LYNX-DEV caching and flow

[Al Gilman]

>     * Subject: LYNX-DEV Lynx is caching CGI script output. Why?
>     * From: address@hidden
>
>I am building an intranet app that makes extensive use of dynamic HTML
>generated by CGI scripts.  Lynx seems to be caching the output and not
>requesting a new version when the same tag is repeatedly selected.  This
>seems to be true in spite of Pragme: no-cache and Expires: [current time].
>Netscape seems to flush cache on any URL beginning with /cgi-bin.
>
>I am not a GUI fan, and want to make my application Lynx-friendly.  But I
>have to be able to bypass cache here.  What am I missing?
>

Lynx will honor no-cache if it is indicated in the standard way.  Think
HTTP and re-read the docs.  It may even take reading the CHANGES files
at the distribution breakout, in which case search on "cache."

Don't even mention what address@hidden appears to do, if you want help... ;-)

>Unrelated (I think) question.  Assume the following menu sequence:
>MENU OF CHOICES --> CHOICE1 FORM --> CHOICE1 CGI OUTPUT
>Is there any way to display the thanks screen, and upon dismissal, pop the
>URL stack back to the original menu, as though the user had pressed [Back]
>twice?  If you have a lot of screens to work through, the URL
>stack can get ver >y deep.

Consider the following flow:

The "thanks" screen can be a form and the "OK" button clearing it
be a form submit.  The CGI script that this kicks off sends a 
"page temporarily moved" or similar redirection HTTP response,
inducing Lynx re-loading the start page of the group.  There is
no way from a page to call the Browser_Back function, and as you 
said unless you are maintaining state at the server, you don't know
how many BACKs to ask for anyway.  But better, you know _where_
you want to return the visitor to.  I think HTTP has ways to do
this.  Maybe the OK script from the "thanks" page just sends the
start page, not the redirect...

-- Al Gilman
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