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A Simpler Method for Resolving Alert-Info URNs
draft-worley-alert-info-fsm-08

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This is an older version of an Internet-Draft that was ultimately published as RFC 8433.
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Author Dale R. Worley
Last updated 2017-11-27 (Latest revision 2017-05-26)
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draft-worley-alert-info-fsm-08
SALUD                                                          D. Worley
Internet-Draft                                                   Ariadne
Intended status: Informational                              May 26, 2017
Expires: November 27, 2017

             A Simpler Method for Resolving Alert-Info URNs
                     draft-worley-alert-info-fsm-08

Abstract

   The "alert" namespace of uniform resource names (URNs) can be used in
   the Alert-Info header field of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)
   requests and responses to inform a VoIP telephone (user agent) of the
   characteristics of the call that the user agent has originated or
   terminated.  The user agent must resolve the URNs into a signal, that
   is, it must select the best available signal to present to its user
   to indicate the characteristics of the call.  This document describes
   a method by which a user agent's designer can, based on the user
   agent's signals and their meanings, construct a finite state machine
   (FSM) to process the URNs to select a signal in a way that obeys the
   restrictions given in the definition of the "alert" URN namespace.
   In many situations, the resulting FSM is simpler to implement and
   faster than the selection algorithm described in [RFC7462].

Status of This Memo

   This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
   provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF).  Note that other groups may also distribute
   working documents as Internet-Drafts.  The list of current Internet-
   Drafts is at http://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.

   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
   and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
   time.  It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
   material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

   This Internet-Draft will expire on November 27, 2017.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2017 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

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   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
   (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
   publication of this document.  Please review these documents
   carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
   to this document.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     1.1.  Requirements Governing Resolution Algorithms  . . . . . .   4
     1.2.  Summary of the New Resolution Algorithm . . . . . . . . .   5
   2.  Selecting the Signals and Their Corresponding "alert" URNs  .   6
   3.  General Considerations for Processing Alert-Info  . . . . . .   9
   4.  Constructing the Finite State Machine for a Very Simple
       Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
     4.1.  Listing the Expressed URNs  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     4.2.  Constructing the Alphabet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     4.3.  Constructing the States and Transitions . . . . . . . . .  13
     4.4.  Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16
     4.5.  Examples of Processing Alert-Info URNs  . . . . . . . . .  18
   5.  Example with "source" and "priority" URNs . . . . . . . . . .  19
   6.  Example 1 of RFC 7462 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24
   7.  Examples 2, 3, and 4 of RFC 7462  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
   8.  An Example that Subsets Internal Sources  . . . . . . . . . .  32
   9.  An Example of "alert:service" URNs  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  32
   10. An Example Using Country Codes  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  33
   11. Prioritizing Signals  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  38
   12. Dynamic Sets of Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  40
   13. Revision History  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  41
     13.1.  Changes from draft-worley-alert-info-fsm-07 to draft-
            worley-alert-info-fsm-08 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  42
     13.2.  Changes from draft-worley-alert-info-fsm-06 to draft-
            worley-alert-info-fsm-07 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  42
     13.3.  Changes from draft-worley-alert-info-fsm-05 to draft-
            worley-alert-info-fsm-06 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  42
     13.4.  Changes from draft-worley-alert-info-fsm-04 to draft-
            worley-alert-info-fsm-05 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  42
     13.5.  Changes from draft-worley-alert-info-fsm-03 to draft-
            worley-alert-info-fsm-04 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  42
     13.6.  Changes from draft-worley-alert-info-fsm-02 to draft-
            worley-alert-info-fsm-03 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  42
     13.7.  Changes from draft-worley-alert-info-fsm-01 to draft-
            worley-alert-info-fsm-02 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  42
     13.8.  Changes from draft-worley-alert-info-fsm-00 to draft-
            worley-alert-info-fsm-01 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  43
   14. References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  43
     14.1.  Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  43

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     14.2.  Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  43
   Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  43
   Author's Address  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  43

1.  Introduction

   When a SIP user agent server receives an incoming INVITE request, it
   chooses an alerting signal (the ring tone) to present to its user
   (the called user) by processing the Alert-Info header field(s) in the
   incoming INVITE request [RFC3261].  Similarly, a SIP user agent
   client determines an alerting signal (the ringback tone) to present
   to its user (the calling user) by processing the Alert-Info header
   field(s) in the incoming provisional response(s) to its outgoing
   INVITE request.

   [RFC3261] envisioned that the Alert-Info header field value would be
   a URL that the user agent could use to retrieve the encoded media of
   the signal.  This usage has security problems and is inconvenient to
   implement in practice.

   [RFC7462] introduced an alternative practice: The Alert-Info values
   can be URNs in the "alert" URN namespace which specify features of
   the call or of the signal that should be signaled to the user.
   [RFC7462] defined a large set of "alert" URNs and procedures for
   extending the set.

   A user agent is unlikely to provide more than a small set of alerting
   signals and there are an infinite number of possible combinations of
   "alert" URNs.  Thus, a user agent is often required to select an
   alerting signal which renders only a subset of the information in the
   Alert-Info header field(s) -- which is the resolution process for
   "alert" URNs.  The requirements for resolving "alert" URNs are given
   in section 11.1 of [RFC7462].

   Section 12 of [RFC7462] gives a resolution algorithm for selecting a
   signal which satisfies the requirements of section 11.1.  That
   algorithm can be used regardless of the set of alerting signals that
   the user agent provides and their specified meanings.  The existence
   of this algorithm demonstrates that the resolution requirements can
   always be satisfied.  However, the algorithm is complex and slow.

   The purpose of this document is to describe an improved
   implementation, a more efficient resolution algorithm for selecting
   signals that conforms to the requirements of section 11.1: Once the
   user agent designer has chosen the set of signals that the user agent
   produces and the "alert" URNs that they express, a finite state
   machine is constructed that selects alerting signals based on the
   URNs in the Alert-Info header field(s) in a SIP message.  The

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   incoming "alert" URNs are preprocessed in a straightforward manner
   into a sequence of "symbols" drawn from a fixed finite set, which are
   then used as input to the finite state machine.  After processing the
   input, the state of the finite state machine selects the correct
   alerting signal to present to the user.

   Both the preprocessor and the finite state machine are determined
   only by the selected set of signals and the set of "alert" URNs
   expressed by the signals, so the processing machinery can be fixed at
   the time of designing the user agent.

1.1.  Requirements Governing Resolution Algorithms

   The requirements for the resolution of "alert" URNs are given in
   section 11.1 of [RFC7462] and can be described as follows:

      The "alert" URNs are processed from left to right.  Each "alert"
      URN has precedence over all URNs that follow it, and its
      interpretation is subordinate to all URNs that precede it.

      As each URN is processed, one of the UA's signals is chosen which
      expresses that URN as far as can be done without reducing the
      degree to which any of the preceding URNs were expressed by the
      signal chosen for the preceding URN.  Thus, as processing
      proceeds, the chosen signals become increasingly specific and
      contain more information, but all of the information about a
      particular URN that is expressed by the signal chosen for that URN
      is also expressed by the signals chosen for all following URNs.

      If the entirety of the current URN cannot be expressed by any
      allowed signal, then in turn, each of the trailing alert-ind-parts
      (the sections separated by colons) is removed until the reduced
      URN can be expressed by some signal which also expresses at least
      the same reduced versions of the preceding URNs that were
      expressed by the signal chosen for the preceding URN.  This can be
      described as "a signal that expresses as much of the current URN
      as possible while still expressing as much of the previous URNs as
      the preceding signal did".

   So, for instance, consider processing

       Alert-Info: urn:alert:category-a:part-a1:part-a2,
                   urn:alert:category-b:part-b1:part-b2

   If the UA has no signal for urn:alert:category-a:part-a1:part-a2, it
   removes part-a2 from the URN and checks whether it has a signal for
   the less-specific URN urn:alert:category-a:part-a1.  If it has no
   signal for that URN, it gives up on the URN entirely (since

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   urn:alert:category-a doesn't exist, and can be considered to express
   nothing about the call), and the chosen signal is the default signal
   of the UA, the signal that is used when there is no Alert-Info.

   But let us suppose the UA has a signal for urn:alert:category-a:part-
   a1, and chooses that signal when processing the first URN.  All
   processing after this point will be restricted to signals that
   express urn:alert:category-a:part-a1, or a more specific URN of the
   category category-a.

   The UA then goes on to examine the next URN, urn:alert:category-
   b:part-b1:part-b2.  If there is a signal that expresses both
   urn:alert:category-a:part-a1 and urn:alert:category-b:part-b1:part-
   b2, then the UA chooses that signal.  If there is no such signal, the
   second URN is reduced to urn:alert:category-b:part-b1, and the UA
   checks for a signal that expresses that URN along with
   urn:alert:category-a:part-a1.  If there is no such signal that
   matches that relaxed requirement, the second URN is reduced to
   urn:alert:category-b, which is discarded, and the chosen signal for
   the first URN is chosen for the second URN.  In any case, all
   processing after this point will be restricted to signals that
   express urn:alert:category-a:part-a1 or a more specific URN of the
   category category-a, and also express the chosen part of
   urn:alert:category-b:part-b1:part-b2.

   This process is continued until the last "alert" URN is processed;
   the signal chosen for the last URN is the signal that the UA uses.

1.2.  Summary of the New Resolution Algorithm

   The purpose of this document is to describe a resolution algorithm
   that conforms to section 11.1 of [RFC7462] but is simpler than the
   algorithm described in section 12 of [RFC7462]: Once the user agent
   designer has chosen a set of signals and the URNs that they express,
   a finite state machine is constructed that selects alerting signals
   based on the URNs in the Alert-Info header field(s) in a SIP message.

   o  The designer selects the set of signals that the user agent
      produces, matching each signal to the "alert" URN or the
      combination of "alert" URNs which are the meaning carried by the
      signal.

   o  Based on the user agent's signals and their meanings, the designer
      constructs an "alphabet" containing a finite number of symbols;
      each possible "alert" URN is mapped into one particular symbol.

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   o  The designer constructs a finite state machine (FSM) whose input
      is the alphabet of symbols and whose states describe the
      information extracted from the Alert-Info URNs.

   o  Each state of the FSM has an associated signal.  Processing the
      Alert-Info URNs will leave the FSM in some particular state; the
      UA renders the signal that is attached to that final state.

   To select a ring tone or ringback tone based on a SIP message, the
   user agent processes the "alert" URNs in the Alert-Info header field
   from left to right.  Initially the FSM is in a designated initial
   state.  The user agent maps each successive URN into the
   corresponding symbol, and then executes the state transition of the
   FSM specified by the symbol.  The state of the FSM after processing
   the URNs determines which signal the user agent will render to the
   user.

   Note that the user agent generally has two FSMs, because a user agent
   usually wants to signal different information in ring tones than it
   signals in ringback tones.  One FSM is used to select the ring tone
   to render for an incoming INVITE request.  The other FSM is used to
   select the ringback tone to render based on an incoming provisional
   response to an outgoing INVITE request.  Both FSMs are constructed in
   the same way, but the constructions are based on different lists of
   signals and corresponding URNs.

   All of the steps of the method after the designer has selected the
   signals and their URNs are algorithmic, and the algorithm of those
   steps assures that the operation of the FSM will satisfy the
   constraints of section 11.1 of [RFC7462].  A Python implementation of
   the algorithmic steps is provided in [code].

   In simple situations, a suitable FSM or equivalent ad-hoc code can be
   constructed by hand using ad-hoc analysis.  Generally, this is only
   practical in situations where a small number of alert categories and
   alert indications are signaled and the categories interact in a
   simple, uniform way.  E.g., the examples in Section 5 and Section 6
   could be constructed by ad-hoc analysis.  But automatic processing is
   valuable if the situation is too complicated to construct a correct
   FSM by ad-hoc analysis, or if the set of signals will change too
   frequently for human production to be economical.

2.  Selecting the Signals and Their Corresponding "alert" URNs

   The designer must select signals that the UA will generate and define
   the meanings that the signals will have to the user.  Based on this,
   the designer determines for each signal the "alert" URN or

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   combination of "alert" URNs that indicate that meaning in SIP
   messages, and consequently should elicit that signal from the UA.

   For example, suppose the UA has a particular ring tone for calls from
   an external source.  A call from an external source is marked with
   the URN urn:alert:source:external (specified in section 9 of
   [RFC7462]).  Thus, the table of signals includes:

       Signal                          URN(s)
       ----------------------------    -------------------------------
       external source                 urn:alert:source:external

   Similarly, if the UA has a particular ring tone for calls from an
   internal source, the table includes:

       Signal                          URN(s)
       ----------------------------    -------------------------------
       internal source                 urn:alert:source:internal

   If the UA has ring tones for calls that are marked as having higher
   or lower priority, then the table includes:

       Signal                          URN(s)
       ----------------------------    -------------------------------
       high priority                   urn:alert:priority:high
       low priority                    urn:alert:priority:low

   Note that the UA must be able to signal for a message that has no
   "alert" URNs in the Alert-Info header field, which means that there
   must always be a default signal which has zero corresponding URNs:

       Signal                          URN(s)
       ----------------------------    -------------------------------
       default                         (none)

   A signal can be defined to indicate a combination of conditions.  For
   instance, a signal that is used only for high-priority, internal-
   source calls expresses two URNs, and will only be used when both URNs
   are present in Alert-Info:

       Signal                          URN(s)
       ------------------------------  -------------------------------
       high priority, internal source  urn:alert:priority:high,
                                           urn:alert:source:internal

   A signal can be defined to cover a number of related conditions by
   specifying a URN that is the common prefix of the URNs for the
   various conditions.  For instance, the URNs for "recall due to

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   callback", "recall due to call hold", and "recall due to transfer"
   all start with urn:alert:service:recall, and so one signal can be
   provided for all of them by:

       Signal                          URN(s)
       ----------------------------    -------------------------------
       recall                          urn:alert:service:recall

   But if a specific signal is also provided for "recall due to
   callback" by this entry:

       Signal                          URN(s)
       ----------------------------    -------------------------------
       recall generally                urn:alert:service:recall
       recall due to callback          urn:alert:service:recall:callback

   then if the message contains urn:alert:service:recall:callback, the
   "recall due to callback" signal will be chosen instead of "recall
   generally" because the UA chooses the signal that most completely
   expresses the information in the Alert-Info header field.

   The designer may wish to define extension URNs that provide more
   specific information about a call than the standard "alert" URNs do.
   One method is to add additional components to standard URNs.  For
   instance, an extra-high priority could be indicated by the URN
   urn:alert:priority:high:extra-high@example.  The final "extra-
   high@example" is an "alert-ind-part" that is a private extension.
   (See sections 7 and 10.2 of [RFC7462] for a discussion of private
   extensions.)  In any case, adding an alert-ind-part to a URN makes
   its meaning more specific, in that any call to which the longer URN
   can be applied can also have the shorter URN applied.  In this case,
   "extra-high-priority calls" are considered a subset of "high-priority
   calls".

       Signal                URN(s)
       --------------------- -------------------------------
       high priority         urn:alert:priority:high
       extra high priority   urn:alert:priority:high:extra@example.com

   Of course, for this extension to be useful, the senders of SIP
   messages (e.g., other UAs) must generate the extension URN in
   suitable circumstances.

   In some circumstances, the designer may want to create an entirely
   new category of "alert" URNs to indicate a type of information that
   is not indicated by any standard category of URNs.  In that case, the
   designer uses a private extension as the alert-category (the third
   component of the URN), combined with whatever alert-ind-part (fourth

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   component) values are desired.  For example, a simplified version of
   the U.S. military security designations could be:

       Signal                    URN(s)
       -----------------------   -------------------------------
       unclassified              urn:alert:security@example:unclassified
       confidential              urn:alert:security@example:confidential
       secret                    urn:alert:security@example:secret
       top-secret                urn:alert:security@example:top-secret

   The designer should ensure that the new alert-category is orthogonal
   to all defined standard alert-categories, in that any combination of
   one of the new URNs with one of the standard URNs is meaningful in
   that there could be a message carrying both URNs.

   In addition, the set of alert-ind-parts for the new alert-category
   should be comprehensive and disjoint, in that every message can be
   described by exactly one of them.

3.  General Considerations for Processing Alert-Info

   In this section, we will discuss various considerations which arise
   when processing Alert-Info.  These have to be taken care of properly
   in order to conform to the standards, as well as to endure a good
   user experience.  But since they are largely independent of the
   generated finite state machine and its processing, they are gathered
   here in a separate section.

   The UA may have a number of different finite state machines (FSMs)
   for processing URNs.  Generally, there will be different FSMs for
   processing Alert-Info in incoming INVITE requests and for incoming
   provisional responses to outgoing INVITE requests.  But any situation
   that changes the set of signals that the UA is willing to generate
   specifies a different set of signals and corresponding URNs, and thus
   generates a different FSM.  For example, if a call is active on the
   UA, all audible signals may become unavailable, or audible signals
   may be available only if urn:alert:priority:high is specified.

   Similarly, if the set of signals is customized by user action or
   local policy, the generated FSM must be updated.  This can be done by
   regenerating it according to the method described here, or by
   generating a "generic" FSM and instantiating it based on the
   available signals.  (See Section 12 for a discussion of this.)

   Note that the values in an Alert-Info header field are allowed to be
   URIs of any scheme, and within the "urn" scheme, are allowed to have
   any namespace [RFC3261].  The processing of URIs that are not "alert"
   URNs is not considered by this document, nor is that processing

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   specified by [RFC7462].  But the algorithm designer must consider
   what to do with such URIs if they are encountered.  The simplest
   choice is to ignore them.  Alternatively, the algorithm may examine
   the URI to determine if it names an alerting signal or describes how
   to retrieve an alerting signal, and if so, choose to render that
   signal, rather than processing the "alert" URNs to select a signal.
   In any case, the remainder of this document assumes that the signal
   is to be chosen based on the "alert" URNs in Alert-Info, and that all
   Alert-Info URIs that are not "alert" URNs have been removed.

   The UA may also receive "alert" URNs that are semantically invalid in
   various ways.  E.g., the URN may have only three components, despite
   that all valid "alert" URNs have at least one alert-ind-part, and
   thus four components.  The only useful strategy is to ignore such
   URNs (and possibly log them for analysis).

   The method described here is robust in its handling of categories and
   alert-ind-parts which are unknown to the UA, and as a consequence, it
   is also robust if they are not valid standardized URNs.  Thus, these
   error conditions need not be handled specially.

4.  Constructing the Finite State Machine for a Very Simple Example

   Constructing the FSM involves:

   1.  Listing the URNs which are expressed by the various signals of
       the user agent.

   2.  From the expressed URNs, constructing the finite alphabet of
       symbols into which input URNs are mapped and which drive the
       state transitions of the FSM.

   3.  Constructing the states of the FSM and the transitions between
       them.

   4.  Selecting a signal to be associated with each FSM state.

   We will explain the process using a very simple example in which
   there are two signals, one expressing "internal source" and one
   expressing "external source", along with a default signal (for when
   there is no source information to signal).  The "internal source"
   signal expresses urn:alert:source:internal, and the "external source"
   signal expresses urn:alert:source:external.

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4.1.  Listing the Expressed URNs

   The first step is to establish for each of the user agent's signals
   what call characteristics it represents, which is to say, the set of
   "alert" URNs which are its information content.

       Signal                          URN(s)
       ----------------------------    -------------------------------
       default                         (none)
       internal source                 urn:alert:source:internal
       external source                 urn:alert:source:external

   From the totality of these expressed URNs, the designer can then
   determine which sets of URNs must be distinguished from each other.
   In our simple example, the expressed URNs are:

       urn:alert:source:external
       urn:alert:source:internal

4.2.  Constructing the Alphabet

   In order to reduce the infinite set of possible "alert" URNs to a
   finite alphabet of input symbols which cause the FSM's transitions,
   the designer must partition the "alert" URNs into a finite set of
   categories.

   Once we've listed all the expressed URNs, we can list all of the
   alert-categories that are relevant to the user agent's signaling;
   "alert" URNs in any other alert-category cannot affect the signaling
   and can be ignored.  (The easiest method to ignore the non-relevant
   URNs is to skip over them during Alert-Info processing.  A more
   formal method is to map all of them into one "Other" symbol, and then
   for each state of the FSM, have the Other symbol transition to that
   same state.)

   Within each relevant alert-category, we now define a distinct symbol
   for every expressed URN and for all of their "ancestor" URNs (those
   that can be created by removing one or more trailing alert-ind-
   parts).  In order to name the symbols in a way that distinguishes
   them from the corresponding URNs, we remove the initial "urn:alert:"
   and capitalize each alert-ind-part.  Thus in our example, we get
   these symbols:

       Source
       Source:External
       Source:Internal

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   Note that there is a "Source" symbol even though there is no
   corresponding URN.  (urn:alert:source is not a valid URN -- see
   [RFC7462] section 7 -- although the processing algorithm must be
   prepared to screen out such a purported URN if it appears in the
   Alert-Info header field.)  However, its existence as a symbol will be
   useful later when we construct the FSM.

   For each of these symbols, we add a symbol that classifies URNs that
   extend the symbol's corresponding URN with alert-ind-parts that
   cannot be expressed by signals:

       Source:Other
       Source:External:Other
       Source:Internal:Other

   The latter two classify URNs like
   urn:alert:source:external:foo@example, which extend URNs that we
   already have symbols for.  The first is for classifying URNs, such as
   urn:alert:source:bar@example, which have first alert-ind-parts that
   contradict all the "source" URNs that the user agent can signal.

   These steps give us this set of symbols:

       Source
       Source:External
       Source:External:Other
       Source:Internal
       Source:Internal:Other
       Source:Other

   We can then simplify the set of symbols by removing the ones like
   Source:External:Other and Source:Internal:Other that consist of
   adding "Other" to a symbol which corresponds to an expressed URN
   which is not ancestral to any other expressed URNs.  This works
   because adding further alert-ind-parts to a URN which is a leaf in
   regard to the set of signals has no additional effect.  In this
   example, urn:alert:source:external:foo@example has the same effect as
   urn:alert:source:external, both for causing a signal to be chosen as
   well as for suppressing the effect of later URNs.

   This leaves the following symbols for the "source" category:

       Source
       Source:External
       Source:Internal
       Source:Other

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   These can be visually summarized by showing the infinite tree of
   possible source "alert" URNs and how it is partitioned into subtrees
   that map to each of these symbols.  We also mark with "*" the
   expressed URNs.

                                urn:alert
                                    |
                                {   |    }
                                { source } --> 1
                                {   |    }
                                    |
               +--------------------+------------------+
               |                    |                  |
          {    |      }        {    |      }        {  |  }
          { external* } --> 2  { internal* } --> 3  { ... } --> 4
          {    |      }        {    |      }        {     }
          {   ...     }        {   ...     }
          {           }        {           }

       1 = Source
       2 = Source:External
       3 = Source:Internal
       4 = Source:Other

4.3.  Constructing the States and Transitions

   The user agent processes the Alert-Info URNs left-to-right using a
   finite state machine (FSM), with each successive URN causing the FSM
   to transition to a new state.  Each state of the FSM records the
   information which has so far been extracted from the URNs.  The state
   of the FSM after processing all the URNs determines which signal the
   user agent will render to the user.

   We label each state with a set of symbols, one from each relevant
   category, which describe the information that's been extracted from
   all of the URNs that have so far been processed.  The initial state
   is labeled with the "null" symbols that are just the category names,
   because no information has yet been recorded.  In our simple example,
   the initial state is labeled "Source", since that's the only relevant
   category.

       State: Source (initial state)

   Each state has a corresponding alerting signal, which is the signal
   that the user agent will produce when URN processing leaves the FSM
   in that state.  The signal is the one that best expresses the
   information that has been extracted from the URNs.  Usually the
   choice of signal is obvious to the designer, but there are certain

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   constraints that the choice must satisfy.  The main constraint is
   that the signal's expressed URNs must be semantic supersets of (i.e.,
   identical to or a prefix of) the URNs corresponding to the symbols in
   the state's label.  In particular, if the expressed URN of the signal
   in a certain category is shorter than the state's label, we show that
   in the state's name by putting parentheses around the trailing part
   of the symbol that is not expressed by the signal.  For instance, if
   the symbol in the label is "Source:External" but the signal only
   expresses "Source" (i.e., no "source" URN at all), then the symbol in
   the label is modified to be "Source:(External)".

   The reason for this unintuitive construction is that in some states,
   the FSM has recorded information that the chosen signal cannot
   express.

   Note that the parentheses are part of the state name, so in some
   circumstances there may be two or more distinct states labeled with
   the same symbols, but with different placement of parentheses within
   the symbols.  These similar state names are relevant when the FSM can
   record information from multiple "alert" URNs but cannot express all
   of them -- depending on the order in which the URNs appear, the UA
   may have to render different signals, so it needs states that record
   the same information but render different subsets of that
   information.

   The initial state's label is the string of null symbols for the
   relevant categories, so the only allowed signal is the default
   signal, which expresses no URNs:

       State: Source (initial state)
       Signal: default

   From each state, we must construct the transition for each possible
   input symbol.  For a particular state and symbol, we construct the
   label of the destination state by combining the input symbol with the
   symbol in the start state's label for the same category.  If one of
   the symbols is a prefix of the other, we select the longer one; if
   not, we select the symbol in the start state's label.

   Thus, in our simple example, the initial state has the following
   transitions:

       State: Source (initial state)
       Signal: default
       Transitions:
           Source:External -> Source:External
           Source:Internal -> Source:Internal
           Source:Other -> Source:Other

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   In all of these transitions, the input symbol is compatible with the
   matching label of the state, "Source", so the destination state's
   label is the full input symbol.

   However, there is a further constraint on the destination state: Its
   signal must express URNs that at least contain the expressed URNs of
   the signal of the start state.  Within that constraint, and being
   compatible with the destination state's label, for the category of
   the input URN, the destination state's signal must express the
   longest URN that can be expressed by any signal.

   In our example, this means that the destination Source:External state
   has the "external source" signal, which expresses
   urn:alert:source:external.  Since that signal expresses all of the
   state's label, it is the chosen state.  Similarly, the destination
   Source:Internal state has the "internal source" signal.  But for the
   transition on input Source:Other, the "Source:Other" state must have
   the default signal, as there is no signal that expresses
   urn:alert:source:[some-unknown-alert-ind-part].  So the destination
   state is "Source:(Other)", where the parentheses record that the
   "Other" part of the label is not expressed by the state's signal.

   Thus, the initial state and the states it can transition to are:

       State: Source (initial state)
       Signal: default
       Transitions:
           Source:External -> Source:External
           Source:Internal -> Source:Internal
           Source:Other -> Source:(Other)

       State: Source:External
       Signal: external source (urn:alert:source:external)

       State: Source:Internal
       Signal: internal source (urn:alert:source:internal)

       State: Source:(Other)
       Signal: default

   Looking at the state Source:External, we see that it is incompatible
   with all input symbols other than Source:External, and thus all of
   its transitions are to itself:

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       State: Source:External
       Signal: external source (urn:alert:source:external)
       Transitions:
           Source:External -> Source:External
           Source:Internal -> Source:External
           Source:Other -> Source:External

   and similarly:

       State: Source:Internal
       Signal: internal source (urn:alert:source:internal)
       Transitions:
           Source:External -> Source:Internal
           Source:Internal -> Source:Internal
           Source:Other -> Source:Internal

       State: Source:(Other)
       Signal: default
       Transitions:
           Source:External -> Source:(Other)
           Source:Internal -> Source:(Other)
           Source:Other -> Source:(Other)

4.4.  Summary

   The FSM can be constructed by processing the file "very-simple.txt"
   with the program "alert-info-fsm.py" in [code].  The program's output
   shows the stages of the construction, which are:

   1.  The signals have the meanings:

       Signal                          URN(s)
       ----------------------------    -------------------------------
       default                         (none)
       internal source                 urn:alert:source:internal
       external source                 urn:alert:source:external.

   2.  The expressed URNs are

       urn:alert:source:external
       urn:alert:source:internal

   3.  The relevant categories of "alert" URNs are only:

       source

   4.  Thus, the infinite universe of possible "alert" URNs can be
       reduced to these symbols, which are the categories of URNs that

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       are different in ways that are significant to the resolution
       process:

       Source
       Source:External
       Source:Internal
       Source:Other

   5.  The FSM is:

       State: Source (initial state)
       Signal: default
       Transitions:
           Source:External -> Source:External
           Source:Internal -> Source:Internal
           Source:Other -> Source:(Other)

       State: Source:External
       Signal: external source (urn:alert:source:external)
       Transitions:
           Source:External -> Source:External
           Source:Internal -> Source:External
           Source:Other -> Source:External

       State: Source:Internal
       Signal: internal source (urn:alert:source:internal)
       Transitions:
           Source:External -> Source:Internal
           Source:Internal -> Source:Internal
           Source:Other -> Source:Internal

       State: Source:(Other)
       Signal: default
       Transitions:
           Source:External -> Source:(Other)
           Source:Internal -> Source:(Other)
           Source:Other -> Source:(Other)

       *  Each state is labeled by a set of symbols which describe the
          information which has been extracted from the URNs so far.

       *  Each state has a signal which is a semantic superset of the
          state's label, i.e., the signal's expressed URNs match the
          initial portion of the label symbols.  If Alert-Info
          processing finishes with the FSM in a state, the user agent
          will render the state's signal to the user.

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       *  The state's label is marked to show what subset of the symbols
          are expressed by the state's signal.  Two states can have the
          same label but different signals.

       *  If a transition's input symbol is compatible with (is a
          semantic subset) of the start state's label for that category,
          the destination state's label is updated with the input
          symbol.  If not, the destination state is the start state.
          This is how the state's label records what information has
          been accumulated while processing the Alert-Info URNs.

       *  A transition's destination state has a signal which
          semantically subsets the start state's signal as much as
          possible in the category of the input symbol.  (In most cases,
          the choice of signal is unique.  In rare cases there may be
          more than one signal that meets this criterion, so the
          designer may have some flexibility.)

4.5.  Examples of Processing Alert-Info URNs

   In the trivial case where the user agent receives no Alert-Info URNs,
   then processing begins and ends with the FSM in the initial state and
   selects the default signal.

   If the user agent receives

       Alert-Info: <urn:alert:source:internal>

   then processing progresses:

       State: Source
           Process: Source:Internal (urn:alert:source:internal)
       State: Source:Internal
       Signal: internal source

   If the user agent receives

       Alert-Info: <urn:alert:source:external>,
           <urn:alert:source:internal>

   then processing progresses:

       State: Source
           Process: Source:External (urn:alert:source:external)
       State: Source:External
           Process: Source:Internal (urn:alert:source:internal)
       State: Source:External
       Signal: external source

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   If the user agent receives

       Alert-Info: <urn:alert:source:unclassified>,
           <urn:alert:source:internal>

   then processing progresses:

       State: Source
           Process: Source:Other (urn:alert:source:unclassified)
       State: Source:(Other)
           Process: Source:Internal (urn:alert:source:internal)
       State: Source:(Other)
       Signal: default

   If the user agent receives

       Alert-Info: <urn:alert:priority:high>,
           <urn:alert:source:internal>

   then processing progresses:

       State: Source
           Ignore: urn:alert:priority:high
       State: Source
           Process: Source:Internal (urn:alert:source:internal)
       State: Source:Internal
       Signal: internal source

5.  Example with "source" and "priority" URNs

   Now consider an example where the user agent can signal "external
   source", "internal source", "low priority", and "high priority"
   individually or in any combination of source and priority, along with
   a default signal.  This example is essentially the cartesian product
   of two copies of the example in Section 4, one dealing with the
   call's source and one dealing with the call's priority.  So there is
   a total of 9 signals:

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       Signal                          URN(s)
       ----------------------------    -------------------------------
       default                         (none)
       external source                 urn:alert:source:external
       internal source                 urn:alert:source:internal
       low priority                    urn:alert:priority:low
       low priority/external source    urn:alert:priority:low,
                                           urn:alert:source:external
       low priority/internal source    urn:alert:priority:low,
                                           urn:alert:source:internal
       high priority                   urn:alert:priority:high
       high priority/external source   urn:alert:priority:high,
                                           urn:alert:source:external
       high priority/internal source   urn:alert:priority:high,
                                           urn:alert:source:internal

   The expressed URNs are:

       urn:alert:source:external
       urn:alert:source:internal
       urn:alert:priority:low
       urn:alert:priority:high

   The relevant categories of "alert" URNs are only:

       source
       priority

   The alphabet of symbols is:

       Source
       Source:External
       Source:Internal
       Source:Other
       Priority
       Priority:Low
       Priority:High
       Priority:Other

   The 16 states are as follows, where 10 states have a simple structure
   because from them, no further information can be recorded.

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       State: Priority/Source
       Signal: default
       Transitions:
           Priority:Other -> Priority:(Other)/Source
           Priority:High -> Priority:High/Source
           Priority:Low -> Priority:Low/Source
           Source:Other -> Priority/Source:(Other)
           Source:External -> Priority/Source:External
           Source:Internal -> Priority/Source:Internal

       State: Priority:(Other)/Source
       Signal: default
       Transitions:
           Priority:Other -> Priority:(Other)/Source
           Priority:High -> Priority:(Other)/Source
           Priority:Low -> Priority:(Other)/Source
           Source:Other -> Priority:(Other)/Source:(Other)
           Source:External -> Priority:(Other)/Source:External
           Source:Internal -> Priority:(Other)/Source:Internal

       State: Priority:(Other)/Source:(Other)
       Signal: default
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:(Other)/Source:(Other)

       State: Priority:(Other)/Source:External
       Signal: external source
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:(Other)/Source:External

       State: Priority:(Other)/Source:Internal
       Signal: internal source
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:(Other)/Source:Internal

       State: Priority:High/Source
       Signal: high priority
       Transitions:
           Priority:Other -> Priority:High/Source
           Priority:High -> Priority:High/Source
           Priority:Low -> Priority:High/Source
           Source:Other -> Priority:High/Source:(Other)
           Source:External -> Priority:High/Source:External
           Source:Internal -> Priority:High/Source:Internal

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       State: Priority:High/Source:(Other)
       Signal: high priority
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:High/Source:(Other)

       State: Priority:High/Source:External
       Signal: high priority/external source
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:High/Source:External

       State: Priority:High/Source:Internal
       Signal: high priority/internal source
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:High/Source:Internal

       State: Priority:Low/Source
       Signal: low priority
       Transitions:
           Priority:Other -> Priority:Low/Source
           Priority:High -> Priority:Low/Source
           Priority:Low -> Priority:Low/Source
           Source:Other -> Priority:Low/Source:(Other)
           Source:External -> Priority:Low/Source:External
           Source:Internal -> Priority:Low/Source:Internal

       State: Priority:Low/Source:(Other)
       Signal: low priority
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:Low/Source:(Other)

       State: Priority:Low/Source:External
       Signal: low priority/external source
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:Low/Source:External

       State: Priority:Low/Source:Internal
       Signal: low priority/internal source
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:Low/Source:Internal

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       State: Priority/Source:(Other)
       Signal: default
       Transitions:
           Priority:Other -> Priority:(Other)/Source:(Other)
           Priority:High -> Priority:High/Source:(Other)
           Priority:Low -> Priority:Low/Source:(Other)
           Source:Other -> Priority/Source:(Other)
           Source:External -> Priority/Source:(Other)
           Source:Internal -> Priority/Source:(Other)

       State: Priority/Source:External
       Signal: external source
       Transitions:
           Priority:Other -> Priority:(Other)/Source:External
           Priority:High -> Priority:High/Source:External
           Priority:Low -> Priority:Low/Source:External
           Source:Other -> Priority/Source:External
           Source:External -> Priority/Source:External
           Source:Internal -> Priority/Source:External

       State: Priority/Source:Internal
       Signal: internal source
       Transitions:
           Priority:Other -> Priority:(Other)/Source:Internal
           Priority:High -> Priority:High/Source:Internal
           Priority:Low -> Priority:Low/Source:Internal
           Source:Other -> Priority/Source:Internal
           Source:External -> Priority/Source:Internal
           Source:Internal -> Priority/Source:Internal

   An example of processing that involves multiple "source" URNs and one
   "priority" URN:

       Alert-Info: <urn:alert:source:internal>,
           <urn:alert:source:unclassified>,
           <urn:alert:priority:high>

       State: Source/Priority
           Process: Source:Internal (urn:alert:source:internal)
       State: Source:Internal/Priority
           Process: Source:(Other) (urn:alert:source:unclassified)
       State: Source:Internal/Priority
           Process: Priority:High (urn:alert:priority:high)
       State: Source:Internal/Priority:High
       Signal: internal source/high priority

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6.  Example 1 of RFC 7462

   A more complicated example is in section 12.2.1 of [RFC7462].  It is
   like the example in Section 5 of this document, except that the user
   agent can only signal "external source", "internal source", "low
   priority", and "high priority" individually but not in combination,
   as well as a default signal:

       Signal                          URN(s)
       ----------------------------    -------------------------------
       default                         (none)
       internal source                 urn:alert:source:external
       external source                 urn:alert:source:internal
       high low                        urn:alert:priority:low
       high priority                   urn:alert:priority:high

   The signals can express the following URNs:

       urn:alert:source:external
       urn:alert:source:internal
       urn:alert:priority:low
       urn:alert:priority:high

   The relevant categories of "alert" URNs are:

       source
       priority

   The alphabet of symbols is:

       Source
       Source:External
       Source:Internal
       Source:Other
       Priority
       Priority:Low
       Priority:High
       Priority:Other

   In this example, the FSM has 20 states because both "source" and
   "priority" URNs are recorded, but the order in which the two appear
   affects the signal:

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       State: Priority/Source
       Signal: default
       Transitions:
           Priority:Other -> Priority:(Other)/Source
           Priority:High -> Priority:High/Source
           Priority:Low -> Priority:Low/Source
           Source:Other -> Priority/Source:(Other)
           Source:External -> Priority/Source:External
           Source:Internal -> Priority/Source:Internal

   State Priority:(Other)/Source can transition to states that can
   signal source, because the recorded priority can't be signaled and
   thus does not block the signaling of the source:

       State: Priority:(Other)/Source
       Signal: default
       Transitions:
           Priority:Other -> Priority:(Other)/Source
           Priority:High -> Priority:(Other)/Source
           Priority:Low -> Priority:(Other)/Source
           Source:Other -> Priority:(Other)/Source:(Other)
           Source:External -> Priority:(Other)/Source:External
           Source:Internal -> Priority:(Other)/Source:Internal

       State: Priority:(Other)/Source:(Other)
       Signal: default
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:(Other)/Source:(Other)

       State: Priority:(Other)/Source:External
       Signal: external source
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:(Other)/Source:External

       State: Priority:(Other)/Source:Internal
       Signal: internal source
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:(Other)/Source:Internal

   Because there are no signals for combinations of "source" and
   "priority" URNs, processing a "source" URN from the state
   Priority:High/Source leads to a state that records the priority
   information, but does not signal it:

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       State: Priority:High/Source
       Signal: high priority
       Transitions:
           Priority:Other -> Priority:High/Source
           Priority:High -> Priority:High/Source
           Priority:Low -> Priority:High/Source
           Source:Other -> Priority:High/Source:(Other)
           Source:External -> Priority:High/Source:(External)
           Source:Internal -> Priority:High/Source:(Internal)

       State: Priority:High/Source:(Other)
       Signal: high priority
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:High/Source:(Other)

   From the state Priority:High/Source, "source" URNs transition to
   states that record both source and priority but signal only priority,
   one of which is Priority:High/Source:(External).  But from Priority/
   Source:External, the symbol Priority:High transitions to the state
   Priority:(High)/Source:External, which records the same information
   but signals the source, not the priority. -- One state is reached by
   processing a "priority" URN and then a "source" URN, whereas the
   other is reached by processing a "source" URN and then a "priority"
   URN.

       State: Priority:High/Source:(External)
       Signal: high priority
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:High/Source:(External)

       State: Priority:High/Source:(Internal)
       Signal: high priority
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:High/Source:(Internal)

   And similarly for Priority:Low/Source:

       State: Priority:Low/Source
       Signal: low priority
       Transitions:
           Priority:Other -> Priority:Low/Source
           Priority:High -> Priority:Low/Source
           Priority:Low -> Priority:Low/Source
           Source:Other -> Priority:Low/Source:(Other)
           Source:External -> Priority:Low/Source:(External)
           Source:Internal -> Priority:Low/Source:(Internal)

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       State: Priority:Low/Source:(Other)
       Signal: low priority
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:Low/Source:(Other)

       State: Priority:Low/Source:(External)
       Signal: low priority
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:Low/Source:(External)

       State: Priority:Low/Source:(Internal)
       Signal: low priority
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:Low/Source:(Internal)

       State: Priority/Source:(Other)
       Signal: default
       Transitions:
           Priority:Other -> Priority:(Other)/Source:(Other)
           Priority:High -> Priority:High/Source:(Other)
           Priority:Low -> Priority:Low/Source:(Other)
           Source:Other -> Priority/Source:(Other)
           Source:External -> Priority/Source:(Other)
           Source:Internal -> Priority/Source:(Other)

       State: Priority/Source:External
       Signal: external source
       Transitions:
           Priority:Other -> Priority:(Other)/Source:External
           Priority:High -> Priority:(High)/Source:External
           Priority:Low -> Priority:(Low)/Source:External
           Source:Other -> Priority/Source:External
           Source:External -> Priority/Source:External
           Source:Internal -> Priority/Source:External

       State: Priority:(High)/Source:External
       Signal: external source
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:(High)/Source:External

       State: Priority:(Low)/Source:External
       Signal: external source
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:(Low)/Source:External

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       State: Priority/Source:Internal
       Signal: internal source
       Transitions:
           Priority:Other -> Priority:(Other)/Source:Internal
           Priority:High -> Priority:(High)/Source:Internal
           Priority:Low -> Priority:(Low)/Source:Internal
           Source:Other -> Priority/Source:Internal
           Source:External -> Priority/Source:Internal
           Source:Internal -> Priority/Source:Internal

       State: Priority:(High)/Source:Internal
       Signal: internal source
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:(High)/Source:Internal

       State: Priority:(Low)/Source:Internal
       Signal: internal source
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:(Low)/Source:Internal

   As an example of processing, if the user agent receives

       Alert-Info: <urn:alert:source:internal>

   then processing progresses:

       State: Priority/Source
           Process: Source:Internal (urn:alert:source:internal)
       State: Priority/Source:Internal
       Signal: internal source

   A more complicated example involves multiple "source" URNs which do
   not select a non-default signal and one "priority" URN which can be
   signaled:

       Alert-Info: <urn:alert:source:unclassified>,
           <urn:alert:source:internal>,
           <urn:alert:priority:high>

       State: Priority/Source
           Process: Source:Other (urn:alert:source:unclassified)
       State: Priority/Source:(Other)
           Process: Source:Internal (urn:alert:source:internal)
       State: Priority/Source:(Other)
           Process: Priority:High (urn:alert:priority:high)
       State: Priority:High/Source:(Other)
       Signal: high priority

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   Since the only characteristic of a state that affects the output of
   the FSM is the state's signal, several groups of states in this FSM
   can be merged using standard FSM optimization algorithms:

       states with signal "high priority":
           Priority:High/Source
           Priority:High/Source:(Other)
           Priority:High/Source:(External)
           Priority:High/Source:(Internal)

       states with signal "low priority":
           Priority:Low/Source
           Priority:Low/Source:(Other)
           Priority:Low/Source:(External)
           Priority:Low/Source:(Internal)

       states with signal "external source":
           Priority/Source:External
           Priority:(High)/Source:External
           Priority:(Low)/Source:External
           Priority:(Other)/Source:External

       states with signal "internal source":
           Priority/Source:Internal
           Priority:(High)/Source:Internal
           Priority:(Low)/Source:Internal
           Priority:(Other)/Source:Internal

   This reduces the FSM to 7 states.

7.  Examples 2, 3, and 4 of RFC 7462

   Examples 2, 3, and 4 of [RFC7462] are similar to the example in
   Section 5, but they do not include a signal for the combination
   "internal source, low priority" to make resolution examples work
   asymmetrically.

   The FSM for this example has the same alphabet as the FSM of
   Section 5.  Most of the states of this FSM are the same as the states
   of the FSM of Section 5, but the state Source:Internal/Priority:Low
   is missing because there is no signal for that combination.  It is
   replaced by two states: One state is Source:Internal/Priority:(Low);
   it records that Source:Internal was specified first (and is to be
   signaled) and that Priority:Low was specified later (and can not be
   signaled -- but it still prevents any further "priority" URN from
   having an effect).  The other state is
   Source:(Internal)/Priority:Low; it records the reverse sequence of
   events.

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   The changes in the FSM are:

       State: Priority:Low/Source
       Signal: low priority
       Transitions:
           Source:Internal -> Priority:Low/Source:(Internal)
           (other transitions unchanged)

       State: Priority:Low/Source:(Internal)
       Signal: low priority
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:Low/Source:(Internal)

       State: Priority/Source:Internal
       Signal: internal source
       Transitions:
           Priority:Low -> Priority:(Low)/Source:Internal
           (other transitions unchanged)

       State: Priority:(Low)/Source:Internal
       Signal: internal source
       Transitions:
           any -> Priority:(Low)/Source:Internal

   An example of processing that involves multiple "source" URNs and one
   "priority" URN:

       Alert-Info: <urn:alert:source:internal>,
           <urn:alert:source:unclassified>,
           <urn:alert:priority:high>

       State: Priority/Source
           Process: Source:Internal (urn:alert:source:internal)
       State: Priority/Source:Internal
           Process: Source:Other (urn:alert:source:unclassified)
       State: Priority/Source:Internal
           Process: Priority:High (urn:alert:priority:high)
       State: Priority:High/Source:Internal
       Signal: internal source/high priority

   If the user agent receives

       Alert-Info: <urn:alert:source:internal>

       State: Priority/Source
           Process: Source:Internal (urn:alert:source:internal)
       State: Priority/Source:Internal
       Signal: internal source

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   If the user agent receives

       Alert-Info: <urn:alert:source:external>,
           <urn:alert:priority:low>

       State: Priority/Source
           Process: Source:External (urn:alert:source:external)
       State: Priority/Source:External
           Process: Priority:Low (urn:alert:priority:low)
       State: Priority:Low/Source:External
       Signal: external source/low priority

   Suppose the same user agent receives

       Alert-Info: <urn:alert:source:internal>,
           <urn:alert:priority:low>

   Note that there is no signal that corresponds to this combination.
   In that case, the processing is:

       State: Priority/Source
           Process: Source:Internal (urn:alert:source:internal)
       State: Priority/Source:Internal
           Process: Priority:Low (urn:alert:priority:low)
       State: Priority:(Low)/Source:Internal
       Signal: internal source

   If the order of the URNs is reversed, what is signaled is the meaning
   of now-different first URN:

       Alert-Info: <urn:alert:priority:low>,
           <urn:alert:source:internal>

       State: Priority/Source
           Process: Priority:Low (urn:alert:priority:low)
       State: Priority:Low/Source
           Process: Source:Internal (urn:alert:source:internal)
       State: Priority:Low/Source:(Internal)
       Signal: low priority

   Notice that the existence of the new states prevents later URNs of a
   category from overriding earlier URNs of that category, even if the
   earlier one was not itself signalable and the later one would be
   signalable in the absence of the earlier one:

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       Alert-Info: <urn:alert:priority:low>,
           <urn:alert:source:internal>,
           <urn:alert:source:external>

       State: Priority/Source
           Process: Priority:Low (urn:alert:priority:low)
       State: Priority:Low/Source
           Process: Source:Internal (urn:alert:source:internal)
       State: Priority:Low/Source:(Internal)
           Process: Source:External (urn:alert:source:external)
       State: Priority:Low/Source:(Internal)
       Signal: low priority

   This situation shows the necessity of states whose labels contain
   parentheses.  If the second transition had been to the state
   Priority:Low/Source (on the basis that there is no proper state
   Priority:Low/Source:Internal), then the third transition would have
   been to the state Priority:Low/Source:External, and the signal would
   have been "external source/low priority".

8.  An Example that Subsets Internal Sources

   In the example of Section 4, there are signals for "external source"
   and "internal source".  Let us add to that example a signal for
   "source internal from a VIP".  That last signal expresses the private
   extension URN urn:alert:source:internal:vip@example, which is a
   subset of urn:alert:source:internal, which is expressed by the
   "source internal" signal.  There is a total of 3 expressed URNs, one
   of which is a subset of another:

       urn:alert:source:internal
       urn:alert:source:internal:vip@example
       urn:alert:source:external

   This generates the following alphabet of symbols, which includes two
   Other symbols for the category source:

       Source
       Source:Internal
       Source:Internal:Vip@example
       Source:Internal:Other
       Source:Other

9.  An Example of "alert:service" URNs

   In this example there are signals for "service forward" (the call has
   been forwarded) and "source recall callback" (a recall due to a
   callback).  This gives 2 expressed URNs:

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       urn:alert:service:forward
       urn:alert:service:recall:callback

   This generates the following alphabet of symbols.  Note that there
   are two "Other" symbols, because the "alert:service" URNs have an
   additional level of qualification.

       Service
       Service:Forward
       Service:Recall
       Service:Recall:Callback
       Service:Recall:Other
       Service:Other

10.  An Example Using Country Codes

   In this example, we consider how a UA generates ringback signals when
   the UA wishes to reproduce the traditional behavior that the caller
   hears the ringback signals defined by the telephone service in the
   callee's country, rather than the ringback signals defined by the
   service in the caller's country.  In the Alert-Info header field of
   the 180 Ringing provisional response, we assume that the called UA
   provides an "alert:country" URN containing the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
   country code of the callee's country.

   The UA has a default signal and a "non-country" signal for
   urn:alert:service:call-waiting.  For the example country with code
   "XA", the UA has a default signal and signals for
   urn:alert:service:call-waiting and urn:alert:service:forward.  For
   the example country with code "XB", the UA has a default signal and a
   signal for urn:alert:service:forward.  These inconsistencies between
   the non-country signals and the country signals are chosen to
   demonstrate the flexibility of the construction method, showing that
   three systems of signals can be combined correctly even when the
   systems were established without coordination between them.

   The signals are:

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      Signal                          URN(s)
      ----------------------------    -------------------------------
      default                         (none)
      call-waiting                    urn:alert:service:call-waiting

      XA default                      urn:alert:country:xa
      XA call-waiting                 urn:alert:country:xa,
                                          urn:alert:service:call-waiting
      XA forward                      urn:alert:country:xa,
                                          urn:alert:service:forward

      XB default                      urn:alert:country:xb
      XB forward                      urn:alert:country:xb,
                                          urn:alert:service:forward

   The expressed URNs are:

       urn:alert:country:xa
       urn:alert:country:xb
       urn:alert:service:call-waiting
       urn:alert:service:forward

   The relevant categories of "alert" URNs are only:

       country
       service

   The alphabet of symbols is:

       Country
       Country:[other]
       Country:Xa
       Country:Xb
       Service
       Service:[other]
       Service:Call-waiting
       Service:Forward

   The 15 states are as follows:

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       State: 0 Country/Service
       Signal: default
       Transitions:
           Country:[other] -> 1 Country:([other])/Service
           Country:Xa -> 5 Country:Xa/Service
           Country:Xb -> 9 Country:Xb/Service
           Service:[other] -> 13 Country/Service:([other])
           Service:Call-waiting -> 14 Country/Service:Call-waiting
           Service:Forward -> 16 Country/Service:(Forward)

    State: 1 Country:([other])/Service
    Signal: default
    Transitions:
        Country:[other] -> 1 Country:([other])/Service
        Country:Xa -> 1 Country:([other])/Service
        Country:Xb -> 1 Country:([other])/Service
        Service:[other] -> 2 Country:([other])/Service:([other])
        Service:Call-waiting -> 3 Country:([other])/Service:Call-waiting
        Service:Forward -> 4 Country:([other])/Service:(Forward)

       State: 2 Country:([other])/Service:([other])
       Signal: default
       Transitions:
           any -> 2 Country:([other])/Service:([other])

       State: 3 Country:([other])/Service:Call-waiting
       Signal: call-waiting
       Transitions:
           any -> 3 Country:([other])/Service:Call-waiting

       State: 4 Country:([other])/Service:(Forward)
       Signal: default
       Transitions:
           any -> 4 Country:([other])/Service:(Forward)

       State: 5 Country:Xa/Service
       Signal: XA default
       Transitions:
           Country:[other] -> 5 Country:Xa/Service
           Country:Xa -> 5 Country:Xa/Service
           Country:Xb -> 5 Country:Xa/Service
           Service:[other] -> 6 Country:Xa/Service:([other])
           Service:Call-waiting -> 7 Country:Xa/Service:Call-waiting
           Service:Forward -> 8 Country:Xa/Service:Forward

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       State: 6 Country:Xa/Service:([other])
       Signal: XA default
       Transitions:
           any -> 6 Country:Xa/Service:([other])

       State: 7 Country:Xa/Service:Call-waiting
       Signal: XA call-waiting
       Transitions:
           any -> 7 Country:Xa/Service:Call-waiting

       State: 8 Country:Xa/Service:Forward
       Signal: XA forward
       Transitions:
           any -> 8 Country:Xa/Service:Forward

       State: 9 Country:Xb/Service
       Signal: XB default
       Transitions:
           Country:[other] -> 9 Country:Xb/Service
           Country:Xa -> 9 Country:Xb/Service
           Country:Xb -> 9 Country:Xb/Service
           Service:[other] -> 10 Country:Xb/Service:([other])
           Service:Call-waiting -> 11 Country:Xb/Service:(Call-waiting)
           Service:Forward -> 12 Country:Xb/Service:Forward

       State: 10 Country:Xb/Service:([other])
       Signal: XB default
       Transitions:
           any -> 10 Country:Xb/Service:([other])

       State: 11 Country:Xb/Service:(Call-waiting)
       Signal: XB default
       Transitions:
           any -> 11 Country:Xb/Service:(Call-waiting)

       State: 12 Country:Xb/Service:Forward
       Signal: XB forward
       Transitions:
           any -> 12 Country:Xb/Service:Forward

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       State: 13 Country/Service:([other])
       Signal: default
       Transitions:
           Country:[other] -> 2 Country:([other])/Service:([other])
           Country:Xa -> 6 Country:Xa/Service:([other])
           Country:Xb -> 10 Country:Xb/Service:([other])
           Service:[other] -> 13 Country/Service:([other])
           Service:Call-waiting -> 13 Country/Service:([other])
           Service:Forward -> 13 Country/Service:([other])

       State: 14 Country/Service:Call-waiting
       Signal: call-waiting
       Transitions:
           Country:[other] -> 3 Country:([other])/Service:Call-waiting
           Country:Xa -> 7 Country:Xa/Service:Call-waiting
           Country:Xb -> 15 Country:(Xb)/Service:Call-waiting
           Service:[other] -> 14 Country/Service:Call-waiting
           Service:Call-waiting -> 14 Country/Service:Call-waiting
           Service:Forward -> 14 Country/Service:Call-waiting

       State: 15 Country:(Xb)/Service:Call-waiting
       Signal: call-waiting
       Transitions:
           any -> 15 Country:(Xb)/Service:Call-waiting

       State: 16 Country/Service:(Forward)
       Signal: default
       Transitions:
           Country:[other] -> 4 Country:([other])/Service:(Forward)
           Country:Xa -> 8 Country:Xa/Service:Forward
           Country:Xb -> 12 Country:Xb/Service:Forward
           Service:[other] -> 16 Country/Service:(Forward)
           Service:Call-waiting -> 16 Country/Service:(Forward)
           Service:Forward -> 16 Country/Service:(Forward)

   Call-waiting can be signaled in conjunction with country XA, but not
   in conjunction with country XB as the UA does not have a signal to
   present call waiting alerts for country XB.  Thus the ordering of
   urn:alert:service:call-waiting with urn:alert:country:xa does not
   matter, but if urn:alert:country:xb appears before
   urn:alert:service:call-waiting, call-waiting cannot be signaled.  On
   the other hand, if urn:alert:service:call-waiting appears before
   urn:alert:country:xb, then call-waiting is signaled, but using the
   non-country signal.

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      Alert-Info: urn:alert:country:xa,
              urn:alert:service:call-waiting

      State: 0 Country/Service
          Process: Country:Xa (urn:alert:country:xa)
      State: 5 Country:Xa/Service
          Process: Service:Call-waiting (urn:alert:service:call-waiting)
      State: 7 Country:Xa/Service:Call-waiting
      Signal: XA call-waiting

      Alert-Info: urn:alert:service:call-waiting,
              urn:alert:country:xa

      State: 0 Country/Service
          Process: Service:Call-waiting (urn:alert:service:call-waiting)
      State: 14 Country/Service:Call-waiting
          Process: Country:Xa (urn:alert:country:xa)
      State: 7 Country:Xa/Service:Call-waiting
      Signal: XA call-waiting

      Alert-Info: urn:alert:country:xb,
              urn:alert:service:call-waiting

      State: 0 Country/Service
          Process: Country:Xb (urn:alert:country:xb)
      State: 9 Country:Xb/Service
          Process: Service:Call-waiting (urn:alert:service:call-waiting)
      State: 11 Country:Xb/Service:(Call-waiting)
      Signal: XB default

      Alert-Info: urn:alert:service:call-waiting,
              urn:alert:country:xb

      State: 0 Country/Service
          Process: Service:Call-waiting (urn:alert:service:call-waiting)
      State: 14 Country/Service:Call-waiting
          Process: Country:Xb (urn:alert:country:xb)
      State: 15 Country:(Xb)/Service:Call-waiting
      Signal: call-waiting

11.  Prioritizing Signals

   The specifications in [RFC7462] are oriented toward giving the sender
   of Alert-Info control over which of the "alert" URNs are most
   important.  But in some situations, the user agent may prefer to
   prioritize expressing one URN category over another regardless of the
   order their URNs appear in Alert-Info.  This section describes how

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   that can be accommodated within the framework of [RFC7462], and
   presents an example FSM resulting from that approach.

   This example uses the signals of Section 6, viz., "external source",
   "internal source", "low priority" and "high priority", but this time,
   we want to signal "high priority" in preference to any other signal
   that might be applicable.

   We accommodate this within the framework of [RFC7462] by assigning
   the signal "high priority" for each of these combinations of URNs:

       urn:alert:priority:high
       urn:alert:priority:high, urn:alert:source:internal
       urn:alert:priority:high, urn:alert:source:external

   The result is that the "high priority" signal is the "best" signal
   for any combination of urn:alert:priority:high with "source" URNs.

   The intermediate steps of the method produce the same results as
   before.  The signals can express the following URNs:

       urn:alert:source:external
       urn:alert:source:internal
       urn:alert:priority:low
       urn:alert:priority:high

   The relevant categories of "alert" URNs are:

       source
       priority

   The alphabet of symbols is:

       Source
       Source:External
       Source:Internal
       Source:Other
       Priority
       Priority:Low
       Priority:High
       Priority:Other

   When the FSM is constructed, it is the same as the FSM for Section 6,
   except that certain states are effectively renamed and merged,
   because any "source" is defined to be expressed if high priority is
   expressed:

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       Priority:(High)/Source:External and
       Priority:High/Source:(External) become:
           State: Priority:High/Source:External
           Signal: high priority

       Priority:(High)/Source:Internal and
       Priority:High/Source:(Internal) become:
           State: Priority:High/Source:Internal
           Signal: high priority

   This reduces the FSM to 18 states.  In addition, these two new
   states, along with a number of other states, can be merged by FSM
   optimization, since all of them have the signal "high priority" and
   from them, there are no transitions to states outside this set.  The
   final FSM has 10 states.

12.  Dynamic Sets of Signals

   This section discusses how to construct FSMs for a user agent that
   allows variable sets of signals, for example, if the user can
   configure the use of ringtones.  Several approaches can be used:

   o  Whenever the set of ringtones is changed, re-execute the processes
      of Section 4.

   o  Whenever the set of ringtones is changed, rebuild the list of
      expressed URNs (Section 4.1) and reconstruct the alphabet of
      symbols (Section 4.2).  Then use an algorithm for dynamically
      constructing states of the FSM as they are needed during Alert-
      Info processing.

   o  If the sets of possible URNs expressed by the ringtones is
      sufficiently limited, the steps of Section 4 can be carried out
      "generically", and the generic FSM can be specialized for the
      current ringtone configuration.

   The remainder of this section gives an example of the third approach.

   For the example, we will use a set of ringtones that express the
   identify of the caller.  To signal this information, a private
   extension "alert" URN category is used, "caller@example":

       urn:alert:caller@example:alice@example.com
       urn:alert:caller@example:bob@example.com
       etc.

   which we can express by the generic pattern

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       urn:alert:caller@example:IDENTITY

   where "IDENTITY" is replaced in succession by the set of caller
   identities that have their own ringtones to generate the set of
   expressed URNs.

   The alphabet is then:

         Caller@example
         Caller@example:IDENTITY
         Caller@example:Other

   where "IDENTITY" is replaced in succession by the set of caller
   identities.  The "Caller@example:Other" symbol includes all URNs of
   the category "caller@example" that are not included in any of the
   other symbols.

   The states and transitions of the FSM are:

       State: Caller@example (initial state)
       Signal: default
       Transitions:
           Caller@example:IDENTITY -> Caller@example:IDENTITY
           Caller@example:Other -> Caller@example:(Other)

       State: Caller@example:IDENTITY
       Signal: signal for caller IDENTITY
       Transitions:
           any -> Caller@example:IDENTITY

       State: Caller@example:(Other)
       Signal: default
       Transitions:
           any -> Caller@example:(Other)

   where again, the second state is replicated once for each caller
   identity that has a ringtone, with "IDENTITY" replaced with the
   caller identity.

13.  Revision History

   [Note to RFC Editor: Please remove this entire section upon
   publication as an RFC.]

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13.1.  Changes from draft-worley-alert-info-fsm-07 to draft-worley-
       alert-info-fsm-08

   Correct the discussion in the example of Section 10.

   Revamp the introduction.

   Use the term "resolve" for processing "alert" URNs to select a
   signal.

13.2.  Changes from draft-worley-alert-info-fsm-06 to draft-worley-
       alert-info-fsm-07

   Editorial improvements from independent submission reviewer.

13.3.  Changes from draft-worley-alert-info-fsm-05 to draft-worley-
       alert-info-fsm-06

   Editorial improvements from independent submission reviewer.

   Add note at end of introduction that you can do this by hand in
   simple cases.

   Add the country-code example.

13.4.  Changes from draft-worley-alert-info-fsm-04 to draft-worley-
       alert-info-fsm-05

   Editorial improvements.

13.5.  Changes from draft-worley-alert-info-fsm-03 to draft-worley-
       alert-info-fsm-04

   Editorial improvements.

13.6.  Changes from draft-worley-alert-info-fsm-02 to draft-worley-
       alert-info-fsm-03

   Correct indenting of some lines.

13.7.  Changes from draft-worley-alert-info-fsm-01 to draft-worley-
       alert-info-fsm-02

   Recast exposition to feature the implementation of the construction
   algorithm.

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13.8.  Changes from draft-worley-alert-info-fsm-00 to draft-worley-
       alert-info-fsm-01

   Reorganized the text, including describing how the FSM states are
   constructed.

14.  References

14.1.  Normative References

   [RFC3261]  Rosenberg, J., Schulzrinne, H., Camarillo, G., Johnston,
              A., Peterson, J., Sparks, R., Handley, M., and E.
              Schooler, "SIP: Session Initiation Protocol", RFC 3261,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC3261, June 2002,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3261>.

   [RFC7462]  Liess, L., Ed., Jesske, R., Johnston, A., Worley, D., and
              P. Kyzivat, "URNs for the Alert-Info Header Field of the
              Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)", RFC 7462,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC7462, March 2015,
              <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7462>.

14.2.  Informative References

   [code]     Worley, D., "draft-worley-alert-info-fsm.aux", February
              2017, <http://svn.resiprocate.org/rep/ietf-drafts/worley/
              draft-worley-alert-info-fsm.aux>.

Acknowledgments

   Thanks to Paul Kyzivat, whose relentless identification of the
   weaknesses of earlier versions made the final document much, much
   better than it would have been, by changing it from the exposition of
   a concept into a practical tool.  Thanks to Rifaat Shekh-Yusef, Eric
   Burger, and Gonzalo Camarillo for their thorough reviews.  Thanks to
   the Independent Submissions Editor, Nevil Brownlee, for his work
   obtaining reviewers.

Author's Address

   Dale R. Worley
   Ariadne Internet Services
   738 Main St.
   Waltham, MA  02451
   US

   Email: worley@ariadne.com

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