219 lines
6.9 KiB
Plaintext
219 lines
6.9 KiB
Plaintext
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NETWORK WORKING GROUP Richard W. Watson
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Request for Comments #196 SRI-ARC
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NIC 7141 July 20, 1971
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Categories: A.5, D.7
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Obsoletes: none
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Updates: none
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A MAIL BOX PROTOCOL
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The purpose of this protocol is to provide at each site a
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standard mechanism to receive sequential files for immediate or
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deferred printing or other uses. The files for deferred printing
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would probably be stored on intermediate disk files, although
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details of how a file is handled, stored, manipulated, or printed
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at a site are not the concern of this protocol.
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It is also assumed that there would be a program at the sending
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site which sends the file in the format given below with the
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optional control codes when appropriate. This program could
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probably be accessed as a subcommand of the Telnet program.
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The motivation for developing this protocol is the Network
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Information Center's (NIC) need to be able to deliver messages
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and documents to remote sites, and to be able to receive
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documents for cataloging, redistribution, and other purposes from
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remote site without having to know the details of path name
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conventions and file system commands at each site. Multiple mail
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boxes (128) are allowed at each site and are identified as
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described below. The default is mail box number 0 for use with
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the standard mail printer defined below.
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A mail box, as we see it, is simply a sequential file to which
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messages and documents are appended, separated by an appropriate
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site dependent code.
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Although this protocol will enable people to transmit messages
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directly without going through the NIC, we want to encourage
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people to use the NIC as much as possible, so that dialogue will
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be recorded, cataloged and available for viewing online at NIC,
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using the powerful facilities of the ARC on Line System (NLS).
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The Mail Box Protocol will use established network conventions,
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specifically the Network Control Program, Initial Connection
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Protocol, and Data Transfer Protocol, NIC 7104.
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The normal transmission is to be full 7-bit ASCII in 8-bit bytes,
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the high order bit set to zero.
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[Page 1]
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A MAIL BOX PROTOCOL RFC 196 NIC 7141
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The standard receiving mail printer for mail box number 0 is
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assumed to have a print line 72 characters wide, and a page of 66
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lines. The new line convention will be carriage return (X'OD')
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followed by line feed (X'OA') as per the Telnet Protocol RFC 158,
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NIC 6768. The standard printer will accept form feed (X'OC') as
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meaning move paper to the top of a new page.
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It is the senders responsibility to control the length of the
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print line and page. If more than 72 characters per line are sent
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or if more than 66 lines are sent without a form feed, than the
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receiving site can handle these situations as appropriate for
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them. These conventions can be changed by control codes as
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described below.
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A message or document being sent to any mail box is a string of 8
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bit bytes.
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At the head of the message or document sent to mail box number 0
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there is to be an initial address string terminated by a form
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feed. This address string is to contain the sender's name and
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address, and the receiver's name and address formatted in some
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reasonable, easy-to-read form for a clerk to read and distribute.
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Comments could also be included in the address string.
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The format of information in mail boxes other than mail box
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number 0 is not explicitly defined by this protocol.
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Initial Connection
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Initial Connection will be as per the Official Initial
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Connection Protocol, Documents #2, NIC 7101, to a standard
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socket not yet assigned. A candidate socket number would be
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socket #5.
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Data Transmission
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Data Transmission will be as per the Data Transfer Protocol,
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RFC 171, NIC 6793. That is, there will be a Modes Available
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handshake, and then transmission of special control
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information and data. A message or document is defined to be a
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block of data. Control information is to be global. That is,
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once a control mode is set it is assumed to apply during the
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[Page 2]
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A MAIL BOX PROTOCOL RFC 196 NIC 7141
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life of the connection unless explicitly changed. More than
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one document may be sent during the life of the connection
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unless the infinite bit stream mode is used. In the latter
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case there will be one message or document per connection. A
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reasonable convention for control information sent using the
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infinite bit stream mode seems to be to assume that is applies
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only to the next data stream connection from the host which
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sent the control stream.
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Control Information
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The sending process should be capable of allowing the user to
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indicate the control codes associated with the transmission of
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a mail item. The control codes can be used with any mail box
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number.
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Mail Box Number
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A site may find, as is the case at NIC, that it is useful
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to have more than one receiving mail box, each to be
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associated with a different process.
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The mail box number for material to be printed by the
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standard mail printer is mail box number 0 and is used by
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default.
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Code X'DO'
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Meaning: A seven bit binary number in an eight bit field
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with the high order bit set to zero is to follow
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indicating the receiving mail box number.
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Transmission Code Type
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The default code type is 7-bit ASCII in an 8 bit field,
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high order bit to zero.
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'Code X'AO'
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Meaning: A Data Type signal indicating that the
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transmission code is 7-bit ASCII in an 8-bit field, high
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order set to zero.
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[Page 3]
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A MAIL BOX PROTOCOL RFC 196 NIC 7141
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Code X'A1'
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Meaning: Transparency, i.e. a stream of 8 bit bytes.
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Code X'A2'
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Meaning: EBCDIC
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Other character codes could be added in the future.
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Printer Control Codes
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The default settings are a print line of 72 characters and
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a print page of 66 lines.
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Code X'D1
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Meaning: Set line width to 72 characters.
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Code X'D2'
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Meaning: Use the full width of your printer.
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Code X'D3'
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Meaning: Set page size to 66 lines.
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Code X'D4'
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Meaning: Set page size to infinite.
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Other virtual printer control codes can be added in the
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future.
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Other classes of control codes can be added as the need
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arises.
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[ This RFC was put into machine readable form for entry ]
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[ into the online RFC archives by BBN Corp. under the ]
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[ direction of Alex McKenzie. 12/96 ]
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[Page 4]
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