Internet DRAFT - draft-iab-rfc-plaintext
draft-iab-rfc-plaintext
Internet Architecture Board H. Flanagan
Internet-Draft RFC Editor
Intended status: Informational May 16, 2016
Expires: November 17, 2016
Requirements for Plain-Text RFCs
draft-iab-rfc-plaintext-03
Abstract
In 2013, after a great deal of community discussion, the decision was
made to shift from the plain-text, ASCII-only canonical format for
RFCs to XML as the canonical format with more human-readable formats
rendered from that XML. The high-level requirements that informed
this change were defined in RFC6949, "RFC Series Format Requirements
and Future Development." Plain text remains an important format for
many in the IETF community, and will be one of the publication
formats rendered from the XML. This draft documents the rendering
requirements for the plain-text RFC publication format. These
requirements do not apply to plain-text RFCs published before the
format transition.
Editorial Note (To be removed by the RFC Editor)
Discussion of this draft takes place on the rfc-interest mailing list
(rfc-interest@rfc-editor.org), which has its home page at
https://www.rfc-editor.org/mailman/listinfo/rfc-interest.
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 November 17, 2016.
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Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2016 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
described in the Simplified BSD License.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. Character Encoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3. Figures and Artwork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4. General Page Format Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.1. Headers and Footers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.2. Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.3. Line Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.4. Line Spacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.5. Hyphenation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
5. Elements from the xml2rfc v3 vocabulary . . . . . . . . . . . 6
6. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
7. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
8. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
9. Change Log for the Draft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
9.1. draft-iab-rfc-plaintext-02 to -03 . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
9.2. draft-iab-rfc-plantext-01 to -02 . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
9.3. draft-iab-rfc-plaintext-00 to -01 . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
9.4. draft-flanagan-plaintext-09 to draft-iab-rfc-plaintext-00 7
9.5. -08 to -09 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
9.6. -07 to -08 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
9.7. -06 to -07 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
9.8. -05 to -06 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
9.9. -04 to -05 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
9.10. -03 to -04 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
9.11. -02 to -03 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
9.12. -01 to -02 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
10. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
10.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
10.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Author's Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
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1. Introduction
In 2013, after a great deal of community discussion, the decision was
made to shift from the plain-text, ASCII-only canonical format for
RFCs to XML as the canonical format [XML-ANNOUNCE]. The high-level
requirements that informed this change were defined in [RFC6949],
"RFC Series Format Requirements and Future Development." Plain text
remains an important format for many in the IETF community, and will
be one of the publication formats rendered from the XML. This draft
documents the rendering requirements for the plain-text RFC
publication format. These requirements do not apply to plain-text
RFCs published before the format transition.
The Unicode Consortium defines 'plain text' as "Computer-encoded text
that consists only of a sequence of code points from a given
standard, with no other formatting or structural information. Plain
text interchange is commonly used between computer systems that do
not share higher-level protocols." [UNICODE-GLOSSARY] In other
words, plain-text files cannot include embedded character formatting
or style information. The actual character encoding, however, is not
limited to any particular sequence of code points.
A plain-text output for RFCs will continue to be required for the
foreseeable future. The process of converting XML2RFC version 2
(xml2rfc v2) into text documents is well understood [RFC7749]. We
plan to rely on the practice to date to inform the requirements for
converting XML2RFC version 3 (xml2rfc v3) to text [I-D.iab-xml2rfc].
This document calls out those requirements that are changed from v2
or otherwise deserve special attention, such as the requirements
around character encoding may be used, changes in the page layout,
changes in handling figures, artwork, and pagination. For more
details on general style, see "The RFC Style Guide." [RFC7322]
The following assumptions drive the changes in the plain-text output
for RFCs:
o The existing tools used by the RFC Editor and many members of the
author community to create the text file are complicated to change
and support; manual manipulation is often required for the final
output. In particular, handling page breaks and associated widows
and orphans for paginated output is tricky [WIDOWS].
o Additional publication formats--for example: PDF, HTML--will be
available that will offer features such as markup, pretty
printing, etc.
o There is an extensive tool chain in existence among the community
to work with plain-text documents. Similar functionality may be
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possible with other publication formats, but the workflow that
uses the existing tool chain should be supported as much as is
considered practical.
Where practical, the original guidance for the structure of a plain-
text RFC has been kept, such as with line lengths, lines per page,
etc. [INS2AUTH] Other publication formats, such as HTML and PDF,
will include additional features that will not be present in the
plain text (e.g., paragraph numbering, typographical emphasis).
The details described in this document are expected to change based
on experience gained in implementing the RFC production center's
toolset. Revised documents will be published capturing those changes
as the toolset is completed. Other implementers must not expect
those changes to remain backwards-compatible with the details
described this document.
2. Character Encoding
Plain-text files for RFCs will use the UTF-8 [RFC3629] character
encoding. That said, the use of non-ASCII characters will be only
allowed in a limited and controlled fashion.
Many elements within the xml2rfc v3 vocabulary have an attribute for
the ASCII equivalent to a non-ASCII character string. The ASCII
equivalent will be rendered within the plain-text as per the guidance
in "The Use of Non-ASCII Characters in RFCs" [I-D.iab-rfc-nonascii].
Please view the PDF version of that draft.
The plain-text file will include a byte order mark (BOM) to provide
text reader software with in-band information about the character
encoding scheme used.
3. Figures and Artwork
Artwork, such as network diagrams or performance graphs, must be
tagged by the XML <artwork> element (see Section 2.5 of "The
'XML2RFC' version 3 Vocabulary" [I-D.iab-xml2rfc]. Where this
artwork is comprised of an ASCII art diagram, it must be tagged as
'type=ascii-art'. The plain-text format will only include ASCII art.
If the canonical format includes figures or artwork other than ASCII-
art, then the plain-text output must include a pointer to the
relevant figure in the HTML version of the RFC to allow readers to
see the relevant artwork.
Authors who wish to include ASCII-art for the plain-text file and SVG
art for the other outputs may do so, but they should be aware of the
potential for confusion to individuals reading the RFC with two
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unique diagrams describing the same content. If there is conflicting
information between the publication formats, please review the XML
and PDF files to resolve the conflict.
4. General Page Format Layout
One plain-text output will be created during the publication process
with basic pagination that includes a form feed instruction every 58
lines at most, including blank lines. Instructions or a script will
be made available by and for the community to strip out pagination as
per individual preference.
4.1. Headers and Footers
The front matter on the front page (such as the RFC number and
category), and the back matter on the last page (the author's full
names and contact information) will continue with the structure
described in RFC 5741 [RFC5741], "RFC Streams, Headers, and
Boilerplates". Running headers and footers will no longer be added.
4.2. Table of Contents
In order to retain similar content wherever possible between the
various publication formats, the Table of Contents will list section
and subsection numbers and titles, but will not include page numbers.
4.3. Line Width
Each line must be limited to 72 characters followed by the character
sequence that denotes an end-of-line (EOL). The EOL sequence used by
the RFC Editor will be the two-character sequence CR LF (Carriage
Return followed by Line Feed). This limit includes any left-side
indentation.
Note that the EOL used by the RFC Editor may change with different
transports and as displayed in different display software.
4.4. Line Spacing
Use single-spaced text within a paragraph, and one blank line between
paragraphs.
4.5. Hyphenation
Hyphenated words (e.g., "Internet-Draft"), should not be split across
successive lines.
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5. Elements from the xml2rfc v3 vocabulary
The plain-text formatter uses the relevant tags from the xml2rfcv3
source file to build a document conforming to the layout and
structure described by the full RFC Style Guide (including the
updates in the web portion of the Style Guide). [STYLEWEB]
6. Acknowledgements
This draft owes a great deal of thanks to the efforts of the RFC
Format Design Team: Nevil Brownlee, Tony Hansen, Joe Hildebrand, Paul
Hoffman, Ted Lemon, Julian Reschke, Adam Roach, Alice Russo, Robert
Sparks, and David Thaler.
7. IANA Considerations
This memo includes no requests to IANA.
8. Security Considerations
The requirements of the plaintext format involve no significant
security considerations. As part of the larger format project,
however, unintended changes to the text as a result of the
transformation from the base XML file could in turn corrupt a
standard, practice or critical piece of information about a protocol.
9. Change Log for the Draft
9.1. draft-iab-rfc-plaintext-02 to -03
Figures and Artwork: clarified the state specifically around ASCII
art
Elements from the xml2rfc v3: removed confusing sentence that called
out particular elements for creation of front/back matter
9.2. draft-iab-rfc-plantext-01 to -02
nits fixed
9.3. draft-iab-rfc-plaintext-00 to -01
Introduction: removed sentence restricting this format to RFCs only;
clarified that plaintext will be based on existing practice (except
where otherwise called out)
Elements from the xml2rfc v3 vocabulary: clarified what xml2rfcv3
tags will render the front and back matter of a document.
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9.4. draft-flanagan-plaintext-09 to draft-iab-rfc-plaintext-00
Figures and Artwork, Character Encoding: included additional detail
regarding how these items will be flagged within the XML.
9.5. -08 to -09
Security Considerations: added text
9.6. -07 to -08
Change log: forgot to update the change log for the -06 to -07
changes.
9.7. -06 to -07
Introduction: updated to state that this document does not require
backwards compatibility.
9.8. -05 to -06
Abstract: Changed "cut over" to "transition"
Elements from xml2rfc v3: emphasized that doc structure is guided by
the RFC Style Guide
9.9. -04 to -05
Abstract and Introduction: Revised for better readability; clarified
the definition and implications of the term "plain-text"
General Page Format Layout: Added explicit EOL detail and added some
clarification regarding pagination
Elements from the xml2rfc v3 vocabulary: section added
9.10. -03 to -04
Change Log for the Draft: forgot to complete the change log between
the various revisions of the draft
9.11. -02 to -03
Abstract: expanded
Introduction: adjusted language of assumptions
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Figures and Artwork: adjusted to indicate where to go in case
information for the images conflicts between different formats
General Page Layout: switched back to producing one basic paginated
format, with an expectation of instructions and/or a script to create
local, unpaginated copies for individual use.
9.12. -01 to -02
Introduction: added pointer to original page layout information
Character encoding: clarified language around encoding and use of
BOMs
General Page Format Layout: removed increased line width requirement;
added sections on Line Width, Line Spacing, and Hyphenation (pulled
from 2223-bis
10. References
10.1. Normative References
[I-D.iab-rfc-nonascii]
Flanagan, H., "The Use of Non-ASCII Characters in RFCs",
draft-iab-rfc-nonascii-02 (work in progress), April 2016.
[I-D.iab-xml2rfc]
Hoffman, P., "The "xml2rfc" version 3 Vocabulary", draft-
iab-xml2rfc-03 (work in progress), February 2016.
[RFC3629] Yergeau, F., "UTF-8, a transformation format of ISO
10646", STD 63, RFC 3629, DOI 10.17487/RFC3629, November
2003, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3629>.
[RFC5741] Daigle, L., Ed., Kolkman, O., Ed., and IAB, "RFC Streams,
Headers, and Boilerplates", RFC 5741,
DOI 10.17487/RFC5741, December 2009,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5741>.
[RFC6949] Flanagan, H. and N. Brownlee, "RFC Series Format
Requirements and Future Development", RFC 6949,
DOI 10.17487/RFC6949, May 2013,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6949>.
[RFC7322] Flanagan, H. and S. Ginoza, "RFC Style Guide", RFC 7322,
DOI 10.17487/RFC7322, September 2014,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7322>.
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[RFC7749] Reschke, J., "The "xml2rfc" Version 2 Vocabulary",
RFC 7749, DOI 10.17487/RFC7749, February 2016,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7749>.
10.2. Informative References
[INS2AUTH]
RFC Editor, "Instructions to Request for Comments (RFC)
Authors", August 2004, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc-
editor/instructions2authors.txt>.
[STYLEWEB]
RFC Editor, "Web Portion of the Style Guide", May 2015,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/styleguide/part2/>.
[UNICODE-GLOSSARY]
The Unicode Consortium, "Glossary of Unicode Terms", 2014,
<http://www.unicode.org/glossary/>.
[WIDOWS] Wikipedia, "Widows and orphans", October 2014,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widows_and_orphans>.
[XML-ANNOUNCE]
Flanagan, H., "Subject: Direction of the RFC Format
Development effort", May 2013, <http://www.rfc-
editor.org/pipermail/rfc-interest/2013-May/005584.html >.
Author's Address
Heather Flanagan
RFC Editor
Email: rse@rfc-editor.org
URI: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2647-2220
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