Talk:WebDAV

WebDAV for hard disk access
I kept in mind WebDAV is (also) used for connecting to a remote hard disk. Or am I wrong? --Abdull 23:24, 10 November 2005 (UTC)


 * Researching. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.28.0.249 (talk • contribs)

Redirect and Disambiguation
Given that "WebDAV" is halfway-formal, I've never heard the term spoken aloud, but rather just as "DAV" (that is to say, like "Dave" but without the silent "e"). Might it be appropriate to create a redirect for that truncated/vernacular form, either to this article or to a page that disambiguates Distributed Authoring and Versioning from the Disabled American Veterans? Persist1 04:24, 29 January 2006 (UTC)

See webdav.org FAQ#1. So were it spoken aloud, it would be "Webdav" rather than "Web-Dee-A-Vee"?--87.162.47.132 09:02, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Unknown software links
I've just gone through and attempted to seperate the huge list of "Software supporting WebDAV" into servers, clients, and services. I hope I haven't mixed up too many entries. There are two left that I cannot do anything with:


 * Kiwi
 * Stellent Content Management

They're both red links and offer no external link. A google search turned up http://kiwi.stanford.edu/ but it isn't responding. I found stellant.com but it looks to be a huge corporate portal and I can't quickly find anything relevant. I'll leave the links here if anyone wants to investigate further. Imroy 13:12, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

Removal of SEARCH method from method list
The SEARCH method is included in the list of WEBDAV methods however, I believe that this method isn't actually in the WEBDAV RFC. It exists rather in a draft of the WEBDAV groups search extensions.


 * WebDAV SEARCH
 * SEARCH Method

Therefore the search method should be removed from the list of DAV methods. Perhaps we can create a stub article to point to the WEBDAV group's related searching counterpart (DASL). -- P.A.H.


 * (Indeed; removed SEARCH from the message list) Reschke 09:32, 22 January 2007 (UTC)

Long lists of software
As noted by an earlier editor this article has attracted a long, non-encyclopedic list of software. To get this article looking more like an encyclopedia entry, I am removing all of those lists. Notable material should be added back as text (sentences). Lists tend to become indiscriminant and attract spammers. See various policies and guidelines that encourage text, not lists: WP:EL, Embedded list, WP:LAUNDRY and WP:NOT. JonHarder 23:33, 17 October 2006 (UTC)


 * It is a shame that you took such action. The article now contains no information whatsoever about software the supports this, making the article quite useless to most readers.  If you weren't willing to make at least a minimal effort to pick the most significant ones to mention, or move the material elsewhere and link to it, it would have been much better for you to leave it as it was. 69.87.204.240 13:22, 16 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I think we have evidence that long lists attract spamming; also the distinction between "server" (as something you can install and run) and "service" (something online somewhere) became a problem, and the Wiki page certainly should not list all services that may happen to run on of the well-known servers. I really believe that people looking for servers and/or clients should do that through a search engine, not this entry. Reschke 09:30, 22 January 2007 (UTC)

A another delete faschist - i'm so happy i never donated anything for wikipedia. I came here to find a list of WebDAV software like i visitied the list for FTP and SSH servers/clients. Wikipedia is not an Encyclopedia it is a collection of various informations. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.205.61.158 (talk) 13:11, 6 February 2010 (UTC)

The article as it stands is basically useless to me; it gives a brief discussion of the protocol, and then lists "implementations" that are only clients. Like the previous commenter I wish it had a reasonable list of server implementations. danpritts 1 June 2010 —Preceding undated comment added 17:55, 1 June 2010 (UTC).


 * Jon Harder, thanks for being such a rule-enforcer, but be a decent human being too -- with such a major deletion, at least include a link to the "previous" version before you nuked it, so those who are looking for a List Of Software can easily VIEW that please! The best I could find quickly was http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WebDAV&action=historysubmit&diff=82100342&oldid=80293021 142.229.109.66 (talk) 21:50, 30 September 2011 (UTC)


 * Or better yet, just add an "external reference" link to a site that specifically focuses on long, non-encyclopaedic lists of software. A short summary of the most-used implementations in sentence form is more than enough. Completeness is not the focus of an encyclopaedia -- Wikipedia included. You wouldn't mention how many times someone picked their nose in a biographical article so why do we need a huge, pointless list of non-notable software here? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.141.142.230 (talk) 12:41, 30 March 2012 (UTC)

Dates needed
The article has no dates. They are needed throughout to put events in time context. 69.87.204.240 13:22, 16 January 2007 (UTC)

I provided some citations and dates for early history of WebDAV. I was directly involved, so perhaps per WP:COI I shouldn't have made these edits? DanConnolly 01:59, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

Subversion and WebDAV
It is mentioned in the article that Subversion is an alternative to WebDAV, but it is never mentioned that Subversion commonly uses WebDAV to communicate (such as on http://code.google.com/p/).

--Quartz (talk) 00:46, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

Open Standard
Is it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.179.214.172 (talk) 14:44, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

Mac clients
Noting that there's a whole section on Windows clients, should we also add in a small section that states that MacOSX supports mounting WebDAV volumes and manipulation of them via it's WebdavFS? We might also want to mention that Apple's iDisk is accessed by the finder via WebDAV. Kylar (talk) 04:49, 14 March 2008 (UTC)

Article Dates
It would be nice to add some dates to this article. --PierreWiki 18:00, 27 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Bias
The top-of-page summary irks me. While the content is well written and entirely true, it reads like an advertisement. I would recommend rewording this.

Examples:
 * The WebDAV protocol allows "Intercreativity," making the Web a readable and writable medium, in line with Tim Berners-Lee's original vision.  --Advertising catch-phrase
 * it is almost as easy to use files on a WebDAV server as those stored in local directories.   --Persuasive language
 * Similarly, words like "allow" and "useful" are used persuasively throughout the section and should be replaced with phrases that describe the functionality of WebDAV, rather than the benefit of WebDAV.

These are subtle things, but subtle hints are typical of persuasive language, and should be avoided here.

159.140.254.10 (talk) 20:29, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

I agree, this language is inappropriate. Invoking Tim Berners Lee to support the idea seems somewhat far-fetched, given that I'm not aware of him publically refering to WebDAV at all. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 139.184.30.132 (talk) 15:37, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

I have added a "cleanup template" to the top of the article and removed a broken link. It could definitely still use a rewrite. Theoretick (talk) 20:11, 22 April 2013 (UTC)

Usages? Non-Windows implementations?
Are there any widespread ways to use it? The article should tell about current usages of this technology?

The article should also tell what non-Windows software is available.--Imz (talk) 17:36, 30 October 2008 (UTC)

I don't have time to research them, but I know that there is a mod_dav for Apache allowing the DAV protocol - there used to be an Apache Jakarta project called Slide, and I think Apache Jackrabbit supports WebDAV. There's also Apple's MobileMe iDisk which uses WebDAV as it's primary protocol. Not sure if this is any help. Kylar (talk) 00:47, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

the original "Web folders" client has been removed [from vista]
I just did a clean install of XP SP3. There is no "Web folders" client. If I install the web folders client from the patch, Windows update thinks I have Office installed, and I get offered a MS Office service pack (which fails, but that is another question).

Further investigation shows that the "Web folders" OLE-DB object is part of some other things as well as MS Office, so it may still have been part of the default installation of some versions of XP. However, it seems to have been a part of so many other things that it is difficult to tell. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.206.162.148 (talk) 02:14, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

And not included in the first release of XP either: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/298637 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.206.162.148 (talk) 00:09, 27 April 2009 (UTC)

Example Services
There are sites offering free and paid webdav services like box.net and mydisk.se Should they not be mentioned? Rpm13 (talk) 12:39, 24 November 2009 (UTC)

Alternatives
Aside from, arguably, SMB and CMIS, none of the software listed in the alternatives section are actually alternatives. The article states that SharePoint uses WebDAV, so it is clearly not an alternative to it. Also, just because some CMS, blog and wikis use the same HTTP verbs as WebDAV doesn't make them alternatives. And alternative is something that is functionally similar, not something that uses the same inner workings. 108.6.2.66 (talk) 16:01, 29 July 2010 (UTC)
 * CMIS is an Atom extension, and arguably Atom is an alternative. SMB is a network filesystem, and I suppose in one sense network filesystems are an alternative. The blog and cms para is factually incorrect I think, as most eg Wordpress use Atompub, or WebDAV in the more enterprisey ones. Providing a REST API is a proper alternative. Will attempt to reword. Justinc (talk) 12:23, 12 September 2010 (UTC)
 * Cleaned it up a bit Justinc (talk) 12:51, 12 September 2010 (UTC)

Server-side software implementation
The article only mentions client software. I believe the article should also mention the server part, for instance with links to Apache documentation (http://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.0/mod/mod_dav.html) and Windows IIS documentation (perhaps http://learn.iis.net/page.aspx/350/installing-and-configuring-webdav-on-iis-7/, more suitable links may be found by googling "iis webdav" or "iis 7 webdav") 84.202.22.251 (talk) 21:59, 15 March 2011 (UTC)

Remove Tim Burner
I came to read about WebDav not Tim Burner. Can we delete references to this person.? Per wp:intro should have the most interesting info, and Tim Burner isn't it for someone who wants to learn about webDav. Thanks, Daniel.Cardenas (talk) 21:34, 22 April 2011 (UTC)

Broken Link
http://blogs.msdn.com/webdav_101/attachment/652851.ashx referenced in the article is broken. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.186.246.197 (talk • contribs)
 * A working early archive of that page is available: http://web.archive.org/web/20060710192943/http://blogs.msdn.com/webdav_101/attachment/652851.ashx
 * - Jim Grisham (talk) 05:15, 21 July 2023 (UTC)
 * - Jim Grisham (talk) 05:15, 21 July 2023 (UTC)

Uninformative
Having read the article, I still don't know what webdav is supposed to be good for. It sounds like it's supposed to do what many wikis already do (e.g. moinmoin can be used to edit web pages and supports versioning and multiple authors), yet wiki software isn't even mentioned under alternatives (or anywhere else in the article for that matter) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.186.246.197 (talk • contribs)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 2 external links on WebDAV. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20040603051812/http://www.webdav.org/dasl/ to http://www.webdav.org/dasl
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20120626092812/http://webdav.org/ to http://www.webdav.org/

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Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 01:34, 7 December 2017 (UTC)

OPTIONS method is missing
sure OPTIONS isn't unique to WebDAV, but WebDAV makes use of the OPTIONS method, shouldn't that be on the list? 77.16.62.189 (talk) 07:52, 26 November 2019 (UTC)