Network Working Group
Request for Comments: 2958
Category: Informational
L. Daigle
Thinking Cat Enterprises
P. Faltstrom
Cisco Systems Inc.
October 2000

The application/whoispp-response Content-type

Status of this Memo

This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

Copyright © The Internet Society (2000). All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

This document defines the expression of Whois++ protocol (RFC1835) responses within MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) (RFC2046) media types. The intention of this document, in conjunction with RFC 2957 is to enable MIME-enabled mail software, and other systems using Internet media types, to carry out Whois++ transactions.

1. MIME Registration Information

   To: [email protected] Subject:  Registration of MIME media type
   application/whoispp-response
   
   MIME Type name:         Application
   
   MIME subtype name:      whoispp-response
   
   Required parameters:    none
   
   Optional parameters:    none

Encoding considerations: Any valid MIME encodings may be used

Security considerations: This content-type contains purely descriptive information (i.e., no directives). There are security considerations with regards to the appropriateness (privacy) of information provided through the use of this content-type, and the authenticity of the information so-provided. This content-type provides no native mechanisms for authentication.

   Published specification:  this document

Person & email address to contact for further information:

Leslie L. Daigle

[email protected]

   Intended usage:         common

2. whoispp-response Syntax

The following grammar, which uses ABNF-like notation as defined in [RFC2234], defines a subset of responses expected from a Whois++ server upon receipt of a valid Whois++ query. As such, it describes the expected structure of a whoispp-response media type object.

   N.B.:  As outlined in the ABNF definition, rule names and string
   literals are in the US-ASCII character set, and are case-insensitive.
   
      server          =   goodmessage mnl output mnl endmessage nl
                          / badmessage nl endmessage nl
   
      output          =   full / abridged / summary / handle
   
      full            =   0*(full-record / server-to-ask)
   
      abridged        =   0*(abridged-record / server-to-ask)
   
      summary         =   summary-record
   
      handle          =   0*(handle-record / server-to-ask)
   
      full-record     =   "# FULL " template serverhandle localhandle
                                 system-nl
                          1*(fulldata system-nl)
                          "# END" system-nl
   
      abridged-record =   "# ABRIDGED " template serverhandle localhandle
                             system-nl
                          abridgeddata
                          "# END" system-nl
   
      summary-record  =  "# SUMMARY " serverhandle system-nl
                          summarydata
                          "# END" system-nl
   
      handle-record   =  "# HANDLE " template serverhandle localhandle
                                  system-nl
   
      server-to-ask   =   "# SERVER-TO-ASK " serverhandle system-nl
                          server-to-askdata
                          "# END" system-nl
   
      fulldata        =   " " attributename ": " attributevalue
   
      abridgeddata    =   " " 0*( attributevalue / tab )
   
      summarydata     =   " Matches: " number system-nl
                          [" Referrals: " number system-nl]
                          " Templates: " template 0*( system-nl "-"
                                                      template)
   
      server-to-ask-data = " Server-Handle:" serverhandle system-nl
                          " Host-Name: " hostname system-nl
                          " Host-Port: " number system-nl
                          [" Protocol: " prot system-nl]
                          0*(" " labelstring ": " labelstring system-nl)
   
      attributename   =   1*attrbyte
   
      attrbyte        =   <%d33-127 except specialbyte>
   
      attributevalue  =   longstring
   
      template        =   labelstring
   
      serverhandle    =   labelstring
   
      localhandle     =   labelstring
   
      hostname        =   labelstring
   
      prot            =   labelstring
   
      longstring      =   bytestring 0*( nl ( "+" / "-" ) bytestring )
   
      bytestring      =   0*charbyte
   
      labelstring     =   0*restrictedbyte
      restrictedbyte  =   <%d32-%d255 except specialbyte>
   
      charbyte        =   <%d32-%d255 except nl>
   
      specialbyte     =   ":" / " " / tab / nl
   
      tab             =   %d09
   
      mnl             =   1*system-nl
   
      system-nl       =   nl [ 1*(message nl) ]
   
      nl              =   %d13 %d10
   
      message         =   [1*( messagestart "-" bytestring nl)]
                          messagestart " " bytestring nl
   
      messagestart    =   "% " digit digit digit
   
      goodmessage     =   [1*( goodmessagestart "-" bytestring nl)]
                          goodmessagestart " " bytestring nl
   
      goodmessagestart=   "% 200"
   
      messagestart    =   "% " digit digit digit
   
      badmessage      =   [1*( badmessagestart "-" bytestring nl)]
                          badmessagestart " " bytestring nl
   
      badmessagestart =   "% 5" digit digit
   
      endmessage      =   endmessageclose
   
      endmessageclose =   [endmessagestart " " bytestring nl]
                          byemessage
   
      endmessagestart =   "% 226"
   
      byemessage      =   byemessagestart " " bytestring nl
   
      endmessagestart =   "% 203"
   
      number          =   1*( digit )
   
      digit           =   "0" / "1" / "2" / "3" / "4" / "5" / "6" / "7"
                          / "8" / "9"

3. Security Considerations

Security issues are discussed in section 1.

4. References

   [ALVE95]  Alvestrand H., "Tags for the Identification of Languages",
   
             RFC 1766, March 1995.
   
   [RFC2234] Crocker, D. and P. Overell,  "Augmented BNF for Syntax
             Specifications: ABNF", RFC 2234, November 1997.
   
   [RFC2957] Daigle, L. and P. Faltstrom, "The application/whoispp-query
             Content-Type", RFC 2957, October 2000.
   
   [RFC1835] Deutsch, P., Schoultz R., Faltstrom P. and C. Weider,
             "Architecture of the WHOIS++ service", RFC 1835, August
             1995.
   
   [HARR85]  Harrenstein, K., Stahl, M. and E. Feinler, "NICNAME/WHOIS",
             RFC 954, October 1985.
   
   [POST82]  Postel J., "Simple Mail Transfer Protocol", STD 10, RFC
             821, August 1982.
   
   [IIIR]    Weider C. and P. Deutsch, "A Vision of an Integrated
             Internet Information Service", RFC 1727, December 1994.
   
   [WINDX]   Weider, C., Fullton J. and S. Spero, "Architecture of the
             Whois++ Index Service", RFC 1913, February 1996.

5. Authors' Addresses

Leslie L. Daigle
Thinking Cat Enterprises

   Email:  [email protected]

Patrik Faltstrom
Cisco Systems Inc
170 W Tasman Drive SJ-13/2
San Jose CA 95134
USA

   EMail: [email protected]
   URL:   http://www.cisco.com

6. Full Copyright Statement

Copyright © The Internet Society (2000). All Rights Reserved.

This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are included on all such copies and derivative works. However, this document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must be followed, or as required to translate it into languages other than English.

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Acknowledgement

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