WebDAV defines extensions to
HTTP to enable distributed
WWW authoring tools to be broadly interoperable.
HTTP already contains functionality which enables the editing of
WWW content at a remote location, without direct access to the storage media via an
Operating System. This capability is exploited by several existing
HTML distributed authoring tools, and by a growing number of mainstream applications (e.g., word processors) which allow users to write (publish) their work to an
HTTP Server. Experience from the
HTML authoring tools has shown they are unable to meet their user's needs using the facilities of
HTTP. The consequence of this is either postponed introduction of distributed authoring capability, or the addition of nonstandard extensions to
HTTP. These extensions, developed in isolation, are not interoperable.