RFC 3470 (rfc3470) - Page 1 of 28

Guidelines for the Use of Extensible Markup Language (XML) within IETF Protocols

Alternative Format: Original Text Document
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Network Working Group                                      S. Hollenbeck
Request for Comments: 3470                                VeriSign, Inc.
BCP: 70                                                          M. Rose
Category: Best Current Practice             Dover Beach Consulting, Inc.
                                                             L. Masinter
                                              Adobe Systems Incorporated
                                                            January 2003


       Guidelines for the Use of Extensible Markup Language (XML)
                         within IETF Protocols

Status of this Memo

   This document specifies an Internet Best Current Practices for the
   Internet Community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
   improvements.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2003).  All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

   The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a framework for structuring
   data.  While it evolved from Standard Generalized Markup Language
   (SGML) -- a markup language primarily focused on structuring
   documents -- XML has evolved to be a widely-used mechanism for
   representing structured data.

   There are a wide variety of Internet protocols being developed; many
   have need for a representation for structured data relevant to their
   application.  There has been much interest in the use of XML as a
   representation method.  This document describes basic XML concepts,
   analyzes various alternatives in the use of XML, and provides
   guidelines for the use of XML within IETF standards-track protocols.

Table of Contents

   Conventions Used In This Document  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2
   1.    Introduction and Overview  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2
         1.1   Intended Audience. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
         1.2   Scope  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
         1.3   XML Evolution  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
         1.4   XML Users, Support Groups, and Additional
               Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
   2.    XML Selection Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
   3.    XML Alternatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5



Hollenbeck, et al.       Best Current Practice
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