RFC 2656 (rfc2656) - Page 1 of 9

Registration Procedures for SOIF Template Types

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Network Working Group                                           T. Hardie
Request For Comments: 2656                                        Equinix
Category: Experimental                                        August 1999

            Registration Procedures for SOIF Template Types

Status of this Memo

   This memo defines an Experimental Protocol for the Internet
   community.  It does not specify an Internet standard of any kind.
   Discussion and suggestions for improvement are requested.
   Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1999).  All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

   The Summary Object Interchange Format [Ref. 1] was first defined by
   the Harvest Project [Ref 2.] in January 1994.  SOIF was derived from
   a combination of the Internet Anonymous FTP Archives IETF Working
   Group (IAFA) templates [Ref 3.] and the BibTeX bibliography format
   [Ref 4.].  The combination was originally noted for its advantages of
   providing a convenient and intuitive way for delimiting objects
   within a stream, and setting apart the URL for easy object access or
   invocation, while still preserving compatibility with IAFA templates.

   SOIF uses named template types to indicate the attributes which may
   be contained within a particular summary object.  Within the context
   of a single application, private agreement on the definition of
   template types has been adequate.  As SOIF objects are moved among
   applications, however, the need for standard, well-specified, and
   easily identifiable template types increases.  This need is
   particularly intense in the context of query referral, where
   knowledge of an attribute's definition and the allowed data types for
   specific values is crucial.  For a discussion of this in the context
   of the Common Indexing Protocol, see [Ref. 1].

   The registration procedure described in this document is specific to
   SOIF template types.  There is ongoing work within the IETF to
   specify a more generic schema registration facility[Ref. 5].  It is
   not yet clear whether the results of that work will encompass the
   ability to register entities like SOIF template types.  If it does
   so, the registration of SOIF template types may be shifted to that
   method and registry.  Should that occur, appropriate pointers will be
   created in cooperation with the Registrar to ensure that no
   registrations are lost.



Hardie                        Experimental
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