Subject: standardized URIs

From: Alex Rousskov <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 19:15:23 -0600 (MDT)

-- Reposting with a different subject line as the original
   version apparently did not make it to the list for some
   unknown to me reason.

	---------- Forwarded message ----------
	Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2003 17:10:10 -0600 (MDT)
	From: Alex Rousskov <[email-masked]>
	To: OPES WG <[email-masked]>
	Subject: Help needed: standardized URIs

Several kind folks expressed their desire to help with OCP Core and
HTTP Adaptations drafts (both on this list and in private). There is
one area, common to both drafts, that I am not familiar enough and
need help with: These drafts propose to use URIs to identify certain
features, adaptations, modes, or mechanisms. In some cases, we need to
propose specific URIs to be used by all implementations (e.g., a URI
to represent REQMOD or RESPMOD profile in HTTP Adaptations or URIs to
represent specific connection encryption schemes).

If any of the volunteers have time and desire to research the issue,
it would be very helpful if they could produce answers to the
following specific questions:

	- What URI scheme should we use?
          (http://, opes://, etc)?

	- If we use a URI scheme that has a domain name,
	  what domain name should we use?
	 (ietf.org, iana.org, etc)?

	- Are there any IETF/IANA/W3C requirements or
	  best-practice principles for the path part of a URI?
	  (/opes/ocp/request, wgs/opes/OCP-request)

	- Is there a template for the "IANA Considerations"
	  section that we can use? If not, would should
	  that section say about each URI we standardize?

	- What is the right thing to require from
	  extensions as far as URIs are concerned?
	  Should they use different schemes, different
	  domains, or just different paths with x- in front
	  of the last component to mimic MIME tradition
	  with X-Extension headers?

	- If we can use an http:// URI scheme, would it
	  be possible to put some documentation on the
	  pages the URIs will refer to if the domain
	  name to be used is iana.org or ietf.org? Or
	  do we have to maintain our own domain
	  (http://www.ietf-opes.net/ or whatever) to
	  post actual pages?

If you decide to take on this issue, please post to the list so that
myself and others will not.

Thanks a lot,

Alex.