#       URI that was HTTPS?  Otherwise, a script error will result.
    #
    variable allowInsecureRedirect; # DEFAULT: false

    if {![info exists allowInsecureRedirect]} then {
      set allowInsecureRedirect false
    }

    #
    # NOTE: How long should we wait for the HTTP request to complete?  This
    #       value is the number of milliseconds.
    #
    variable timeoutGetUrl; # DEFAULT: 0

    if {![info exists timeoutGetUrl]} then {
      set timeoutGetUrl 0
    }
  }

  #
  # NOTE: This procedure was stolen from the "common.tcl" script.  It is
  #       designed to emit a message to the console.  The channel argument
  #       is the channel where the message should be written.  The string
  #       argument is the content of the message to emit.  If the channel

    #
    # NOTE: This variable is used to keep track of the currently scheduled
    #       (i.e. pending) [after] event.
    #
    variable afterForPageProgress

    #
    # NOTE: This variable is used to determine the timeout milliseconds for
    #       HTTP requests.
    #
    variable timeoutGetUrl

    #
    # NOTE: This procedure requires the modern version of the HTTP package,
    #       which is typically included with the Tcl core distribution.
    #
    package require http 2.0

    #

        # NOTE: Emit important diagnostic information related to this
        #       HTTP request here.  This may be enhanced in the future.
        #
        pageLog [appendArgs \
            "attempting to download URL \"" $uri \"...]
      }

      #
      # NOTE: Build the (optional?) list of options for the HTTP call.
      #
      set localArgs [list]

      if {$timeoutGetUrl != 0} then {
        lappend localArgs -timeout $timeoutGetUrl; # milliseconds
      }

      if {[llength $args] > 0} then {
        eval lappend localArgs $args
      }

      #
      # NOTE: Attempt to perform the actual HTTP request.  This can fail
      #       in an almost unlimited number of ways, which is fun.
      #
      set token [eval ::http::geturl [list $uri] $localArgs]

      #
      # NOTE: Grab the HTTP status.  It must be "ok" in order to proceed.
      #
      set status [::http::status $token]

      if {$status ne "ok"} then {
        error [appendArgs \
            "bad HTTP status \"" $status "\" is not \"ok\""]
      }

      #
      # NOTE: Grab the HTTP response code and data now as they are needed
      #       in almost all cases.
      #
      set code [::http::ncode $token]; set data [::http::data $token]