RFC 2703 (rfc2703) - Page 2 of 20

Protocol-independent Content Negotiation Framework

RFC 2703        Protocol-independent Content Negotiation  September 1999


     4.1 Generic framework and metadata goals ................12
     4.2 Protocol-specific deployment goals ..................12
   5. Technical issues........................................14
     5.1 Non-message resource transfers ......................14
     5.2 End-to-end vs hop-by-hop negotiations ...............14
     5.3 Third-party negotiation .............................15
     5.4 Use of generic directory and resolution services ....15
     5.5 Billing issues ......................................15
     5.6 Performance considerations ..........................15
     5.7 Confidence levels in negotiated options .............16
   6. Security Considerations.................................16
     6.1 Privacy .............................................16
     6.2 Denial of service attacks ...........................17
     6.3 Mailing list interactions ...........................17
     6.4 Use of security services ............................17
     6.5 Disclosure of security weaknesses ...................18
        6.5.1 User agent identification.......................18
        6.5.2 Macro viruses...................................18
        6.5.3 Personal vulnerability..........................18
     6.6 Problems of negotiating security ....................18
   7. Acknowledgements........................................18
   8. References..............................................19
   9. Author's Address........................................19
   10. Full Copyright Statement...............................20

1. Introduction

   A number of Internet application protocols have a need to provide
   content negotiation for the resources with which they interact.
   While MIME media types [1, 2] provide a standard method for handling
   one major axis of variation, resources also vary in ways which cannot
   be expressed using currently available MIME headers.

   This memo sets out terminology, a framework and some goals for a
   protocol-independent content negotiation framework, and identifies
   some technical issues which may need to be addressed.

   The framework does not attempt to specify the content negotiation
   process; rather it gives an indication of the anticipated scope and
   form of any such specifications.

   The statement of goals is intended to set out the desired properties
   of a content negotiation framework, while trying to avoid any
   assumption of the form that framework may take.







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