RFC 437 (rfc437) - Page 1 of 10

Data Reconfiguration Service at UCSB

Alternative Format: Original Text Document
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Network Working Group                                            E. Faeh
Request for Comments: 437              Computer Systems Laboratory, UCSB
NIC: 13701                                                  30 June 1973


                  DATA RECONFIGURATION SERVICE AT UCSB

   This purpose of this RFC is to announce the availability of the Data
   Reconfiguration Service (DRS) at UCSB, and to describe the use of the
   DRS Time Sharing System.  The DRS is an experiment in a flexible
   means for reformatting Network data streams.  The DRS provides a
   means for coupling processes with different input/output interfaces,
   and carrying out user specified transformations on the data passing
   between them.  Samples of representative uses of the DRS include
   field insertion, field deletion, variable length string processing,
   string length computation, field transposition, character packing and
   unpacking, and character set translations.

   To use the DRS, a user first defines a "form", or a description of
   the reformatting to be performed on data passing between two sockets
   (a form is associated with each unidirectional message path).  DRS
   may then be directed to establish Network connections with the two
   processes involved and to monitor the dialogue between them.  DRS
   receives an input stream from one process, reformats the input
   according to the rules specified by the form, and emits the
   reformatted data as an output stream to the second process.  The two
   processes communicate as if they were directly connected to each
   other.

   Three major components comprise the DRS: a compiler which reduces DRS
   source programs (forms) to a simpler, machine independent instruction
   sequence (object program), an interpreter which executes the object
   program created by the compiler, and an executive program, the DRS
   Time Sharing System, which interfaces the Network user to the DRS.
   Detailed descriptions of the DRS source language and compiler are
   available in the following documents:

      "The Data Reconfiguration Service--An Experiment in Adaptable,
      Process/Process Communications", The Rand Corp., R-860-ARPA,
      November 1971.

      "Data Reconfiguration Service Compiler: Communications Among
      Heterogeneous Computer Centers Using Remote Resource Sharing", The
      Rand Corp.,R-887-ARPA, April 1972.

   The DRS Time Sharing System (DRS/TSS) and its server Telnet are
   currently available and addressable through socket 1281 decimal.
   DRS/TSS interfaces the user to the DRS.  In addition to a subset of



Faeh
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