INTERNET-DRAFT C. Apple AT&T Laboratories Expires: April 15, 1998 15 October 1997 Directory Schema Listing File Name Syntax Status of this Memo This document is an Internet-Draft. Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-Drafts. 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.'' To learn the current status of any Internet-Draft, please check the ``1id-abstracts.txt'' listing contained in the Internet-Drafts Shadow Directories on ftp.is.co.za (Africa), nic.nordu.net (Europe), munnari.oz.au (Pacific Rim), ds.internic.net (US East Coast), or ftp.isi.edu (US West Coast). Abstract This memo specifies a file name syntax for use by the primary listing repository operator of the directory schema listing service. 1.0 Introduction The fastest route to interoperable directory services is through standard object classes and attribute types. There is a growing number of places where schema for Internet Directory Services and Internet Operations are being defined, with varying degrees of documentation. This plethora of schema is unavoidable in the light of the needs of different service communities, but it makes it difficult for directory service builders to find and make use of an existing schema that will serve their needs and increase interoperability with other systems. A listing service providing a single point of discovery for directory service schema will promote schema reuse, reduce duplication of effort, and thus promote directory service interoperability. Schema listings will be stored in multiple files based on the different types of information associated with a listing: meta data and one or more syntax Apple [Page 1] INTERNET-DRAFT Directory Schema Listing File Name Syntax 15 October 1997 specifications. 1.1 Scope A file name syntax specification intended for use during the initial release of a directory schema listing service is inside the scope of this document. 1.2 Terms and Definitions Information Object - a descriptive abstraction of some real-world object Schema - a collection of definitions for related information objects Listing Meta Data - characteristics that differentiate one schema from another; used to catalog schema Listing Content - a formal specification, using a single type of syntax, of a schema Schema Listing - the combination of listing meta data and all available syntax types of listing content for a particular schema The terms for specifying requirement level described in [RFC2119] are used in this document. 2.0 File Name Syntax All file names for listing meta data and listing content MUST comply with the following BNF [RFC822] grammar: file-name = "schema-" sequence "-" type ".txt" type = "metadata" / "ldap" / "whoispp" sequence = NZDIGIT 0* ; initialized to one (1) for first ; schema listing ; increments by one (1) for each ; successive schema listing published NZDIGIT = DIGIT = Other possible values of the type component of a file name MAY be defined in the future to accomodate schema listings with syntaxes other Apple [Page 2] INTERNET-DRAFT Directory Schema Listing File Name Syntax 15 October 1997 than those relevant to LDAP [LDAPV3] and WHOIS++ [RFC1835]. 3.0 Security Considerations There are no known security concerns associated with the file name syntax specified in this document. 4.0 Acknowledgements Leslie Daigle of Bunyip Information Systems reviewed and provided valuable comments on the syntax specification content in this document. 5.0 References [LDAPV3] M. Wahl, T. Howes, S. Kille, "Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (Version 3)", INTERNET-DRAFT , August 1997. [RFC822] D. Crocker, "Standard of the Format of ARPA-Internet Text Messages", STD 11, RFC 822, August 1982. [RFC1835] P. Deutsch, R. Schoultz, P. Faltstrom, C. Weider, "Architecture of the WHOIS++ Service", August, 1995. [RFC2119] S. Bradner, "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Level",March 1997. 6.0 Author's Address Chris Apple AT&T Laboratories 600 - 700 Mountain Ave., Room 2F-165 Murray Hill, NJ 07974-0636 USA E-Mail: capple@att.com Phone: +1 908 582 2409 FAX: +1 908 582 3296 This INTERNET-DRAFT expires on April 15, 1998. Apple [Page 3]