From 4472c8d92b99d9040ca5fe6d45e839a91d9ed33e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Lilleman auf Larv <lilleman@larvit.se>
Date: Sun, 20 Sep 2026 00:36:38 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] Stop naming what the register's other entries are, and say
 where the booleans stay text

---
 README.md                 | 7 ++++---
 data-import/httpmethod.py | 9 ++++++---
 todo.md                   | 6 ++++++
 3 files changed, 16 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 722e5c3..1070027 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -173,9 +173,10 @@ select a row; `car` and `useragent` carry no key or name, so they are drawn from
 than selected in.
 
 `misc.httpmethod`, `misc.protocol` and `misc.port` are IANA's registries.
-`misc.httpmethod` is the nine methods the HTTP core specification defines, not the
-WebDAV extensions the register also holds, and its `safe` and `idempotent` are `true`
-or `false`, so a Go `bool` reads them. `misc.protocol` carries a `number` and a `name`,
+`misc.httpmethod` is the nine methods the HTTP core specification defines; the
+register's other entries, WebDAV and DeltaV among them, do not ship. Its `safe` and
+`idempotent` are `true` or `false`, so a Go `bool` reads them, though `--format json`
+and `sql` write them as text, a table column carrying no datatype. `misc.protocol` carries a `number` and a `name`,
 the keyword itself where the register spells none out, and selects by either spelling.
 `misc.port` is the TCP assignments, rendering the number a port field holds with the
 IANA `service` beside it, and selecting by number alone. A draw spans the whole
diff --git a/data-import/httpmethod.py b/data-import/httpmethod.py
index 585c3b9..15006c1 100644
--- a/data-import/httpmethod.py
+++ b/data-import/httpmethod.py
@@ -4,9 +4,9 @@
     data-import/httpmethod.py [--source URL_OR_FILE] [--cache DIR] [--out FILE]
 
 A method ships when the register cites the HTTP core specification for it, RFC 9110
-section 9.3 or RFC 5789, which is the nine a request carries; the WebDAV and DeltaV
-extensions the register also holds do not. The register's `yes` and `no` ship as `true`
-and `false`, which a consumer's boolean reads.
+section 9.3 or RFC 5789, which is the nine a request carries; the register's other
+entries do not. The register's `yes` and `no` ship as `true` and `false`, which a
+consumer's boolean reads.
 """
 import argparse
 import csv
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ CACHE = Path(__file__).resolve().parent / "cache"
 COLUMNS = ["idempotent", "method", "safe"]
 CORE = re.compile(r"\[RFC9110, Section 9\.3\.|\[RFC5789, Section 2\]")
 BOOLEAN = {"yes": "true", "no": "false"}
+SELECTOR = '[]{}"|'  # mirrors inSelector in table.go
 EXPECTED = 9
 
 
@@ -32,6 +33,8 @@ def rows(text):
         method = (r["Method Name"] or "").strip()
         if not CORE.search(r["Reference"] or ""):
             continue
+        if set(method) & set(SELECTOR):
+            sys.exit(f"{method}: a method holding one of {SELECTOR} is one a selector cannot spell")
         answers = {}
         for column in ("Safe", "Idempotent"):
             answer = (r[column] or "").strip()
diff --git a/todo.md b/todo.md
index 30529c7..fe20667 100644
--- a/todo.md
+++ b/todo.md
@@ -103,10 +103,16 @@ by a `data-import/` script, as README goal 10 asks.
 - Add `{base64url(n)}` for JWT shapes.
 - Add a `unix` layout to `date()` once something needs it.
 
+### Library and CLI
+
 - Name a spelling that works when a row selector misses: `misc.protocol[tcp]`,
   `misc.httpmethod[get]` and `misc.territory[se]` all answer "no row … has key or name"
   and stop there, where a case-insensitive match could name the row that exists, and a
   table with no `name` column could say it selects by key alone.
+- Let a table column carry a `datatype`, so `--format json` writes
+  `"safe": true` and `--format sql` a boolean rather than the text `'true'`. Today only
+  a JSON field takes one, so `misc.httpmethod`'s booleans are typed in Go and text
+  everywhere else. It reserves a field name, so it is a fence and a major.
 
 ### Open questions to settle