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Use of the Prefer Header Field in Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV)
draft-murchison-webdav-prefer-01

The information below is for an old version of the document.
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This is an older version of an Internet-Draft that was ultimately published as RFC 8144.
Author Kenneth Murchison
Last updated 2013-01-16
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draft-murchison-webdav-prefer-01
Independent Submission                                      K. Murchison
Internet-Draft                                                       CMU
Updates: 3253, 4791, 4918, 5689, 6352,                  January 16, 2013
6638 (if approved)
Intended status: Standards Track
Expires: July 20, 2013

    Use of the Prefer Header Field in Web Distributed Authoring and
                          Versioning (WebDAV)
                    draft-murchison-webdav-prefer-01

Abstract

   This specification defines how the HTTP Prefer header can be used by
   a WebDAV client to request that certain behaviors be employed by a
   server while constructing a response to a successful request.

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 July 20, 2013.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2013 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   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.  Code Components extracted from this document must
   include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
   the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as

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   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
     1.1.  Notational Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
   2.  Reducing WebDAV Response Verbosity with "return=minimal" . . .  3
     2.1.  Minimal PROPFIND Response  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
       2.1.1.  Example: Typical PROPFIND request/response . . . . . .  4
       2.1.2.  Example: Minimal PROPFIND request/response . . . . . .  5
       2.1.3.  Example: Minimal PROPFIND request/response with an
               empty DAV:propstat element . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
     2.2.  Minimal REPORT Response  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
       2.2.1.  Example: Typical REPORT request/response . . . . . . .  8
       2.2.2.  Example: Minimal REPORT request/response . . . . . . . 10
     2.3.  Minimal PROPPATCH Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
       2.3.1.  Example: Typical PROPPATCH request/response  . . . . . 12
       2.3.2.  Example: Minimal PROPPATCH request/response  . . . . . 13
     2.4.  Minimal MKCALENDAR / MKCOL Response  . . . . . . . . . . . 13
       2.4.1.  Example: Verbose MKCOL request/response  . . . . . . . 14
       2.4.2.  Example: Minimal MKCOL request/response  . . . . . . . 15
   3.  Reducing WebDAV Round-Trips with "return=representation" . . . 15
     3.1.  Example: Typical resource creation and retrieval via
           POST + GET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
     3.2.  Example: Streamlined resource creation and retrieval
           via POST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
   4.  The "depth-noroot" Processing Preference . . . . . . . . . . . 19
     4.1.  Example: Typical PROPFIND request/response with Depth:1  . 20
     4.2.  Example: PROPFIND request/response with Depth:1 and
           Prefer:depth-noroot  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
   5.  Security Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
   6.  IANA Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
   7.  Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
   8.  References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
     8.1.  Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
     8.2.  Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
   Appendix A.  The Brief and Extended Depth Request Header Fields  . 25
   Appendix B.  Open Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
   Appendix C.  Change Log (to be removed by RFC Editor before
                publication)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
     C.1.  Since -00  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
     C.2.  Since CalConnect XXIV  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
   Author's Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

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1.  Introduction

   [I-D.snell-http-prefer] defines the HTTP Prefer request header field
   and the "return=minimal" preference which indicates that a client
   wishes for the server to return a minimal response to a successful
   request, but states that what constitutes an appropriate minimal
   response is left solely to the discretion of the server.  Section 2
   of this specification defines precisely what is expected of a server
   when constructing minimal responses to successful WebDAV [RFC4918]
   requests.

   [I-D.snell-http-prefer] also defines the "return=representaion"
   preference which indicates that a client wishes for the server to
   include an entity representing the current state of the resource in
   the response to a successful request.  The behavior of this
   preference with WebDAV [RFC4918] requests needs no further
   clarification, but Section 3 of this specification makes
   recommendations on when it should be used by clients.

   Finally, Section 4 of this specifcation defines the "depth-noroot"
   preference that can be used with WebDAV [RFC4918] methods that
   support the "Depth" header field..

1.1.  Notational Conventions

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119].

   This document references XML elements types in the "DAV:" namespace
   outside of the context of an XML fragment.  When doing so, the string
   "DAV:" will be prepended to the XML element type.

2.  Reducing WebDAV Response Verbosity with "return=minimal"

   Some payload bodies in responses to WebDAV [RFC4918] requests, such
   as 207 (Multi-Status) [RFC4918] responses, can be quite verbose or
   even unnecessary at times.  This specification defines how the Prefer
   [I-D.snell-http-prefer] request header field, in conjunction with its
   "return=minimal" preference, can be used by clients to reduce the
   verbosity of such responses by requesting that the server omit those
   portions of the response that can be inferred by their absence.

2.1.  Minimal PROPFIND Response

   When a PROPFIND [RFC4918] method request contains a Prefer
   [I-D.snell-http-prefer] header field with a preference of

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   "return=minimal", the server SHOULD omit all DAV:propstat XML
   elements containing a DAV:status XML element of value 404 (Not Found)
   [I-D.ietf-httpbis-p2-semantics] from the 207 (Multi-Status) [RFC4918]
   response.  If the omission of such a DAV:propstat element would
   result in a DAV:response XML element containing zero DAV:propstat
   elements, then the server MUST substitute a DAV:propstat element
   consisting of an empty DAV:prop element and a DAV:status element of
   value 200 (OK) [I-D.ietf-httpbis-p2-semantics] in its place.

2.1.1.  Example: Typical PROPFIND request/response

   This example tries to fetch an unknown property from a CARDDAV:
   addressbook [RFC6352] collection.

   >> Request <<

   PROPFIND /container/ HTTP/1.1
   Host: webdav.example.com
   Content-Type: application/xml; charset=utf-8
   Content-Length: xxxx

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
   <D:propfind xmlns:D="DAV:" xmlns:X="http://ns.example.com/foobar/">
     <D:prop>
       <D:resourcetype/>
       <X:foobar/>
     </D:prop>
   </D:propfind>

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   >> Response <<

   HTTP/1.1 207 Multi-Status
   Content-Type: application/xml; charset=utf-8
   Content-Length: xxxx
   Vary: Prefer

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <D:multistatus xmlns:D="DAV:" xmlns:X="http://ns.example.com/foobar/"
                  xmlns:C="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:carddav">
     <D:response>
       <D:href>/container/</D:href>
       <D:propstat>
         <D:prop>
           <D:resourcetype>
             <D:collection/>
             <C:addressbook/>
           </D:resourcetype>
         </D:prop>
         <D:status>HTTP/1.1 200 OK</D:status>
       </D:propstat>
       <D:propstat>
         <D:prop>
           <X:foobar/>
         </D:prop>
         <D:status>HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found</D:status>
       </D:propstat>
     </D:response>
   </D:multistatus>

2.1.2.  Example: Minimal PROPFIND request/response

   This example tries to fetch an unknown property from a CARDDAV:
   addressbook [RFC6352] collection.

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   >> Request <<

   PROPFIND /container/ HTTP/1.1
   Host: webdav.example.com
   Content-Type: application/xml; charset=utf-8
   Content-Length: xxxx
   Prefer: return=minimal

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
   <D:propfind xmlns:D="DAV:" xmlns:X="http://ns.example.com/foobar/">
     <D:prop>
       <D:resourcetype/>
       <X:foobar/>
     </D:prop>
   </D:propfind>

   >> Response <<

 HTTP/1.1 207 Multi-Status
 Content-Type: application/xml; charset=utf-8
 Content-Length: xxxx
 Preference-Applied: return=minimal
 Vary: Prefer

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
 <D:multistatus xmlns:D="DAV:" xmlns:C="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:carddav">
   <D:response>
     <D:href>/container/</D:href>
     <D:propstat>
       <D:prop>
         <D:resourcetype>
           <D:collection/>
           <C:addressbook/>
         </D:resourcetype>
       </D:prop>
       <D:status>HTTP/1.1 200 OK</D:status>
     </D:propstat>
   </D:response>
 </D:multistatus>

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2.1.3.  Example: Minimal PROPFIND request/response with an empty DAV:
        propstat element

   This example tries to fetch an unknown property from a CARDDAV:
   addressbook [RFC6352] collection.

   >> Request <<

   PROPFIND /container/ HTTP/1.1
   Host: webdav.example.com
   Content-Type: application/xml; charset=utf-8
   Content-Length: xxxx
   Prefer: return=minimal

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
   <D:propfind xmlns:D="DAV:" xmlns:X="http://ns.example.com/foobar/">
     <D:prop>
       <X:foobar/>
     </D:prop>
   </D:propfind>

   >> Response <<

   HTTP/1.1 207 Multi-Status
   Content-Type: application/xml; charset=utf-8
   Content-Length: xxxx
   Preference-Applied: return=minimal
   Vary: Prefer

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <D:multistatus xmlns:D="DAV:">
     <D:response>
       <D:href>/container/</D:href>
       <D:propstat>
         <D:prop/>
         <D:status>HTTP/1.1 200 OK</D:status>
       </D:propstat>
     </D:response>
   </D:multistatus>

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2.2.  Minimal REPORT Response

   When a REPORT method request, whose report type results in a 207
   (Multi-Status) [RFC4918] response, contains a Prefer header field
   with a preference of "return=minimal", the server SHOULD omit all
   DAV:propstat XML elements containing a DAV:status XML element of
   value 404 (Not Found) [I-D.ietf-httpbis-p2-semantics] from the 207
   (Multi-Status) [RFC4918] response.  If the omission of such a DAV:
   propstat element would result in a DAV:response XML element
   containing zero DAV:propstat elements, then the server MUST
   substitute a DAV:propstat element consisting of an empty DAV:prop
   element and a DAV:status element of value 200 (OK)
   [I-D.ietf-httpbis-p2-semantics] in its place.

2.2.1.  Example: Typical REPORT request/response

   This example uses the CALDAV:calendar-multiget [RFC4791] REPORT type.

   >> Request <<

   REPORT /murch/work/ HTTP/1.1
   Host: caldav.example.com
   Content-Type: application/xml; charset=utf-8
   Content-Length: xxxx

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
   <C:calendar-multiget xmlns:C="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav"
                        xmlns:D="DAV:"
                        xmlns:X="http://ns.example.com/foobar/">
     <D:prop>
       <D:getetag/>
       <X:foobar/>
     </D:prop>
     <D:href>/murch/work/abc.ics</D:href>
     <D:href>/murch/work/qrs.ics</D:href>
     <D:href>/murch/work/xyz.ics</D:href>
   </C:calendar-multiget>

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   >> Response <<

   HTTP/1.1 207 Multi-Status
   Content-Type: application/xml; charset=utf-8
   Content-Length: xxxx
   Vary: Prefer

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <D:multistatus xmlns:C="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav"
                  xmlns:D="DAV:"
                  xmlns:X="http://ns.example.com/foobar/">
     <D:response>
       <D:href>/murch/work/abc.ics</D:href>
       <D:propstat>
         <D:prop>
           <D:getetag>"jahsd823ru"</D:getetag>
         </D:prop>
         <D:status>HTTP/1.1 200 OK</D:status>
       </D:propstat>
       <D:propstat>
         <D:prop>
           <X:foobar/>
         </D:prop>
         <D:status>HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found</D:status>
       </D:propstat>
     </D:response>
     <D:response>
       <D:href>/murch/work/qrs.ics</D:href>
       <D:status>HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found</D:status>
     </D:response>
       <D:href>/murch/work/xyz.ics</D:href>
       <D:propstat>
         <D:prop>
           <D:getetag>"p08ulkj"</D:getetag>
         </D:prop>
         <D:status>HTTP/1.1 200 OK</D:status>
       </D:propstat>
       <D:propstat>
         <D:prop>
           <X:foobar/>
         </D:prop>
         <D:status>HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found</D:status>
       </D:propstat>
     </D:response>
   </D:multistatus>

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2.2.2.  Example: Minimal REPORT request/response

   This example uses the CALDAV:calendar-multiget [RFC4791] REPORT type.

   >> Request <<

   REPORT /murch/work/ HTTP/1.1
   Host: caldav.example.com
   Content-Type: application/xml; charset=utf-8
   Content-Length: xxxx
   Prefer: return=minimal

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
   <C:calendar-multiget xmlns:C="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav"
                        xmlns:D="DAV:"
                        xmlns:X="http://ns.example.com/foobar/">
     <D:prop>
       <D:getetag/>
       <X:foobar/>
     </D:prop>
     <D:href>/murch/work/abc.ics</D:href>
     <D:href>/murch/work/qrs.ics</D:href>
     <D:href>/murch/work/xyz.ics</D:href>
   </C:calendar-multiget>

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   >> Response <<

   HTTP/1.1 207 Multi-Status
   Content-Type: application/xml; charset=utf-8
   Content-Length: xxxx
   Preference-Applied: return=minimal
   Vary: Prefer

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <D:multistatus xmlns:C="urn:ietf:params:xml:ns:caldav"
                  xmlns:D="DAV:">
     <D:response>
       <D:href>/murch/work/abc.ics</D:href>
       <D:propstat>
         <D:prop>
           <D:getetag>"jahsd823ru"</D:getetag>
         </D:prop>
         <D:status>HTTP/1.1 200 OK</D:status>
       </D:propstat>
     </D:response>
     <D:response>
       <D:href>/murch/work/qrs.ics</D:href>
       <D:status>HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found</D:status>
     </D:response>
       <D:href>/murch/work/xyz.ics</D:href>
       <D:propstat>
         <D:prop>
           <D:getetag>"p08ulkj"</D:getetag>
         </D:prop>
         <D:status>HTTP/1.1 200 OK</D:status>
       </D:propstat>
     </D:response>
   </D:multistatus>

2.3.  Minimal PROPPATCH Response

   When a PROPPATCH [RFC4918] request contains a Prefer
   [I-D.snell-http-prefer] header field with a preference of
   "return=minimal", and all instructions are processed successfully,
   the server SHOULD return a 200 (OK) [I-D.ietf-httpbis-p2-semantics]
   response with an empty (zero-length) message body instead of a 207
   (Multi-Status) [RFC4918] response.

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2.3.1.  Example: Typical PROPPATCH request/response

   >> Request <<

   PROPPATCH /container/ HTTP/1.1
   Host: webdav.example.com
   Content-Type: application/xml; charset=utf-8
   Content-Length: xxxx

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <D:propertyupdate xmlns:D="DAV:">
     <D:set>
       <D:prop>
         <D:displayname>My Container</D:displayname>
       </D:prop>
     </D:set>
   </D:propertyupdate>

   >> Response <<

   HTTP/1.1 207 Multi-Status
   Content-Type: application/xml; charset=utf-8
   Content-Length: xxxx

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <D:multistatus xmlns:D="DAV:">
     <D:response>
       <D:href>/container/</D:href>
       <D:propstat>
         <D:prop>
           <D:displayname/>
         </D:prop>
         <D:status>HTTP/1.1 200 OK</D:status>
       </D:propstat>
     </D:response>
   </D:multistatus>

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2.3.2.  Example: Minimal PROPPATCH request/response

   >> Request <<

   PROPPATCH /container/ HTTP/1.1
   Host: webdav.example.com
   Content-Type: application/xml; charset=utf-8
   Content-Length: xxxx
   Prefer: return=minimal

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <D:propertyupdate xmlns:D="DAV:">
     <D:set>
       <D:prop>
         <D:displayname>My Container</D:displayname>
       </D:prop>
     </D:set>
   </D:propertyupdate>

   >> Response <<

   HTTP/1.1 200 OK
   Content-Length: 0
   Preference-Applied: return=minimal

2.4.  Minimal MKCALENDAR / MKCOL Response

   Both the MKCALENDAR [RFC4791] and Extended MKCOL [RFC5689]
   specifications indicate that a server MAY return a message body in
   response to a successful request.  This specification explicitly
   defines the intended behavior in the presence of the Prefer
   [I-D.snell-http-prefer] header field.

   When a MKCALENDAR or an Extended MKCOL request contains a Prefer
   header field with a preference of "return=minimal", and the
   collection is created with all requested properties being set
   successfully, the server SHOULD return a 201 (Created)
   [I-D.ietf-httpbis-p2-semantics] response with an empty (zero-length)
   message body.

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2.4.1.  Example: Verbose MKCOL request/response

   >> Request <<

   MKCOL /container/ HTTP/1.1
   Host: webdav.example.com
   Content-Type: application/xml; charset=utf-8
   Content-Length: xxxx

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <D:mkcol xmlns:D="DAV:">
     <D:set>
       <D:prop>
         <D:displayname>My Container</D:displayname>
       </D:prop>
     </D:set>
   </D:mkcol>

   >> Response <<

   HTTP/1.1 201 Created
   Content-Type: application/xml; charset=utf-8
   Content-Length: xxxx

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <D:mkcol-response xmlns:D="DAV:">
     <D:propstat>
       <D:prop>
         <D:displayname/>
       </D:prop>
       <D:status>HTTP/1.1 200 OK</D:status>
     </D:propstat>
   </D:mkcol-response>

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2.4.2.  Example: Minimal MKCOL request/response

   >> Request <<

   MKCOL /container/ HTTP/1.1
   Host: webdav.example.com
   Content-Type: application/xml; charset=utf-8
   Content-Length: xxxx
   Prefer: return=minimal

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <D:mkcol xmlns:D="DAV:">
     <D:set>
       <D:prop>
         <D:displayname>My Container</D:displayname>
       </D:prop>
     </D:set>
   </D:mkcol>

   >> Response <<

   HTTP/1.1 201 Created
   Content-Length: 0
   Preference-Applied: return=minimal

3.  Reducing WebDAV Round-Trips with "return=representation"

   The PUT, COPY, MOVE, [RFC4918] and POST [RFC5689] methods can be used
   to create or update a resource.  In some instances, such as with
   CalDAV Scheduling [RFC6638], the created or updated resource
   representation may differ from the representation sent in the body of
   the request or referenced by the effective request URI.  In cases
   where the client would normally issue a subsquent GET request to
   retrieve the current representation of the resource, the client
   SHOULD instead include a Prefer header field with the
   "return=representation" preference in the PUT, COPY, MOVE, or POST
   request.  By doing this, the client can coalesce the create/update
   and retrieve operations into one round-trip rather than two.

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3.1.  Example: Typical resource creation and retrieval via POST + GET

   >> Request <<

   POST /murch/work;add-member/ HTTP/1.1
   Host: caldav.example.com
   Content-Type: text/calendar; charset=utf-8
   Content-Length: xxxx

   BEGIN:VCALENDAR
   VERSION:2.0
   PRODID:-//Example Corp.//CalDAV Client//EN
   BEGIN:VEVENT
   UID:CD87465FA
   SEQUENCE:0
   DTSTAMP:20120602T185254Z
   DTSTART:20120602T160000Z
   DTEND:20120602T170000Z
   TRANSP:OPAQUE
   SUMMARY:Lunch
   ORGANIZER;CN="Ken Murchison":mailto:murch@example.com
   ATTENDEE;CN="Ken Murchison";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=ACCEPTED:
    mailto:murch@example.com
   ATTENDEE;CN="John Doe";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT
    =NEEDS-ACTION;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;RSVP=TRUE:mailto:jdoe@
    example.com
   END:VEVENT
   END:VCALENDAR

   >> Response <<

   HTTP/1.1 201 Created
   Location: /murch/work/abc.ics
   Content-Length: 0
   ETag: "nahduyejc"
   Schedule-Tag: "jfd84hgbcn"

   >> Request <<

   GET /murch/work/abc.ics HTTP/1.1
   Host: caldav.example.com

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   >> Response <<

   HTTP/1.1 200 OK
   Content-Type: text/calendar; charset=utf-8
   Content-Length: xxxx
   ETag: "nahduyejc"
   Schedule-Tag: "jfd84hgbcn"

   BEGIN:VCALENDAR
   VERSION:2.0
   PRODID:-//Example Corp.//CalDAV Server//EN
   BEGIN:VEVENT
   UID:CD87465FA
   SEQUENCE:0
   DTSTAMP:20120602T185300Z
   DTSTART:20120602T160000Z
   DTEND:20120602T170000Z
   TRANSP:OPAQUE
   SUMMARY:Lunch
   ORGANIZER;CN="Ken Murchison":mailto:murch@example.com
   ATTENDEE;CN="Ken Murchison";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=ACCEPTED:
    mailto:murch@example.com
   ATTENDEE;CN="John Doe";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT
    =NEEDS-ACTION;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;RSVP=TRUE;SCHEDULE-STATUS=
    1.2:mailto:jdoe@example.com
   END:VEVENT
   END:VCALENDAR

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3.2.  Example: Streamlined resource creation and retrieval via POST

   >> Request <<

   POST /murch/work;add-member/ HTTP/1.1
   Host: caldav.example.com
   Content-Type: text/calendar; charset=utf-8
   Content-Length: xxxx
   Prefer: return=representation

   BEGIN:VCALENDAR
   VERSION:2.0
   PRODID:-//Example Corp.//CalDAV Client//EN
   BEGIN:VEVENT
   UID:CD87465FA
   SEQUENCE:0
   DTSTAMP:20120602T185254Z
   DTSTART:20120602T160000Z
   DTEND:20120602T170000Z
   TRANSP:OPAQUE
   SUMMARY:Lunch
   ORGANIZER;CN="Ken Murchison":mailto:murch@example.com
   ATTENDEE;CN="Ken Murchison";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=ACCEPTED:
    mailto:murch@example.com
   ATTENDEE;CN="John Doe";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT
    =NEEDS-ACTION;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;RSVP=TRUE:mailto:jdoe@
    example.com
   END:VEVENT
   END:VCALENDAR

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   >> Response <<

   HTTP/1.1 201 Created
   Location: /murch/work/abc.ics
   Content-Type: text/calendar; charset=utf-8
   Content-Length: xxxx
   Location: /murch/work/abc.ics
   ETag: "nahduyejc"
   Schedule-Tag: "jfd84hgbcn"
   Preference-Applied: return=representation

   BEGIN:VCALENDAR
   VERSION:2.0
   PRODID:-//Example Corp.//CalDAV Server//EN
   BEGIN:VEVENT
   UID:CD87465FA
   SEQUENCE:0
   DTSTAMP:20120602T185300Z
   DTSTART:20120602T160000Z
   DTEND:20120602T170000Z
   TRANSP:OPAQUE
   SUMMARY:Lunch
   ORGANIZER;CN="Ken Murchison":mailto:murch@example.com
   ATTENDEE;CN="Ken Murchison";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT=ACCEPTED:
    mailto:murch@example.com
   ATTENDEE;CN="John Doe";CUTYPE=INDIVIDUAL;PARTSTAT
    =NEEDS-ACTION;ROLE=REQ-PARTICIPANT;RSVP=TRUE;SCHEDULE-STATUS=
    1.2:mailto:jdoe@example.com
   END:VEVENT
   END:VCALENDAR

4.  The "depth-noroot" Processing Preference

   The "depth-noroot" preference indicates that the client wishes for
   the server to exclude the target (root) resource from processing by
   the WebDAV method and only apply the WebDAV method to the target
   resource's subordinate resources.

   depth-noroot = "depth-noroot"

   This preference is only intended to be used with WebDAV methods whose
   definitions explicitly provide support for the Depth [RFC4918] header
   field.  Furthermore, this preference only applies when the Depth
   header field has a value of "1" or "infinity" (either implicitly or
   explicitly).

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   The "depth-noroot" preference MAY be used in conjunction with the
   "return=minimal" preference in a single request.

4.1.  Example: Typical PROPFIND request/response with Depth:1

   This example fetches the DAV:sync-token [RFC6578] property for a
   collection and its child collections.

   >> Request <<

   PROPFIND /murch/ HTTP/1.1
   Host: dav.example.com
   Content-Type: text/xml
   Content-Length: xxx
   Depth: 1

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
   <D:propfind xmlns:D="DAV:">
     <D:prop>
       <D:sync-token/>
     </D:prop>
   </D:propfind>

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   >> Response <<

 HTTP/1.1 207 Multi-Status
 Content-Type: application/xml; charset=utf-8
 Content-Length: xxxx

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
 <D:multistatus xmlns:D="DAV:">
   <D:response>
     <D:href>/murch/</D:href>
     <D:propstat>
       <D:prop>
         <D:sync-token>http://example.com/ns/sync/2216-2</D:sync-token>
       </D:prop>
       <D:status>HTTP/1.1 200 OK</D:status>
     </D:propstat>
   </D:response>
   <D:response>
     <D:href>/murch/work/</D:href>
     <D:propstat>
       <D:prop>
         <D:sync-token>http://example.com/ns/sync/2136-34</D:sync-token>
       </D:prop>
       <D:status>HTTP/1.1 200 OK</D:status>
     </D:propstat>
   </D:response>
   <D:response>
     <D:href>/murch/home/</D:href>
     <D:propstat>
       <D:prop>
         <D:sync-token>http://example.com/ns/sync/2141-19</D:sync-token>
       </D:prop>
       <D:status>HTTP/1.1 200 OK</D:status>
     </D:propstat>
   </D:response>
 </D:multistatus>

4.2.  Example: PROPFIND request/response with Depth:1 and Prefer:depth-
      noroot

   This example fetches the DAV:sync-token [RFC6578] property for just
   the child collections.

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   >> Request <<

   PROPFIND /murch/ HTTP/1.1
   Host: dav.example.com
   Content-Type: text/xml
   Content-Length: xxx
   Depth: 1
   Prefer: depth-noroot

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
   <D:propfind xmlns:D="DAV:">
     <D:prop>
       <D:sync-token/>
     </D:prop>
   </D:propfind>

   >> Response <<

 HTTP/1.1 207 Multi-Status
 Content-Type: application/xml; charset=utf-8
 Content-Length: xxxx
 Preference-Applied: depth-noroot
 Vary: Prefer

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
 <D:multistatus xmlns:D="DAV:">
   <D:response>
     <D:href>/murch/work/</D:href>
     <D:propstat>
       <D:prop>
         <D:sync-token>http://example.com/ns/sync/2136-34</D:sync-token>
       </D:prop>
       <D:status>HTTP/1.1 200 OK</D:status>
     </D:propstat>
   </D:response>
   <D:response>
     <D:href>/murch/home/</D:href>
     <D:propstat>
       <D:prop>
         <D:sync-token>http://example.com/ns/sync/2141-19</D:sync-token>
       </D:prop>
       <D:status>HTTP/1.1 200 OK</D:status>
     </D:propstat>
   </D:response>
 </D:multistatus>

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5.  Security Considerations

   No new security considerations are introduced by use of the Prefer
   header field with WebDAV request methods, beyond those discussed in
   [I-D.snell-http-prefer] and those already inherent in those methods.

6.  IANA Considerations

   The following preference is to be added to the Preferences Registry
   defined in [I-D.snell-http-prefer].

   o  Preference: depth-noroot
   o  Description: The "depth-noroot" preference indicates that the
      client wishes for the server to exclude the target (root) resource
      from processing by the WebDAV method and only apply the WebDAV
      method to the target resource's subordinate resources.
   o  Reference: Section 4
   o  Notes: This preference is only intended to be used with WebDAV
      methods whose definitions explicitly provide support for the
      "Depth" [RFC4918] header field.  Furthermore, this preference only
      applies when the "Depth" header field has a value of "1" or
      "infinity" (either implicitly or explicitly).

7.  Acknowledgements

   The author would like to thank the following individuals for
   contributing their ideas and support for writing this specification:
   Cyrus Daboo, Helge Hess, Andrew McMillan, and Arnaud Quillaud.

   The author would also like to thank the Calendaring and Scheduling
   Consortium for advice with this specification, and for organizing
   interoperability testing events to help refine it.

8.  References

8.1.  Normative References

   [I-D.ietf-httpbis-p2-semantics]
              Fielding, R. and J. Reschke, "Hypertext Transfer Protocol
              (HTTP/1.1): Semantics and Content",
              draft-ietf-httpbis-p2-semantics-21 (work in progress),
              October 2012.

   [I-D.snell-http-prefer]
              Snell, J., "Prefer Header for HTTP",

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              draft-snell-http-prefer-18 (work in progress),
              January 2013.

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.

   [RFC3253]  Clemm, G., Amsden, J., Ellison, T., Kaler, C., and J.
              Whitehead, "Versioning Extensions to WebDAV
              (Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning)", RFC 3253,
              March 2002.

   [RFC4918]  Dusseault, L., "HTTP Extensions for Web Distributed
              Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV)", RFC 4918, June 2007.

   [RFC5689]  Daboo, C., "Extended MKCOL for Web Distributed Authoring
              and Versioning (WebDAV)", RFC 5689, September 2009.

   [RFC5995]  Reschke, J., "Using POST to Add Members to Web Distributed
              Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) Collections", RFC 5995,
              September 2010.

8.2.  Informative References

   [MSDN.aa493854]
              Microsoft Developer Network, "PROPPATCH Method",
              June 2006.

   [MSDN.aa563501]
              Microsoft Developer Network, "Brief Header", June 2006.

   [MSDN.aa563950]
              Microsoft Developer Network, "Depth Header", June 2006.

   [MSDN.aa580336]
              Microsoft Developer Network, "PROPFIND Method", June 2006.

   [RFC4791]  Daboo, C., Desruisseaux, B., and L. Dusseault,
              "Calendaring Extensions to WebDAV (CalDAV)", RFC 4791,
              March 2007.

   [RFC6352]  Daboo, C., "CardDAV: vCard Extensions to Web Distributed
              Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV)", RFC 6352, August 2011.

   [RFC6578]  Daboo, C. and A. Quillaud, "Collection Synchronization for
              Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV)",
              RFC 6578, March 2012.

   [RFC6638]  Daboo, C. and B. Desruisseaux, "Scheduling Extensions to

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              CalDAV", RFC 6638, June 2012.

Appendix A.  The Brief and Extended Depth Request Header Fields

   This document is based heavily on the Brief [MSDN.aa563501] and
   extended Depth [MSDN.aa563950] request header fields.  The behaviors
   described in Section 2.1 and Section 2.3 are identical to those
   provided by the Brief header field when used with the PROPFIND
   [MSDN.aa580336] and PROPPATCH [MSDN.aa493854] methods respectively.
   The behavior described in Section 4 is identical to that provided by
   the "1,noroot" [MSDN.aa563950] and "infinity,noroot" [MSDN.aa563950]
   Depth header field values.

   Authors are encouraged to implement the Brief header field
   functionality in conjunction with this specification to further
   promote interoperability with products that use the Brief header
   field exclusively.

Appendix B.  Open Issues

   o  Is the Vary header field necesary in the PROPFIND/REPORT
      responses?  Are PROPFIND/REPORT results ever cached?

Appendix C.  Change Log (to be removed by RFC Editor before publication)

C.1.  Since -00

   o  Updated to comply with draft-snell-httpprefer-18.
   o  Reordered "Minimal REPORT Response" and "Minimal PROPPATH
      Response" sections.
   o  Added some explanatory text to examples.

C.2.  Since CalConnect XXIV

   o  Updated references.
   o  Stated that "depth-noroot" can be used in conjuction with
      "return=minimal".
   o  Added text mentioning that "depth-noroot" is based on the MSDN
      "1,noroot" and "infinity,noroot" Depth header values.
   o  The server behavior required when "return=minimal" would result in
      zero DAV:propstat elements has been changed

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      from:

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <D:multistatus xmlns:D="DAV:">
     <D:response>
       <D:href>/container/</D:href>
       <D:status>HTTP/1.1 200 OK</D:status>
     </D:response>
   </D:multistatus>

      to the slightly more verbose:

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
   <D:multistatus xmlns:D="DAV:">
     <D:response>
       <D:href>/container/</D:href>
       <D:propstat>
         <D:prop/>
         <D:status>HTTP/1.1 200 OK</D:status>
       </D:propstat>
     </D:response>
   </D:multistatus>

Author's Address

   Kenneth Murchison
   Carnegie Mellon University
   5000 Forbes Avenue
   Pittsburgh, PA  15213
   US

   Email: murch@andrew.cmu.edu

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