The prospero URI Scheme
draft-hoffman-prospero-uri-03

Network Working Group                                         P. Hoffman
Internet-Draft                                            VPN Consortium
Expires: July 2, 2005                                       January 2005

                        The prospero URI Scheme
                   draft-hoffman-prospero-uri-03.txt

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Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2005).

Abstract

   This document specifies the prospero1 Uniform Resource Identifier
   (URI) scheme that was originally specified in RFC 1738.  The purpose
   of this document is to allow RFC 1738 to be made obsolete while
   keeping the information about the scheme on standards track.

1.  Introduction

   URIs were previously defined in RFC 2396 [RFC2396], which was updated

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   by draft-fielding-uri-rfc2396bis [2396bis].  Those documents also
   specify how to define schemes for URIs.

   The first definition for many URI schemes appeared in RFC 1738
   [RFC1738].  Because that document has been made obsolete, this
   document copies the prospero URI scheme from it to allow that
   material to remain on standards track.

2.  Scheme Definition

   The prospero URL scheme is used to designate resources that are
   accessed through the Prospero Directory Service.  The Prospero
   protocol is described in the original Prospero specification [PROSP].

   Historical note: The Prospero protocol was not widely implemented and
   almost no Prospero servers are in use today.

   A prospero URL takes the form:

   prospero://<host>:<port>/<hsoname>;<field>=<value>

   If :<port> is omitted, the port defaults to 1525.  No username or
   password is allowed.

   The <hsoname> is the host-specific object name in the Prospero
   protocol, suitably encoded.  This name is opaque and interpreted by
   the Prospero server.  The semicolon ";" is reserved and may not
   appear without quoting in the <hsoname>.

   Prospero URLs are interpreted by contacting a Prospero directory
   server on the specified host and port to determine appropriate access
   methods for a resource, which might themselves be represented as
   different URLs.  External Prospero links are represented as URLs of
   the underlying access method and are not represented as Prospero
   URLs.

   Note that a slash "/" may appear in the <hsoname> without quoting and
   no significance may be assumed by the application.  Though slashes
   may indicate hierarchical structure on the server, such structure is
   not guaranteed.  Note that many <hsoname>s begin with a slash, in
   which case the host or port will be followed by a double slash: the
   slash from the URL syntax, followed by the initial slash from the
   <hsoname>.  (E.g., <URL:prospero://example.com//pros/name> designates
   a <hsoname> of "/pros/name".)

   In addition, after the <hsoname>, optional fields and values
   associated with a Prospero link may be specified as part of the URL.
   When present, each field/value pair is separated from each other and

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   from the rest of the URL by a ";" (semicolon).  The name of the field
   and its value are separated by a "=" (equal sign).  If present, these
   fields serve to identify the target of the URL.  For example, the
   OBJECT-VERSION field can be specified to identify a specific version
   of an object.

3.  Security Considerations

   There are many security considerations for URI schemes discussed in
   [2396bis].  [PROSP] uses passwords in the clear for authentication,
   and offers no privacy, both of which are considered extremely unsafe
   in current practice.

4  Informative References

   [RFC1738]  Berners-Lee, T., Masinter, L. and M. McCahill, "Uniform
              Resource Locators (URL)", RFC 1738, December 1994.

   [RFC2396]  Berners-Lee, T., Fielding, R. and L. Masinter, "Uniform
              Resource Identifiers (URI): Generic Syntax", RFC 2396,
              August 1998.

   [2396bis]  Berners-Lee, T., Fielding, R. and L. Masinter, "Uniform
              Resource Identifiers (URI): Generic Syntax", work in
              progress, draft-fielding-uri-rfc2396bis-nn.txt, July 2004.

   [PROSP]    Neuman, B. and S. Augart, "The Prospero Protocol",
              USC/Information Sciences Institute , June 1993.

Author's Address

   Paul Hoffman
   VPN Consortium
   127 Segre Place
   Santa Cruz, CA  95060
   US

   EMail: paul.hoffman@vpnc.org

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