URL hash is persisting between redirects

Question

For some reason, non IE browsers seem to persist a URL hash (if present) when a server-side redirect is sent (using the Location header). Example:

// a simple redirect using Response.Redirect("http://www.yahoo.com"); Text.aspx 

If I visit:

Test.aspx#foo 

In Firefox/Chrome, I'm taken to:

http://www.yahoo.com#foo 

Can anyone explain why this happens? I've tried this with various server side redirects in different platforms as well (all resulting in the Location header, though) and this always seems to happen. I don't see it anywhere in the HTTP spec, but it really seems to be a problem with the browsers themselves. The URL hash (as expected) is never sent to the server, so the server redirect isn't polluted by it, the browsers are just persisting it for some reason.

Any ideas?

Answer 1

I suggest that this is the correct behaviour. The 302 and 307 status codes indicate that the resource is to be found elsewhere. #bookmark is a location within the resource.

Once the resource (html document) has been located it is for the browser to locate the #bookmark within the document.

The analogy is this: You want to look something up in a book in chapter 57, so you go to the library to get the book. But there is a note on the shelf saying the book has moved, it is now in the other building. So you go to the new location. You still want chapter 57 - it is irrelevant where you got the book.