WebDAV
Encyclopedia
Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) is a set of methods based on the Hypertext Transfer Protocol
(HTTP) that facilitates collaboration between users in editing and managing documents and files stored on World Wide Web
servers. WebDAV was defined in RFC 4918 by a working group
of the Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF).
The WebDAV protocol makes the Web a readable and writable medium. It provides a framework for users to create, change and move documents on a server
(typically a web server or "web share"). The most important features of the WebDAV protocol include:
many modern operating system
s provide built-in support for WebDAV.
The WebDAV working group
concluded its work in March 2007, after the Internet Engineering Steering Group
(IESG) accepted an incremental update to RFC 2518. Other extensions left unfinished at that time, such as the BIND method
, will be finished by their individual authors, independent of the formal working group.
(W3C) to host two meetings to discuss the problem of distributed authoring
on the World Wide Web
with interested people.
Tim Berners-Lee
's original vision of the Web was that of a medium
for both reading and writing. In fact, Berners-Lee's first web browser
, called WorldWideWeb
, was able to both view and edit web page
s; but, as the Web grew, it became a read-only medium for most users. Whitehead and other like-minded people wanted to fix that limitation.
The W3C meeting decided to form an IETF
working group, because the new effort would lead to extensions to HTTP
, which was being standardized at the IETF.
As work began on the protocol, it became clear that handling both distributed authoring and versioning
would involve too much work and that the tasks would have to be separated. The WebDAV group focused on distributed authoring, and left versioning for the future. Versioning was added later by the Delta-V extension — see the Extensions section below.
The protocol consists of a set of new methods and headers for use in HTTP. The added methods include:
or FUSE
filesystems. KDE
has native WebDAV support as part of kio_http. This enables Dolphin
, Konqueror
, and every other KDE application to interact directly with WebDAV servers. Nautilus
also has WebDAV support built in. The cadaver command-line client, which provides an FTP
-like command set, is included in many Linux distributions. The Apache HTTP Server
provides WebDAV modules based on both davfs and Apache Subversion (svn).
See also:
version 10.0 and following support WebDAV shares natively as a type of filesystem
. The system can mount WebDAV-enabled server directories to the filesystem using the traditional BSD
mounting mechanism or, more comfortably, through the 'Connect to Server' dialog found in the Finder. Mac OS X version 10.1.1 introduced support for HTTP Digest Access authentication
. Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) extended WebDAV interoperability to include support for the https scheme, proxies,.. and additional methods of authentication.
The Finder presents a WebDAV share as an external disk, allowing users to interact with WebDAV just as they would with any other filesystem. Apple's iDisk
, part of its former MobileMe
service, used WebDAV for file access. (And the public folders still can be accessed with a WebDAV-client as an alternative to the Javascript-based web-interface; see How to copy someone's else folders from public.me.com with a wget-like tool?.)
with a feature called "Web folders". This client consisted of an OLE
object which could be accessed by any OLE software, and was installed as an extension to Windows Explorer
(the desktop/file manager) and was later included in Windows 2000
.
In Windows XP
, Microsoft added the "WebDAV mini-redirector" which is preferred by default over the old Web folders client. This newer client works as a system service at the network-redirector level (immediately above the file-system), allowing WebDAV shares to be assigned to a drive letter
and used by any software. The redirector also allows WebDAV shares to be addressed via UNC paths (e.g.http://host/path/ is converted to \\host\path\) for compatibility with Windows filesystem APIs.
As part of the Windows Server Protocols (WSPP) documentation set, Microsoft published the following protocol documents detailing extensions to WebDAV:
Some versions of the redirector are reported to have some limitations in authentication support. This includes the fact that some versions disable basic authentication for HTTP connections for security purposes. Suggested workarounds for problems in some versions include:
In addition, WebDAV over HTTPS works only if a computer has KB892211-version files or newer installed. Otherwise Windows displays "The folder you entered does not appear to be valid. Please choose another" when adding a network resource. NOTE: 892211 has been superseded by KB907306.
Windows Vista
includes only the WebDAV redirector, but if you install a version of Office, Internet Explorer, OLE-DB or "Microsoft Update for Web Folders" you will get the original "Web folders" client. The update will only work on the 32-bit version of XP/Vista.
(FTP) is a simple network protocol based on IP
, which allows users to transfer files between computers on the Internet. FTPS
and SFTP
are extensions for secure traffic. WebDAV is considered a suitable replacement to solve the security and technical problems of FTP.
A distributed file system
such as the SMB
protocol allows Microsoft Windows
and open-source Samba
clients to access and manage files and folders remotely on a suitable file server
.
AtomPub
is an HTTP-based protocol for creating and updating web resources, which can be used for some of the use cases of WebDAV. It is based on standard HTTP verbs with standardized collection resources that behave somewhat like the WebDAV model of directories.
CMIS
is a standard consisting of a set of Web services for sharing information among disparate content repositories that seeks to ensure interoperability for people and applications using multiple content repositories; it has both SOAP
and AtomPub based interfaces.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol
The Hypertext Transfer Protocol is a networking protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. HTTP is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web....
(HTTP) that facilitates collaboration between users in editing and managing documents and files stored on World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
servers. WebDAV was defined in RFC 4918 by a working group
Working group
A working group is an interdisciplinary collaboration of researchers working on new research activities that would be difficult to develop under traditional funding mechanisms . The lifespan of the WG can last anywhere between a few months and several years...
of the Internet Engineering Task Force
Internet Engineering Task Force
The Internet Engineering Task Force develops and promotes Internet standards, cooperating closely with the W3C and ISO/IEC standards bodies and dealing in particular with standards of the TCP/IP and Internet protocol suite...
(IETF).
The WebDAV protocol makes the Web a readable and writable medium. It provides a framework for users to create, change and move documents on a server
Server (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
(typically a web server or "web share"). The most important features of the WebDAV protocol include:
- Locking ("overwrite prevention")
- Properties (creation, removal, and querying of information about author, modified date, et cetera);
- Namespace management (ability to copy and move Web pages within a server's namespaceNamespaceIn general, a namespace is a container that provides context for the identifiers it holds, and allows the disambiguation of homonym identifiers residing in different namespaces....
) - Collections (creation, removal, and listing of resources)
many modern operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
s provide built-in support for WebDAV.
The WebDAV working group
Working group
A working group is an interdisciplinary collaboration of researchers working on new research activities that would be difficult to develop under traditional funding mechanisms . The lifespan of the WG can last anywhere between a few months and several years...
concluded its work in March 2007, after the Internet Engineering Steering Group
Internet Engineering Steering Group
The Internet Engineering Steering Group is a body composed of the Internet Engineering Task Force chair and area directors.It provides the final technical review of Internet standards and is responsible for day-to-day management of the IETF...
(IESG) accepted an incremental update to RFC 2518. Other extensions left unfinished at that time, such as the BIND method
BIND method
The BIND method is an extension to WebDAV whose purpose is to create new access paths to existing resources. It is defined by RFC 5842....
, will be finished by their individual authors, independent of the formal working group.
History
WebDAV began in 1996 when Jim Whitehead worked with the World Wide Web ConsortiumWorld Wide Web Consortium
The World Wide Web Consortium is the main international standards organization for the World Wide Web .Founded and headed by Tim Berners-Lee, the consortium is made up of member organizations which maintain full-time staff for the purpose of working together in the development of standards for the...
(W3C) to host two meetings to discuss the problem of distributed authoring
Collaboration
Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
on the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
with interested people.
Tim Berners-Lee
Tim Berners-Lee
Sir Timothy John "Tim" Berners-Lee, , also known as "TimBL", is a British computer scientist, MIT professor and the inventor of the World Wide Web...
's original vision of the Web was that of a medium
Data storage device
thumb|200px|right|A reel-to-reel tape recorder .The magnetic tape is a data storage medium. The recorder is data storage equipment using a portable medium to store the data....
for both reading and writing. In fact, Berners-Lee's first web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
, called WorldWideWeb
WorldWideWeb
WorldWideWeb, later renamed to Nexus to avoid confusion between the software and the World Wide Web, was the first web browser and editor. When it was written, WorldWideWeb was the only way to view the Web....
, was able to both view and edit web page
Web page
A web page or webpage is a document or information resource that is suitable for the World Wide Web and can be accessed through a web browser and displayed on a monitor or mobile device. This information is usually in HTML or XHTML format, and may provide navigation to other web pages via hypertext...
s; but, as the Web grew, it became a read-only medium for most users. Whitehead and other like-minded people wanted to fix that limitation.
The W3C meeting decided to form an IETF
Internet Engineering Task Force
The Internet Engineering Task Force develops and promotes Internet standards, cooperating closely with the W3C and ISO/IEC standards bodies and dealing in particular with standards of the TCP/IP and Internet protocol suite...
working group, because the new effort would lead to extensions to HTTP
Hypertext Transfer Protocol
The Hypertext Transfer Protocol is a networking protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. HTTP is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web....
, which was being standardized at the IETF.
As work began on the protocol, it became clear that handling both distributed authoring and versioning
Revision control
Revision control, also known as version control and source control , is the management of changes to documents, programs, and other information stored as computer files. It is most commonly used in software development, where a team of people may change the same files...
would involve too much work and that the tasks would have to be separated. The WebDAV group focused on distributed authoring, and left versioning for the future. Versioning was added later by the Delta-V extension — see the Extensions section below.
The protocol consists of a set of new methods and headers for use in HTTP. The added methods include:
- PROPFIND — used to retrieve properties, stored as XMLXMLExtensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
, from a resourceResource (Web)The concept of resource is primitive in the Web architecture, and is used in the definition of its fundamental elements. The term was first introduced to refer to targets of Uniform Resource Locators , but its definition has been further extended to include the referent of any Uniform Resource...
. It is also overloadedMethod overloadingFunction overloading or method overloading is a feature found in various programming languages such as Ada, C#, VB.NET, C++, D and Java that allows the creation of several methods with the same name which differ from each other in terms of the type of the input and the type of the output of the...
to allow one to retrieve the collection structure (a.k.a. directory hierarchy) of a remote system. - PROPPATCH — used to change and delete multiple properties on a resource in a single atomic actAtomic commitAn atomic commit is an operation in which a set of distinct changes is applied as a single operation. If the changes are applied then the atomic commit is said to have succeeded. If there is a failure before the atomic commit can be completed then all of the changes completed in the atomic commit...
- MKCOL — used to create collections (a.k.a. a directory)
- COPY — used to copy a resource from one URIUniform Resource IdentifierIn computing, a uniform resource identifier is a string of characters used to identify a name or a resource on the Internet. Such identification enables interaction with representations of the resource over a network using specific protocols...
to another - MOVE — used to move a resource from one URIUniform Resource IdentifierIn computing, a uniform resource identifier is a string of characters used to identify a name or a resource on the Internet. Such identification enables interaction with representations of the resource over a network using specific protocols...
to another - LOCK — used to put a lockLock (computer science)In computer science, a lock is a synchronization mechanism for enforcing limits on access to a resource in an environment where there are many threads of execution. Locks are one way of enforcing concurrency control policies.-Types:...
on a resource. WebDAV supports both shared and exclusive locks. - UNLOCK — used to remove a lock from a resource
Linux
Linux users can mount WebDAV shares using davfs2 or fusedav which mount them as CodaCoda (file system)
Coda is a distributed file system developed as a research project at Carnegie Mellon University since 1987 under the direction of Mahadev Satyanarayanan. It descended directly from an older version of AFS and offers many similar features. The InterMezzo file system was inspired by Coda...
or FUSE
Filesystem in Userspace
Filesystem in Userspace is a loadable kernel module for Unix-like computer operating systems that lets non-privileged users create their own file systems without editing kernel code...
filesystems. KDE
KDE
KDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...
has native WebDAV support as part of kio_http. This enables Dolphin
Dolphin (software)
Dolphin is a free and open source software file manager for and part of the KDE Software Compilation. It is the default file manager in the current version, KDE Software Compilation 4, and can be optionally installed on K Desktop Environment 3...
, Konqueror
Konqueror
Not to be confused with the Conqueror web browser.Konqueror is a web browser and file manager that provides file-viewer functionality for file systems such as local files, files on a remote ftp server and files in a disk image. It is a core part of the KDE desktop environment...
, and every other KDE application to interact directly with WebDAV servers. Nautilus
Nautilus (file manager)
Nautilus is the official file manager for the GNOME desktop. The name is a play on words, evoking the shell of a nautilus to represent an operating system shell. Nautilus replaced Midnight Commander in GNOME 1.4 and was the default from version 2.0 onwards....
also has WebDAV support built in. The cadaver command-line client, which provides an FTP
File Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocol is a standard network protocol used to transfer files from one host to another host over a TCP-based network, such as the Internet. FTP is built on a client-server architecture and utilizes separate control and data connections between the client and server...
-like command set, is included in many Linux distributions. The Apache HTTP Server
Apache HTTP Server
The Apache HTTP Server, commonly referred to as Apache , is web server software notable for playing a key role in the initial growth of the World Wide Web. In 2009 it became the first web server software to surpass the 100 million website milestone...
provides WebDAV modules based on both davfs and Apache Subversion (svn).
See also:
Mac OS X
Mac OS XMac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
version 10.0 and following support WebDAV shares natively as a type of filesystem
File system
A file system is a means to organize data expected to be retained after a program terminates by providing procedures to store, retrieve and update data, as well as manage the available space on the device which contain it. A file system organizes data in an efficient manner and is tuned to the...
. The system can mount WebDAV-enabled server directories to the filesystem using the traditional BSD
Berkeley Software Distribution
Berkeley Software Distribution is a Unix operating system derivative developed and distributed by the Computer Systems Research Group of the University of California, Berkeley, from 1977 to 1995...
mounting mechanism or, more comfortably, through the 'Connect to Server' dialog found in the Finder. Mac OS X version 10.1.1 introduced support for HTTP Digest Access authentication
Digest access authentication
Digest access authentication is one of the agreed upon methods a web server can use to negotiate credentials with a user's web browser. It uses encryption to send the password over the network which is safer than the Basic access authentication that sends plaintext.Technically digest...
. Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) extended WebDAV interoperability to include support for the https scheme, proxies,.. and additional methods of authentication.
The Finder presents a WebDAV share as an external disk, allowing users to interact with WebDAV just as they would with any other filesystem. Apple's iDisk
IDisk
iDisk is a file hosting service offered by Apple to all MobileMe members that enables them to store their digital photos, movies and personal files online so they can be accessed remotely. With a standard subscription, MobileMe users receive a 20 GB iDisk.iDisk integrates with Mac OS X,...
, part of its former MobileMe
MobileMe
MobileMe was a subscription-based collection of online services and software offered by Apple Inc. Originally launched on January 5, 2000, as iTools, a free collection of Internet-based services for users of Mac OS 9, Apple relaunched it as .Mac on July 17, 2002, when it became a paid subscription...
service, used WebDAV for file access. (And the public folders still can be accessed with a WebDAV-client as an alternative to the Javascript-based web-interface; see How to copy someone's else folders from public.me.com with a wget-like tool?.)
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft introduced WebDAV client support in Microsoft Windows 98Windows 98
Windows 98 is a graphical operating system by Microsoft. It is the second major release in the Windows 9x line of operating systems. It was released to manufacturing on 15 May 1998 and to retail on 25 June 1998. Windows 98 is the successor to Windows 95. Like its predecessor, it is a hybrid...
with a feature called "Web folders". This client consisted of an OLE
Object Linking and Embedding
Object Linking and Embedding is a technology developed by Microsoft that allows embedding and linking to documents and other objects. For developers, it brought OLE Control eXtension , a way to develop and use custom user interface elements...
object which could be accessed by any OLE software, and was installed as an extension to Windows Explorer
Windows Explorer
This article is about the Windows file system browser. For the similarly named web browser, see Internet ExplorerWindows Explorer is a file manager application that is included with releases of the Microsoft Windows operating system from Windows 95 onwards. It provides a graphical user interface...
(the desktop/file manager) and was later included in Windows 2000
Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the...
.
In Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
, Microsoft added the "WebDAV mini-redirector" which is preferred by default over the old Web folders client. This newer client works as a system service at the network-redirector level (immediately above the file-system), allowing WebDAV shares to be assigned to a drive letter
Drive letter assignment
Drive letter assignment is the process of assigning alphabetical identifiers to physical or logical disk drives or partitions in the root filesystem namespace; this usage is now mostly found in Microsoft operating systems...
and used by any software. The redirector also allows WebDAV shares to be addressed via UNC paths (e.g.
As part of the Windows Server Protocols (WSPP) documentation set, Microsoft published the following protocol documents detailing extensions to WebDAV:
- [MS-WDVME]: Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) Protocol: Microsoft Extensions. These extensions include a new verb and new headers, and properties that enable previously unmanageable file types and optimize protocol interactions for file system clients. These extensions introduce new functionality into WebDAV, optimize processing, and eliminate the need for special-case processing.
- [MS-WDV]: Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) Protocol: Client Extensions. The client extensions in this specification extend the WebDAV Protocol by introducing new headers that both enable the file types that are not currently manageable and optimize protocol interactions for file system clients. These extensions do not introduce new functionality into the WebDAV Protocol, but instead optimize processing and eliminate the need for special-case processing.
- [MS-WDVSE]: Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) Protocol: Server Extensions. The server extensions in this specification extend WebDAV by introducing new HTTP request and response headers that both enable the file types that are not currently manageable and optimize protocol interactions for file system clients. This specification also introduces a new WebDAV method that is used to send search queries to disparate search providers.
- [MS-WEBDAVE]: Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning Error Extensions Protocol Specification. This SharePoint Front-End Protocol describes extended error codes and extended error handling mechanism specified in [MS-WDV] to enable compliant servers to report error condition details on a server response.
Some versions of the redirector are reported to have some limitations in authentication support. This includes the fact that some versions disable basic authentication for HTTP connections for security purposes. Suggested workarounds for problems in some versions include:
- explicitly specify a port number in the URL e.g.
http://host:80/path/. This reportedly forces the use of the old "Web folders" client. - use a fully qualified domain name:
NET USE Z: http://drive.example.org/drive - specify the user in the URL
http://user@host.tld/path/
In addition, WebDAV over HTTPS works only if a computer has KB892211-version files or newer installed. Otherwise Windows displays "The folder you entered does not appear to be valid. Please choose another" when adding a network resource. NOTE: 892211 has been superseded by KB907306.
Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
includes only the WebDAV redirector, but if you install a version of Office, Internet Explorer, OLE-DB or "Microsoft Update for Web Folders" you will get the original "Web folders" client. The update will only work on the 32-bit version of XP/Vista.
Current alternatives to WebDAV
File Transfer ProtocolFile Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocol is a standard network protocol used to transfer files from one host to another host over a TCP-based network, such as the Internet. FTP is built on a client-server architecture and utilizes separate control and data connections between the client and server...
(FTP) is a simple network protocol based on IP
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol is the principal communications protocol used for relaying datagrams across an internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite...
, which allows users to transfer files between computers on the Internet. FTPS
FTPS
FTPS is an extension to the commonly used File Transfer Protocol that adds support for the Transport Layer Security and the Secure Sockets Layer cryptographic protocols....
and SFTP
SSH file transfer protocol
In computing, the SSH File Transfer Protocol is a network protocol that provides file access, file transfer, and file management functionality over any reliable data stream...
are extensions for secure traffic. WebDAV is considered a suitable replacement to solve the security and technical problems of FTP.
A distributed file system
Distributed file system
Network file system may refer to:* A distributed file system, which is accessed over a computer network* Network File System , a specific brand of distributed file system...
such as the SMB
Server Message Block
In computer networking, Server Message Block , also known as Common Internet File System operates as an application-layer network protocol mainly used to provide shared access to files, printers, serial ports, and miscellaneous communications between nodes on a network. It also provides an...
protocol allows Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and open-source Samba
Samba (software)
Samba is a free software re-implementation, originally developed by Andrew Tridgell, of the SMB/CIFS networking protocol. As of version 3, Samba provides file and print services for various Microsoft Windows clients and can integrate with a Windows Server domain, either as a Primary Domain...
clients to access and manage files and folders remotely on a suitable file server
File server
In computing, a file server is a computer attached to a network that has the primary purpose of providing a location for shared disk access, i.e. shared storage of computer files that can be accessed by the workstations that are attached to the computer network...
.
AtomPub
Atom (standard)
The name Atom applies to a pair of related standards. The Atom Syndication Format is an XML language used for web feeds, while the Atom Publishing Protocol is a simple HTTP-based protocol for creating and updating web resources.Web feeds allow software programs to check for updates published on a...
is an HTTP-based protocol for creating and updating web resources, which can be used for some of the use cases of WebDAV. It is based on standard HTTP verbs with standardized collection resources that behave somewhat like the WebDAV model of directories.
CMIS
Content Management Interoperability Services
Content Management Interoperability Services is a specification for improving interoperability between Enterprise Content Management systems. OASIS, a web standards consortium, approved CMIS as an OASIS Specification on May 1, 2010....
is a standard consisting of a set of Web services for sharing information among disparate content repositories that seeks to ensure interoperability for people and applications using multiple content repositories; it has both SOAP
SOAP
SOAP, originally defined as Simple Object Access Protocol, is a protocol specification for exchanging structured information in the implementation of Web Services in computer networks...
and AtomPub based interfaces.
Documents produced by the working group
The WebDAV working group produced several works:- a requirements document: "Requirements for a Distributed Authoring and Versioning Protocol for the World Wide Web" RFC 2291, issued February 1998
- a base protocol document (excluding versioning, despite its title): "HTTP Extensions for Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV)" RFC 4918, issued June 2007 (which updates and supersedes "HTTP Extensions for Distributed Authoring — WebDAV" RFC 2518, issued February 1999)
- the ordered collections protocol: "Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) Ordered Collections Protocol" RFC 3648, issued December 2003
- the access control protocol: "Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) Access Control Protocol" RFC 3744, issued May 2004
- a quota specification: "Quota and Size Properties for Distributed Authoring and Versioning (DAV) Collections" RFC 4331, issued February 2006
- a redirect specification: "Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) Redirect Reference Resources" RFC 4437, issued March 2006
Other documents published through IETF
- the versioning protocol: "Versioning Extensions to WebDAV (Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning)" RFC 3253 (created by the Delta-V working group)
- a specification of WebDAV property datatypes: "Datatypes for Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) Properties" RFC 4316
- a document defining how to initiate mounting of a WebDAV resource: "Mounting Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) Servers" RFC 4709
- a calendar access protocol: "Calendaring Extensions to WebDAV (CalDAVCalDAVCalendaring Extensions to WebDAV, or CalDAV, is an Internet standard allowing a client to access scheduling information on a remote server. It extends WebDAV specification and uses iCalendar format for the data. The protocol is defined by RFC 4791...
)" RFC 4791 - a query protocol: "Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) SEARCH" RFC 5323
- an extension to the WebDAV ACL specification: "WebDAV Current Principal Extension" RFC 5397
- an extension to the WebDAV MKCOL method: "Extended MKCOL for Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV)" RFC 5689
- an extension of the collection model, defining creation and discovery of additional bindings to a resource: "Binding Extensions to Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV)" RFC 5842
- an application of POST to WebDAV collections: "Using POST to Add Members to Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) Collections" RFC 5995
Extensions and derivatives
- For versioning, the Delta-V protocol under the Web Versioning and Configuration Management working group adds resource revision tracking, published in RFC 3253.
- For searching and locating, the DAV Searching and Locating (DASL) working group never produced any official standard although there are a number of implementations of its last draft (work continued as non-working-group activity, see DASL). One implementation, WebDav SEARCH, attempts to pick up where the working group left off, and was published as RFC 5323 in November 2008.
- For calendaring, CalDAVCalDAVCalendaring Extensions to WebDAV, or CalDAV, is an Internet standard allowing a client to access scheduling information on a remote server. It extends WebDAV specification and uses iCalendar format for the data. The protocol is defined by RFC 4791...
is a protocol allowing calendar access via WebDAV. CalDAV models calendar events as HTTP resources in iCalendarICalendariCalendar is a computer file format which allows Internet users to send meeting requests and tasks to other Internet users, via email, or sharing files with an extension of .ics...
format, and models calendars containing events as WebDAV collections. - For groupware, GroupDAVGroupDAVGroupDAV is a computer protocol used to connect Open Source groupware clients with Open Source groupware servers. It is a lightweight protocol whose primary design goal is to be as simple as possible to implement, focusing more on real world issues with open source applications than on an...
is a variant of WebDAV which allows client/server groupwareCollaborative softwareCollaborative software is computer software designed to help people involved in a common task achieve goals...
systems to store and fetch objects such as calendar items and address book entries instead of web pages. - For Exchange interoperability, WebDAV can be used for reading/updating/deleting items in a mailbox or public folder. WebDAV for Exchange has been extended by Microsoft to accommodate working with messaging data. Exchange Server version 2000, 2003, and 2007 support WebDAV. However, WebDAV support has been discontinued in Exchange 2010 in favor of Exchange Web Services (EWS), a SOAPSOAPSOAP, originally defined as Simple Object Access Protocol, is a protocol specification for exchanging structured information in the implementation of Web Services in computer networks...
/XMLXMLExtensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
based API. See this training paper on WebDAV for Exchange (it also covers WebDAV usage overall and includes samples): WebDAV 101 Training. This blog covers WebDAV development: WebDAV 101.
See also
- CalDAVCalDAVCalendaring Extensions to WebDAV, or CalDAV, is an Internet standard allowing a client to access scheduling information on a remote server. It extends WebDAV specification and uses iCalendar format for the data. The protocol is defined by RFC 4791...
- CardDAVCardDAVCardDAV is an address book client/server protocol designed to allow users to access and share contact data on a server.The CardDAV protocol was developed by the IETF and has been published as RFC 6352....
- GroupDAVGroupDAVGroupDAV is a computer protocol used to connect Open Source groupware clients with Open Source groupware servers. It is a lightweight protocol whose primary design goal is to be as simple as possible to implement, focusing more on real world issues with open source applications than on an...
- Content managementContent managementContent management, or CM, is the set of processes and technologies that support the collection, managing, and publishing of information in any form or medium. In recent times this information is typically referred to as content or, to be precise, digital content...
- Distributed file systemDistributed file systemNetwork file system may refer to:* A distributed file system, which is accessed over a computer network* Network File System , a specific brand of distributed file system...
- Filing OSIDFiling Open Service Interface DefinitionThe Filing Open Service Interface Definition is an O.K.I. specification.OSIDs are programmatic interfaces which comprise a Service Oriented Architecture for designing and building reusable and interoperable software....
- ICEInformation and Content ExchangeInformation and Content Exchange is an XML-based protocol used for content syndication via the Internet. By using XML both sender and receiver have an agreed-upon language in which to communicate. The system uses a client–server architecture....