RFC 2218 (rfc2218) - Page 2 of 8
A Common Schema for the Internet White Pages Service
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
RFC 2218 Common Schema for IWPS October 1997
This document will focus only on common information modeling issues
to which all IWPS providers must conform.
2.0 Scope
This document establishes the set of attributes that specify the
Common User Information Object for the IWPS. It does not attempt to
be an exhaustive specification of all objects that may be stored in
the IWPS. The process used by this document to define the user object
is recommended to be used to define other information objects used in
the IWPS.
All conforming implementations must support at the minimum, the core
attributes listed in Section 5.0. Implementations may include local
attributes in addition to the core set and still be considered "in
conformance".
This document will not specify rules with respect to information
privacy. Each country has its own set of laws and practices.
Previous work covering this area has been done by the North American
Directory Forum (NADF), whose publication [NADF92] contain
recommendations for registrants' rights in both the USA and Canada.
This document does not specify a Directory access protocol (i.e.
whois++, LDAP, DAP, etc.).
3.0 IWPS Schema Considerations
The description of the IWPS information object consists of the
following requirements:
1. Syntax for definition/representation of information
object templates.
2. Publication of information object templates, etc.
3. Database structure or schema.
Items 1 and 2 will be covered in this document. Because database
structure can potentially restrict implementations (i.e. X.500 schema
based versus DNS schema based) it will be treated as a separate
research topic and will not be defined in this paper.
4.0 Syntax for Definition/Representation of Information Object
Templates
A clear, precise, and consistent method must be used when discussing
information object templates and their associated attributes.
Therefore, this document makes uses of the previously defined syntax
used by LDAP. To avoid restrictions on implementations of the IWPS,
Genovese & Jennings Standards Track