[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #11348: Archive Page Should be 404.php When !have_posts()

[WordPress Trac]

#11348: Archive Page Should be 404.php When !have_posts()
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 Reporter:  miqrogroove   |        Owner:  ryan    
     Type:  defect (bug)  |       Status:  reopened
 Priority:  normal        |    Milestone:  2.9     
Component:  Query         |      Version:  2.8.4   
 Severity:  normal        |   Resolution:          
 Keywords:                |  
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Comment(by miqrogroove):

 >  The meaning of the query /category/iamempty/ is that it requests the
 category named "iamempty."

 Except that is not the meaning.  The meaning can be customized.  The
 default meaning is that it requests the posts in the category.  When the
 category is empty, no links for the category exist, the category is
 hidden.

 On a test server, I can make a directory with nothing in it.  If I click
 on the index link it will respond 200 with no files listed.  If I then
 hide the directory, the index link disappears, and the server responds 404
 at the URL for the directory.  Now by your explanation above, that means
 my server goes "against the HTTP 404 definition" because the empty
 category is an existing resource, even though it is empty and hidden.

 I wonder, why did the authors of a web server not go out their way to
 ensure that an empty hidden resource respond with 200?

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Ticket URL: <http://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/11348#comment:10>
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