RFC 2732 (rfc2732) - Page 1 of 5
Format for Literal IPv6 Addresses in URL's
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
Network Working Group R. Hinden
Request for Comments: 2732 Nokia
Category: Standards Track B. Carpenter
IBM
L. Masinter
AT&T
December 1999
Format for Literal IPv6 Addresses in URL's
Status of this Memo
This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1999). All Rights Reserved.
Abstract
This document defines the format for literal IPv6 Addresses in URL's
for implementation in World Wide Web browsers. This format has been
implemented in the IPv6 versions of several widely deployed browsers
including Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla, and Lynx. It is also
intended to be used in the IPv6 version of the service location
protocol.
This document incudes an update to the generic syntax for Uniform
Resource Identifiers defined in RFC 2396 [URL]. It defines a syntax
for IPv6 addresses and allows the use of "[" and "]" within a URI
explicitly for this reserved purpose.
1. Introduction
The textual representation defined for literal IPv6 addresses in
[ARCH] is not directly compatible with URL's. Both use ":" and "."
characters as delimiters. This document defines the format for
literal IPv6 Addresses in URL's for implementation in World Wide Web
browsers. The goal is to have a format that allows easy "cut" and
"paste" operations with a minimum of editing of the literal address.
Hinden, et al. Standards Track