Internet Engineering Task Force A. Tamas
Internet-Draft B. Phister, Ed.
Intended status: Informational J-E. Rodriguez
Expires: October 13, 2018 OP3FT
April 11, 2018

The 'leaptofrogans' URI Scheme
draft-op3ft-leaptofrogans-uri-scheme-00

Abstract

This document describes the 'leaptofrogans' Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) scheme, which enables applications to launch the Frogans Player software on a given Frogans site. Frogans is a medium for publishing content on the Internet, defined as a generic software layer on the Internet. Frogans Player is browsing software enabling end users to navigate Frogans sites.

Status of This Memo

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This Internet-Draft will expire on October 13, 2018.

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Table of Contents

1. Background Information

1.1. About Frogans

Frogans is a medium for publishing content on the Internet. From its inception in 1999, the medium was designed as a generic software layer running on top of the original Internet infrastructure, i.e. the TCP and IP protocols and the Domain Name System (DNS), alongside other existing layers such as E-mail or the World Wide Web.

As a medium, Frogans is not meant for publishing Web sites, but Frogans sites, a kind of site founded upon a different format, enabling a different kind of communication between end users and content publishers.

Frogans is intended to be complementary to the Web, and not to replace it. This is just like instant messaging, which was not intended to and did not replace E-mail.

Compared to the Web, Frogans suggests visual communication over text, focused content over long pages, and natural interaction over complex user interfaces (see [FSDL] Section 1.4 "Frogans sites and Web sites").

The technology making up the medium, i.e. the Frogans technology, includes multiple components such as:

1.2. About the OP3FT

Created in 2012, the OP3FT [OP3FT] is a non-profit organization whose mission is to hold, promote, protect and ensure the progress of the Frogans technology, in the form of an open standard, available to all, free of charge.

As part of its mission, the OP3FT develops and releases technical specifications, reference implementations (including Frogans Player), and various policies which define the rights and responsibilities of all stakeholders involved in the technology worldwide.

2. The Need for a New URI Scheme and its Purpose

Generic software layers running on top of the Internet offer mechanisms enabling end users to easily go from one layer to another, in both directions. This is commonly achieved using URIs [RFC3986].

As regards the Frogans layer, in the outgoing direction, FSDL enables Frogans site publishers to include in their Frogans sites way-out buttons enabling end users to launch their usual Web browser on a given Web page, or to launch their usual E-mail client with a given E-mail address. This is achieved by associating a URI with each of those way-out buttons (the scheme of the URI can be either 'http', 'https', or 'mailto').

Conversely, in the incoming direction, Web site publishers should have a means to include in their Web pages links enabling users to launch Frogans Player on a given Frogans site. Likewise, people writing E-mail messages should have a means to include in their messages links enabling recipients to launch Frogans Player on a given Frogans site. More generally, any end-user application should be able to launch Frogans Player on a given Frogans site.

In order to achieve this, a new URI scheme, containing a Frogans address, is needed.

Given that Frogans as a medium does not allow deep linking for Frogans sites, there is no need for additional information in the new URI scheme other than the Frogans address.

3. The Choice of the Scheme Name

The name chosen for the new URI scheme is 'leaptofrogans'.

This scheme name was chosen in compliance with [RFC7595] Section 3.8 "Scheme Name Considerations".

As regards the length of the scheme name, shorter names were discussed but were not chosen:

4. Scheme Syntax

Frogans addresses [IFAP] are international identifiers made up of Unicode characters, so the new scheme will be also useful as an IRI [RFC3987]. As a result, in compliance with [RFC7595] Section 1.1. "URIs and IRIs", the corresponding URI syntax is defined and the IRI usage follows the rules and transformations defined in [RFC3987].

4.1. URI Scheme

The syntax for the 'leaptofrogans' URI scheme is:

where mapped-frogans-address is a Frogans address compliant with [IFAP] and encoded in UTF-8 [UTF-8], which is mapped according to the method specified in [RFC3987] Section 3.1. "Mapping of IRIs to URIs".

4.2. IRI Usage and Encoding

The syntax for IRIs corresponding to the 'leaptofrogans' URI scheme is:

where frogans-address is a Frogans address compliant with [IFAP] and encoded in UTF-8 [UTF-8].

Given that Frogans addresses cannot contain U+0025 PERCENT SIGN characters, the conversion specified in [RFC3987] of an original IRI to a URI (Section 3.1. "Mapping of IRIs to URIs"), then back to an IRI (Section 3.2. "Converting URIs to IRIs") will result exactly in the original IRI.

End-user applications can use either a URI or an IRI based on the 'leaptofrogans' URI scheme when launching Frogans Player on a given Frogans site. This is because Frogans Player interprets both URIs and IRIs based on the 'leaptofrogans' URI scheme. If the U+0025 PERCENT SIGN character is found in the string, then the string is interpreted as a URI, otherwise it is interpreted as an IRI.

5. Rights to Use the Trademark

In order to enable all users worldwide to use the Frogans technology in a clearly defined, secure and perpetual environment, the OP3FT Bylaws [BYLAWS] provide for the implementation of an intellectual property policy.

In this context, the OP3FT is the holder of the "Frogans" trademark which is registered in France, the United States, and other countries around the world.

However, this does not cause any problems with rights to use the scheme name in IETF specifications and Internet protocols because, in compliance with [RFC5378] Section 3.4. "Rights to Use Trademarks", the OP3FT hereby grants to the IETF Trust a perpetual license to use the "Frogans" trademark as part of the scheme name.

6. IANA Considerations

[RFC Editor: Please replace 'xxxx' with assigned RFC number before publication]

In accordance with the guidelines and registration procedures for new URI schemes [RFC7595], this section provides the information needed to register the 'leaptofrogans' URI scheme.

Scheme name: 'leaptofrogans'

Status: permanent

URI Scheme Syntax: See Section 4 of RFC xxxx.

URI Scheme semantics: See Section 2 of RFC xxxx.

Encoding Considerations: See Section 4 of RFC xxxx.

Applications/protocols that use this scheme name: Frogans Player as well as any end-user application (such as a Web browser or an E-mail client) wishing to launch Frogans Player on a given Frogans site.

Interoperability Considerations: There are no known interoperability concerns related to use of the 'leaptofrogans' URI scheme.

Security Considerations: See Section 7 of RFC xxxx.

Contact: Benjamin Phister mailto:benjamin.phister@op3ft.org

Change controller: Alexis Tamas mailto:alexis.tamas@op3ft.org

References: RFC xxxx.

7. Security Considerations

The author of a Web page can create a link where the true nature of the URI is hidden in the link text which is visible to end users. The same applies for an E-mail message as well as for other end-user applications.

As concerns URIs based on the 'leaptofrogans' URI scheme, this risk of confusion is mitigated because Frogans Player always displays the real Frogans address contained in the URI, and requires confirmation by the end user before opening the corresponding Frogans site.

Also, an end-user application may provide a URI containing a Frogans address that is not valid. This does not represent a risk because, before asking for confirmation by the end user, Frogans Player always verifies that the Frogans address contained in the URI is compliant with [IFAP], and raises an error if the Frogans address is not compliant.

8. References

8.1. Normative References

[IFAP] OP3FT, "International Frogans Address Pattern", Version 1.1, ISBN 978-2-37313-000-3, November 2014.
[RFC3986] Berners-Lee, T., Fielding, R. and L. Masinter, "Uniform Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax", STD 66, RFC 3986, DOI 10.17487/RFC3986, January 2005.
[RFC3987] Duerst, M. and M. Suignard, "Internationalized Resource Identifiers (IRIs)", RFC 3987, DOI 10.17487/RFC3987, January 2005.
[RFC5378] Bradner, S. and J. Contreras, "Rights Contributors Provide to the IETF Trust", BCP 78, RFC 5378, DOI 10.17487/RFC5378, November 2008.
[RFC7595] Thaler, D., Hansen, T. and T. Hardie, "Guidelines and Registration Procedures for URI Schemes", BCP 35, RFC 7595, DOI 10.17487/RFC7595, June 2015.
[UTF-8] Yergeau, F., "UTF-8, a transformation format of ISO 10646", STD 63, RFC 3629, DOI 10.17487/RFC3629, November 2003.

8.2. Informative References

[BYLAWS] OP3FT, "Bylaws of the French Fonds de Dotation OP3FT, Organization for the Promotion, Protection and Progress of Frogans Technology", March 2012.
[FSDL] OP3FT, "Frogans Slide Description Language - 3.0", Preliminary Draft 6, January 2018.
[OP3FT] OP3FT, "Organization for the Promotion, Protection and Progress of Frogans Technology"

Authors' Addresses

Alexis Tamas OP3FT 6, Square Mozart 75016 Paris, France Phone: +33 1 53 92 00 40 EMail: alexis.tamas@op3ft.org
Benjamin Phister (editor) OP3FT 6, Square Mozart 75016 Paris, France Phone: +33 1 53 92 00 40 EMail: benjamin.phister@op3ft.org
Jean-Emmanuel Rodriguez OP3FT 6, Square Mozart 75016 Paris, France Phone: +33 1 53 92 00 40 EMail: jean-emmanuel.rodriguez@op3ft.org