IETF messaging-related work

This directory contains notes, mostly links to Internet drafts and RFCs, related to IETF messaging protocols and formats.

• Directory listing

XML format for email and other messages

There are a number of Internet applications that interact with email and other messaging services in various ways: message stores, mailing list web archives, syndication services and web logs are just a few possibilities. The trend for many of these applications is to use XML in the management and exchange of information, and more recently RDF/XML is finding use for information that can be used by a number of different applications.

The proposed XML message format takes the semantic content of RFC2822 email messages as its starting point, and aims to faithfully capture the significant elements, e.g., such that the original email message can be reproduced modulo minor formatting differences. The extensibility of XML will naturally allow semantics of other message formats (e.g news, instant messaging) to be added in. The message format defines strategies for dealing with binary (non-textual) content in conjunction with its use of XML for message metadata.

The message structure is based on XML, but is also compatible with RDF/XML, in order to be directly accessible to a growing range of RDF tools and usable with RDF-based applications such as RSS.

Further information:

• An XML format for mail and other messages:
  • draft-klyne-message-rfc822-xml-03.txt (April 2002, original work)
  • draft-klyne-message-xml-00a.txt (revised and revived, January 2003, work in progress)
• Mailing list for discussion, see http://www.imc.org/ietf-message-xml/index.html
  • List address: ietf-message-xml-request@imc.org
  • Message archive: http://www.imc.org/ietf-message-xml/mail-archive/
  • To subscribe: send a message to ietf-message-xml-request@imc.org with the single word "subscribe" in the body of the message. To unsubscribe from the list, use that same address with the single word "unsubscribe" in the body of the message.
  • (Thanks to Paul Hoffman/IMC for providing the mailing list.)

Message header registry

This proposal has been IETF last-called as BCP. It creates a registry of message header fields for a variety of similar message formats (email, news, http and maybe others). In cource, this registry can define the population of namespaces that in turn can be used by the message format proposal.

• Message header field registry proposal page

Instant messaging

• IMPP: Common Profile for Instant Messaging (CPIM):
  • Message format: draft-ietf-impp-cpim-msgfmt-08a.txt
  • Presence information format: draft-ietf-impp-cpim-pidf

Application exchange (Apex)

• APEX (as of August 2002)
  • The Application Exchange Core - RFC 3340
  • The Application Exchange (APEX) Access Service - RFC 3341
  • The The Application Exchange (APEX) Option Party Pack, Part Deux! - RFC 3342
  • APEX presence service - draft-ietf-apex-presence-06.txt. (This will be updated and published when the CPIM specification is finalized.)
  • Instant Messaging using APEX - draft-ietf-apex-impp-00.txt. (This is an old expired Internet Draft that will be updated to describe provisioning of IMPP services conformant with the CPIM specifications using APEX.)

Internet Fax and Voice messaging

• Internet Fax: service enhancements to email
  • RFC 2879: Content Feature Schema for Internet Fax V2
    • (RFC 2531 is version 1)
  • RFC 2880: Mapping T.30 capabilities to media feature expressions
  • Content Negotiation for Messaging Services based on Email - RFC 3297
  • Timely Completion for Internet Messaging Services (awaiting IESG last-call review as of May 2002) - draft-ietf-fax-timely-delivery-05.txt. Currently, it looks as if this work may be abandoned due to some technical difficulties and lack of real interest to justify the workto resolve them.
• Voice Profile for Internet Mail (VPIM):
  • RFC 3458, Message Context for Internet Mail, E. Burger, E. Candell, C. Eliot, G. Klyne, January 2003, PROPOSED STANDARD.

Links to other related information

• Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) web site: http://www.ietf.org/