IMAP4 Extension to SEARCH Command for Controlling What Kind of Information Is Returned
RFC 4731
Document | Type |
RFC - Proposed Standard
(November 2006; No errata)
Was draft-melnikov-imap-search-ret (individual in app area)
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Authors | Dave Cridland , Alexey Melnikov | ||
Last updated | 2015-10-14 | ||
Stream | IETF | ||
Formats | plain text html pdf htmlized bibtex | ||
Reviews | |||
Stream | WG state | (None) | |
Document shepherd | No shepherd assigned | ||
IESG | IESG state | RFC 4731 (Proposed Standard) | |
Consensus Boilerplate | Unknown | ||
Telechat date | |||
Responsible AD | Ted Hardie | ||
Send notices to | dave.cridland@clues.ltd.uk |
Network Working Group A. Melnikov Request for Comments: 4731 Isode Ltd Category: Standards Track D. Cridland Inventure Systems Ltd November 2006 IMAP4 Extension to SEARCH Command for Controlling What Kind of Information Is Returned Status of This Memo This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited. Copyright Notice Copyright (C) The IETF Trust (2006). Abstract This document extends IMAP (RFC 3501) SEARCH and UID SEARCH commands with several result options, which can control what kind of information is returned. The following result options are defined: minimal value, maximal value, all found messages, and number of found messages. Table of Contents 1. Introduction ....................................................2 2. Conventions Used in This Document ...............................2 3. IMAP Protocol Changes ...........................................2 3.1. New SEARCH/UID SEARCH Result Options .......................2 3.2. Interaction with CONDSTORE extension .......................4 4. Formal Syntax ...................................................5 5. Security Considerations .........................................6 6. IANA Considerations .............................................6 7. Normative References ............................................6 8. Acknowledgments .................................................6 Melnikov & Cridland Standards Track [Page 1] RFC 4731 IMAP4 Extension to SEARCH November 2006 1. Introduction [IMAPABNF] extended SEARCH and UID SEARCH commands with result specifiers (also known as result options), which can control what kind of information is returned. A server advertising the ESEARCH capability supports the following result options: minimal value, maximal value, all found messages, and number of found messages. These result options allow clients to get SEARCH results in more convenient forms, while also saving bandwidth required to transport the results, for example, by finding the first unseen message or returning the number of unseen or deleted messages. Also, when a single MIN or a single MAX result option is specified, servers can optimize execution of SEARCHes. 2. Conventions Used in This Document In examples, "C:" and "S:" indicate lines sent by the client and server, respectively. 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 RFC 2119 [KEYWORDS]. 3. IMAP Protocol Changes 3.1. New SEARCH/UID SEARCH Result Options The SEARCH/UID SEARCH commands are extended to allow for the following result options: MIN Return the lowest message number/UID that satisfies the SEARCH criteria. If the SEARCH results in no matches, the server MUST NOT include the MIN result option in the ESEARCH response; however, it still MUST send the ESEARCH response. MAX Return the highest message number/UID that satisfies the SEARCH criteria. If the SEARCH results in no matches, the server MUST NOT include the MAX result option in the ESEARCH response; however, it still MUST send the ESEARCH response. Melnikov & Cridland Standards Track [Page 2] RFC 4731 IMAP4 Extension to SEARCH November 2006 ALL Return all message numbers/UIDs that satisfy the SEARCH criteria. Unlike regular (unextended) SEARCH, the messages are always returned using the sequence-set syntax. A sequence-set representation may be more compact and can be used as is in a subsequent command that accepts sequence-set. Note, the client MUST NOT assume that messages/UIDs will be listed in any particular order. If the SEARCH results in no matches, the server MUST NOT include the ALL result option in the ESEARCH response; however, it still MUST send the ESEARCH response. COUNT Return number of the messages that satisfy the SEARCH criteria. This result option MUST always be included in the ESEARCH response. If one or more result options described above are specified, theShow full document text