[API-users] Small change to retrieving GBIF download files

[Matthew Blissett]

Hi all,

We've made a small change to the way files are downloaded from 
GBIF.org.  People retrieving GBIF downloads using a web browser will not 
notice any difference.  There will also be no difference for many 
command line download programs, like "wget".

API clients will notice that download links like 
https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/download/request/0001649-180925134338326.zip 
now return an HTTP 302 redirect to a different location.  The client 
will need to follow the redirect to retrieve the file. Users of "curl" 
on the command line can add the "-L" argument to follow redirects 
automatically.

The change was necessary to improve stability and performance of 
api.gbif.org, following the change by Google Chrome to block non-HTTPS 
downloads.  The default for download links is now HTTPS, but files (and 
all of api.gbif.org) can still be accessed using only HTTP if preferred.

Thanks,

Matt Blissett