RFC 2088 (rfc2088) - Page 2 of 2
IMAP4 non-synchronizing literals
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
RFC 2088 LITERAL January 1997
clients are not required to wait before sending the octets of a non-
synchronizing literal.
The protocol receiver of an IMAP4 server must check the end of every
received line for an open brace ('{') followed by an octet count, a
plus ('+'), and a close brace ('}') immediately preceeding the CRLF.
If it finds this sequence, it is the octet count of a non-
synchronizing literal and the server MUST treat the specified number
of following octets and the following line as part of the same
command. A server MAY still process commands and reject errors on a
line-by-line basis, as long as it checks for non-synchronizing
literals at the end of each line.
Example: C: A001 LOGIN {11+}
C: FRED FOOBAR {7+}
C: fat man
S: A001 OK LOGIN completed
4. Formal Syntax
The following syntax specification uses the augmented Backus-Naur
Form (BNF) notation as specified in [RFC-822] as modified by [IMAP4].
Non-terminals referenced but not defined below are as defined by
[IMAP4].
literal ::= "{" number ["+"] "}" CRLF *CHAR8
;; Number represents the number of CHAR8 octets
6. References
[IMAP4] Crispin, M., "Internet Message Access Protocol - Version 4",
draft-crispin-imap-base-XX.txt, University of Washington, April 1996.
[RFC-822] Crocker, D., "Standard for the Format of ARPA Internet Text
Messages", STD 11, RFC 822.
7. Security Considerations
There are no known security issues with this extension.
8. Author's Address
John G. Myers
Carnegie-Mellon University
5000 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh PA, 15213-3890
Email: [email protected]
Myers Standards Track