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OWS HTTP response codes

The HTTP standard defines codes for all types of responses. These codes should give the client a clear indication if the request succeeded or not. These codes are set by the (server) application that handles the request. See http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2616. The client can assert that the request was successful only if the code is 200. Otherwise the client must check additional header fields or the body to handle the response. E.g. a 301 Moved Permanently response should contain a Location header with the new URL.

The OWS Commons specs are not really clear about which codes should be used in which cases. The 1.0.0 and 1.1.0 spec mentions redirects where the HTTP 3xx codes must be used. The 1.1.0 spec states (OGC 06-121e3, 12.6):

The 1.1.0 spec also describes an abstract test for the HTTP response status code (OGC 06-121r3, A.4.1.5):

Thus at least 1.1.0 explicitly requires non-200 status for all exception reports. However, we are aware that some clients only accept 200 status codes, even for exception reports.

The first deegree 3 services SOS and WPS are based on OWS 1.1.0 and should conform to the standard. Other service implementations may require additional evaluation regarding to client compatibility.


CategoryDeegree3


2018-04-20 12:05