{"question":"What distinguishes a strong validator from a weak validator?","state":"grounded","http_status":200,"index_version":"0fc1763d6701","answer":"A strong validator is representation metadata that changes value whenever a change occurs to the representation data that would be observable in the content of a 200 (OK) response to GET. [rfc9110#8.8.1] A weak validator is representation metadata that might not change for every change to the representation data. [rfc9110#8.8.1] Strong validators are ideal for comparisons but can be very difficult, and occasionally impossible, to generate efficiently. [rfc9110#8.8.1] Weak validators are easy to generate but are far less useful for comparisons. [rfc9110#8.8.1] A strong validator is unique across all versions of all representations associated with a particular resource over time. [rfc9110#8.8.1] A validator is weak if it is shared by two or more representations of a given resource at the same time, unless those representations have identical representation data. [rfc9110#8.8.1] Strong validators are usable for all conditional requests, including cache validation, partial content ranges, and lost update avoidance. [rfc9110#8.8.1] Weak validators are only usable when the client does not require exact equality with previously obtained representation data, such as when validating a cache entry or limiting a web traversal to recent changes. [rfc9110#8.8.1]","message":"","citations":["rfc9110#8.8.1"],"supported":[{"text":"A strong validator is representation metadata that changes value whenever a change occurs to the representation data that would be observable in the content of a 200 (OK) response to GET.","citation":"rfc9110#8.8.1","coverage":1.0},{"text":"A weak validator is representation metadata that might not change for every change to the representation data.","citation":"rfc9110#8.8.1","coverage":1.0},{"text":"Strong validators are ideal for comparisons but can be very difficult, and occasionally impossible, to generate efficiently.","citation":"rfc9110#8.8.1","coverage":1.0},{"text":"Weak validators are easy to generate but are far less useful for comparisons.","citation":"rfc9110#8.8.1","coverage":1.0},{"text":"A strong validator is unique across all versions of all representations associated with a particular resource over time.","citation":"rfc9110#8.8.1","coverage":1.0},{"text":"A validator is weak if it is shared by two or more representations of a given resource at the same time, unless those representations have identical representation data.","citation":"rfc9110#8.8.1","coverage":1.0},{"text":"Strong validators are usable for all conditional requests, including cache validation, partial content ranges, and lost update avoidance.","citation":"rfc9110#8.8.1","coverage":1.0},{"text":"Weak validators are only usable when the client does not require exact equality with previously obtained representation data, such as when validating a cache entry or limiting a web traversal to recent changes.","citation":"rfc9110#8.8.1","coverage":1.0}],"withdrawn":[],"consulted":[{"section_id":"rfc9110#8.8.1","citation":"RFC 9110 Section 8.8.1: Weak versus Strong","rank":1,"score":0.7414},{"section_id":"rfc9110#8.8.2.2","citation":"RFC 9110 Section 8.8.2.2: Comparison","rank":5,"score":0.5362},{"section_id":"rfc9110#17.14","citation":"RFC 9110 Section 17.14: Validator Retention","rank":6,"score":0.4961},{"section_id":"rfc9110#8.8.3.2","citation":"RFC 9110 Section 8.8.3.2: Comparison","rank":7,"score":0.4484},{"section_id":"rfc9111#4.3.4","citation":"RFC 9111 Section 4.3.4: Freshening Stored Responses upon Validation","rank":8,"score":0.4438},{"section_id":"rfc9111#4.3.1","citation":"RFC 9111 Section 4.3.1: Sending a Validation Request","rank":9,"score":0.4198},{"section_id":"rfc9110#8.8","citation":"RFC 9110 Section 8.8: Validator Fields","rank":10,"score":0.413}],"budget":{"deadline_ms":150.0,"elapsed_ms":7.168,"exceeded":false,"stages":{"retrieval":0.418,"drafting":0.005,"grounding":6.717}}}