli, C.
1765: Sperberg-McQueen, E. Maler, F. Yergeau, editors. W3C, November 2008.</dd>
1.92 avankest 1766: <dd><cite><a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/xml-names/">Namespaces in XML
1.117 avankest 1767: (Second Edition)</a></cite>, T. Bray, D. Hollander, A. Layman, R. Tobin,
1768: editors. W3C, August 2006.</dd>
1.1 avankest 1769: </dl>
1.11 avankest 1770:
1.203 avankest 1771:
1772:
1.130 avankest 1773: <h2 class="no-num" id="acknowledgments">Acknowledgments</h2>
1.11 avankest 1774:
1.159 avankest 1775: <p>The editor would like to thank
1.12 avankest 1776:
1.163 avankest 1777: Addison Phillips,
1.159 avankest 1778: Ahmed Kamel,
1779: Alex Hopmann,
1780: Alex Vincent,
1781: Alexey Proskuryakov,
1782: Asbjørn Ulsberg,
1783: Boris Zbarsky,
1784: Björn Höhrmann,
1785: Cameron McCormack,
1786: Christophe Jolif,
1787: Charles McCathieNevile,
1788: Dan Winship,
1789: David Håsäther,
1790: Dean Jackson,
1791: Denis Sureau,
1792: Doug Schepers,
1793: Douglas Livingstone,
1794: Elliotte Harold,
1795: Eric Lawrence,
1.196 avankest 1796: Erik Dahlström,
1.163 avankest 1797: Geoffrey Sneddon,
1.159 avankest 1798: Gideon Cohn,
1799: Gorm Haug Eriksen,
1800: Hallvord R. M. Steen,
1801: Håkon Wium Lie,
1802: Ian Davis,
1803: Ian Hickson,
1804: Ivan Herman,
1805: Jeff Walden,
1806: Jens Lindström,
1807: Jim Deegan,
1808: Jim Ley,
1809: Joe Farro,
1810: Jonas Sicking,
1811: Julian Reschke,
1812: Karl Dubost,
1.175 avankest 1813: Lachlan Hunt,
1.159 avankest 1814: Maciej Stachowiak,
1815: Magnus Kristiansen,
1816: Marc Hadley,
1817: Marcos Caceres,
1818: Mark Baker,
1.203 avankest 1819: Mark Birbeck,
1.159 avankest 1820: Mark Nottingham,
1821: Mohamed Zergaoui,
1822: Pawel Glowacki,
1823: Robin Berjon,
1824: Ruud Steltenpool,
1825: Simon Pieters,
1826: Stewart Brodie,
1827: Sunava Dutta,
1.186 avankest 1828: Thomas Roessler,
1.203 avankest 1829: Tom Magliery, and
1.159 avankest 1830: Zhenbin Xu
1.181 avankest 1831:
1.159 avankest 1832: for their contributions to this specification.</p>
1.12 avankest 1833:
1.1 avankest 1834: <p>Special thanks to the Microsoft employees who first implemented the
1.143 avankest 1835: <code title="">XMLHttpRequest</code> interface, which was first widely
1836: deployed by the Windows Internet Explorer browser.</p>
1.12 avankest 1837:
1.143 avankest 1838: <p>Special thanks also to the WHATWG for drafting an initial version of
1839: this specification in their Web Applications 1.0 document (now renamed to
1840: HTML 5). [<cite><span>HTML5</span></cite>]</p>
1.12 avankest 1841:
1.143 avankest 1842: <p>Thanks also to all those who have helped to improve this specification
1843: by sending suggestions and corrections. (Please, keep bugging us with your
1.22 avankest 1844: issues!)</p>
1.1 avankest 1845: </body>
1846: </html>
1.211 avankest 1847:
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