| draft-reschke-http-jfv-04.txt | draft-reschke-http-jfv-05.txt | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Network Working Group J. Reschke | Network Working Group J. Reschke | |||
| Internet-Draft greenbytes | Internet-Draft greenbytes | |||
| Intended status: Standards Track June 23, 2016 | Intended status: Standards Track December 16, 2016 | |||
| Expires: December 25, 2016 | Expires: June 19, 2017 | |||
| A JSON Encoding for HTTP Header Field Values | A JSON Encoding for HTTP Header Field Values | |||
| draft-reschke-http-jfv-04 | draft-reschke-http-jfv-05 | |||
| Abstract | Abstract | |||
| This document establishes a convention for use of JSON-encoded field | This document establishes a convention for use of JSON-encoded field | |||
| values in HTTP header fields. | values in HTTP header fields. | |||
| Editorial Note (To be removed by RFC Editor before publication) | Editorial Note (To be removed by RFC Editor before publication) | |||
| Distribution of this document is unlimited. Although this is not a | Distribution of this document is unlimited. Although this is not a | |||
| work item of the HTTPbis Working Group, comments should be sent to | work item of the HTTPbis Working Group, comments should be sent to | |||
| the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) mailing list at | the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) mailing list at | |||
| ietf-http-wg@w3.org [1], which may be joined by sending a message | ietf-http-wg@w3.org [1], which may be joined by sending a message | |||
| with subject "subscribe" to ietf-http-wg-request@w3.org [2]. | with subject "subscribe" to ietf-http-wg-request@w3.org [2]. | |||
| Discussions of the HTTPbis Working Group are archived at | Discussions of the HTTPbis Working Group are archived at | |||
| <http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/ietf-http-wg/>. | <http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/ietf-http-wg/>. | |||
| XML versions and latest edits for this document are available from | XML versions and latest edits for this document are available from | |||
| <http://greenbytes.de/tech/webdav/#draft-reschke-http-jfv>. | <http://greenbytes.de/tech/webdav/#draft-reschke-http-jfv>. | |||
| The changes in this draft are summarized in Appendix A.4. | The changes in this draft are summarized in Appendix C.5. | |||
| Status of This Memo | Status of This Memo | |||
| This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the | This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the | |||
| provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79. | provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79. | |||
| Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering | Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering | |||
| Task Force (IETF). Note that other groups may also distribute | Task Force (IETF). Note that other groups may also distribute | |||
| working documents as Internet-Drafts. The list of current Internet- | working documents as Internet-Drafts. The list of current Internet- | |||
| Drafts is at http://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/. | Drafts is at http://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/. | |||
| Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months | Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months | |||
| and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any | and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any | |||
| time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference | time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference | |||
| material or to cite them other than as "work in progress." | material or to cite them other than as "work in progress." | |||
| This Internet-Draft will expire on December 25, 2016. | This Internet-Draft will expire on June 19, 2017. | |||
| Copyright Notice | Copyright Notice | |||
| Copyright (c) 2016 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the | Copyright (c) 2016 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the | |||
| document authors. All rights reserved. | document authors. All rights reserved. | |||
| This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal | This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal | |||
| Provisions Relating to IETF Documents | Provisions Relating to IETF Documents | |||
| (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of | (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of | |||
| publication of this document. Please review these documents | publication of this document. Please review these documents | |||
| carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect | carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect | |||
| skipping to change at page 2, line 24 ¶ | skipping to change at page 2, line 24 ¶ | |||
| the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as | the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as | |||
| described in the Simplified BSD License. | described in the Simplified BSD License. | |||
| Table of Contents | Table of Contents | |||
| 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 | 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 | |||
| 2. Data Model and Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 | 2. Data Model and Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 | |||
| 3. Sender Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 | 3. Sender Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 | |||
| 4. Recipient Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 | 4. Recipient Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 | |||
| 5. Using this Format in Header Field Definitions . . . . . . . . 5 | 5. Using this Format in Header Field Definitions . . . . . . . . 5 | |||
| 6. Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 | 6. Deployment Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 | |||
| 6.1. Content-Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 | 7. Interoperability Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 | |||
| 6.2. Content-Disposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 | 7.1. Encoding and Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 | |||
| 6.3. WWW-Authenticate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 | 7.2. Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 | |||
| 7. Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 | 7.3. Object Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 | |||
| 8. Deployment Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 | 8. Internationalization Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 | |||
| 9. Internationalization Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 | 9. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 | |||
| 10. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 | 10. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 | |||
| 11. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 | 10.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 | |||
| 11.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 | 10.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 | |||
| 11.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 | Appendix A. Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 | |||
| Appendix A. Change Log (to be removed by RFC Editor before | A.1. Content-Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 | |||
| publication) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 | A.2. Content-Disposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 | |||
| A.1. Since draft-reschke-http-jfv-00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 | A.3. WWW-Authenticate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 | |||
| A.2. Since draft-reschke-http-jfv-01 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 | A.4. Accept-Encoding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 | |||
| A.3. Since draft-reschke-http-jfv-02 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 | Appendix B. Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 | |||
| A.4. Since draft-reschke-http-jfv-03 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 | Appendix C. Change Log (to be removed by RFC Editor before | |||
| Appendix B. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 | publication) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 | |||
| C.1. Since draft-reschke-http-jfv-00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 | ||||
| C.2. Since draft-reschke-http-jfv-01 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 | ||||
| C.3. Since draft-reschke-http-jfv-02 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 | ||||
| C.4. Since draft-reschke-http-jfv-03 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 | ||||
| C.5. Since draft-reschke-http-jfv-04 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 | ||||
| C.5.1. Since draft-ietf-httpbis-jfv-00 . . . . . . . . . . . 13 | ||||
| C.5.2. Since draft-ietf-httpbis-jfv-01 . . . . . . . . . . . 13 | ||||
| C.5.3. Since draft-ietf-httpbis-jfv-02 . . . . . . . . . . . 13 | ||||
| Appendix D. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 | ||||
| 1. Introduction | 1. Introduction | |||
| Defining syntax for new HTTP header fields ([RFC7230], Section 3.2) | Defining syntax for new HTTP header fields ([RFC7230], Section 3.2) | |||
| is non-trivial. Among the commonly encountered problems are: | is non-trivial. Among the commonly encountered problems are: | |||
| o There is no common syntax for complex field values. Several well- | o There is no common syntax for complex field values. Several well- | |||
| known header fields do use a similarly looking syntax, but it is | known header fields do use a similarly looking syntax, but it is | |||
| hard to write generic parsing code that will both correctly handle | hard to write generic parsing code that will both correctly handle | |||
| valid field values but also reject invalid ones. | valid field values but also reject invalid ones. | |||
| skipping to change at page 4, line 29 ¶ | skipping to change at page 4, line 29 ¶ | |||
| LF = %x0A ; line feed | LF = %x0A ; line feed | |||
| SP = %x20 ; space | SP = %x20 ; space | |||
| VCHAR = %x21-7E ; visible (printing) characters | VCHAR = %x21-7E ; visible (printing) characters | |||
| Characters in JSON strings that are not allowed or discouraged in | Characters in JSON strings that are not allowed or discouraged in | |||
| HTTP header field values -- that is, not in the "VCHAR" definition -- | HTTP header field values -- that is, not in the "VCHAR" definition -- | |||
| need to be represented using JSON's "backslash" escaping mechanism | need to be represented using JSON's "backslash" escaping mechanism | |||
| ([RFC7159], Section 7). | ([RFC7159], Section 7). | |||
| The control characters CR, LF, and HTAB do not appear inside JSON | The control characters CR, LF, and HTAB do not appear inside JSON | |||
| strings, but can be used outside (line breaks, indentation etc). | strings, but can be used outside (line breaks, indentation etc.). | |||
| These characters need to be either stripped or replaced by space | These characters need to be either stripped or replaced by space | |||
| characters (ABNF "SP"). | characters (ABNF "SP"). | |||
| Formally, using the HTTP specification's ABNF extensions defined in | Formally, using the HTTP specification's ABNF extensions defined in | |||
| Section 7 of [RFC7230]: | Section 7 of [RFC7230]: | |||
| json-field-value = #json-field-item | json-field-value = #json-field-item | |||
| json-field-item = JSON-Text | json-field-item = JSON-Text | |||
| ; see [RFC7159], Section 2, | ; see [RFC7159], Section 2, | |||
| ; post-processed so that only VCHAR characters | ; post-processed so that only VCHAR characters | |||
| skipping to change at page 5, line 32 ¶ | skipping to change at page 5, line 32 ¶ | |||
| 3. run the resulting octet sequence through a JSON parser. | 3. run the resulting octet sequence through a JSON parser. | |||
| The result of the parsing operation is either an error (in which case | The result of the parsing operation is either an error (in which case | |||
| the header field values needs to be considered invalid), or a JSON | the header field values needs to be considered invalid), or a JSON | |||
| array. | array. | |||
| 5. Using this Format in Header Field Definitions | 5. Using this Format in Header Field Definitions | |||
| [[anchor5: Explain what a definition of a new header field needs to | [[anchor5: Explain what a definition of a new header field needs to | |||
| do precisely to use this format, mention must-ignore extensibiliy]] | do precisely to use this format, mention must-ignore extensibility]] | |||
| 6. Examples | 6. Deployment Considerations | |||
| This JSON-based syntax will only apply to newly introduced header | ||||
| fields, thus backwards compatibility is not a problem. That being | ||||
| said, it is conceivable that there is existing code that might trip | ||||
| over double quotes not being used for HTTP's quoted-string syntax | ||||
| (Section 3.2.6 of [RFC7230]). | ||||
| 7. Interoperability Considerations | ||||
| The "I-JSON Message Format" specification ([RFC7493]) addresses known | ||||
| JSON interoperability pain points. This specification borrows from | ||||
| the requirements made over there: | ||||
| 7.1. Encoding and Characters | ||||
| This specification requires that field values use only US-ASCII | ||||
| characters, and thus by definition use a subset of UTF-8 (Section 2.1 | ||||
| of [RFC7493]). | ||||
| 7.2. Numbers | ||||
| Be aware of the issues around number precision, as discussed in | ||||
| Section 2.2 of [RFC7493]. | ||||
| 7.3. Object Constraints | ||||
| As described in Section 4 of [RFC7159], JSON parser implementations | ||||
| differ in the handling of duplicate object names. Therefore, senders | ||||
| MUST NOT use duplicate object names, and recipients SHOULD either | ||||
| treat field values with duplicate names as invalid (consistent with | ||||
| [RFC7493], Section 2.3) or use the lexically last value (consistent | ||||
| with [ECMA-262], Section 24.3.1.1). | ||||
| Furthermore, ordering of object members is not significant and can | ||||
| not be relied upon. | ||||
| 8. Internationalization Considerations | ||||
| In HTTP/1.1, header field values are represented by octet sequences, | ||||
| usually used to transmit ASCII characters, with restrictions on the | ||||
| use of certain control characters, and no associated default | ||||
| character encoding, nor a way to describe it ([RFC7230], Section | ||||
| 3.2). HTTP/2 does not change this. | ||||
| This specification maps all characters which can cause problems to | ||||
| JSON escape sequences, thereby solving the HTTP header field | ||||
| internationalization problem. | ||||
| Future specifications of HTTP might change to allow non-ASCII | ||||
| characters natively. In that case, header fields using the syntax | ||||
| defined by this specification would have a simple migration path (by | ||||
| just stopping to require escaping of non-ASCII characters). | ||||
| 9. Security Considerations | ||||
| Using JSON-shaped field values is believed to not introduce any new | ||||
| threads beyond those described in Section 12 of [RFC7159], namely the | ||||
| risk of recipients using the wrong tools to parse them. | ||||
| Other than that, any syntax that makes extensions easy can be used to | ||||
| smuggle information through field values; however, this concern is | ||||
| shared with other widely used formats, such as those using parameters | ||||
| in the form of name/value pairs. | ||||
| 10. References | ||||
| 10.1. Normative References | ||||
| [RFC0020] Cerf, V., "ASCII format for network interchange", | ||||
| STD 80, RFC 20, DOI 10.17487/RFC0020, October 1969, | ||||
| <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc20>. | ||||
| [RFC5234] Crocker, D., Ed. and P. Overell, "Augmented BNF for | ||||
| Syntax Specifications: ABNF", STD 68, RFC 5234, | ||||
| DOI 10.17487/RFC5234, January 2008, | ||||
| <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5234>. | ||||
| [RFC7159] Bray, T., "The JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) | ||||
| Data Interchange Format", RFC 7159, DOI 10.17487/ | ||||
| RFC7159, March 2014, | ||||
| <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7159>. | ||||
| [RFC7230] Fielding, R., Ed. and J. Reschke, Ed., "Hypertext | ||||
| Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Message Syntax and | ||||
| Routing", RFC 7230, DOI 10.17487/RFC7230, | ||||
| June 2014, | ||||
| <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7230>. | ||||
| [RFC7231] Fielding, R., Ed. and J. Reschke, Ed., "Hypertext | ||||
| Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Semantics and | ||||
| Content", RFC 7231, DOI 10.17487/RFC7231, | ||||
| June 2014, | ||||
| <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7231>. | ||||
| [RFC7493] Bray, T., Ed., "The I-JSON Message Format", | ||||
| RFC 7493, DOI 10.17487/RFC7493, March 2015, | ||||
| <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7493>. | ||||
| 10.2. Informative References | ||||
| [ECMA-262] Ecma International, "ECMA-262 6th Edition, The | ||||
| ECMAScript 2015 Language Specification", | ||||
| Standard ECMA-262, June 2015, | ||||
| <http://www.ecma-international.org/ecma-262/6.0/>. | ||||
| [ISO-8859-1] International Organization for Standardization, | ||||
| "Information technology -- 8-bit single-byte coded | ||||
| graphic character sets -- Part 1: Latin alphabet | ||||
| No. 1", ISO/IEC 8859-1:1998, 1998. | ||||
| [KEY] Fielding, R. and M. Nottingham, "The Key HTTP | ||||
| Response Header Field", draft-ietf-httpbis-key-01 | ||||
| (work in progress), March 2016. | ||||
| [RFC5987] Reschke, J., "Character Set and Language Encoding | ||||
| for Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) Header Field | ||||
| Parameters", RFC 5987, DOI 10.17487/RFC5987, | ||||
| August 2010, | ||||
| <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5987>. | ||||
| [RFC6266] Reschke, J., "Use of the Content-Disposition Header | ||||
| Field in the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)", | ||||
| RFC 6266, DOI 10.17487/RFC6266, June 2011, | ||||
| <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6266>. | ||||
| [RFC6365] Hoffman, P. and J. Klensin, "Terminology Used in | ||||
| Internationalization in the IETF", BCP 166, | ||||
| RFC 6365, DOI 10.17487/RFC6365, September 2011, | ||||
| <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6365>. | ||||
| [RFC7235] Fielding, R., Ed. and J. Reschke, Ed., "Hypertext | ||||
| Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Authentication", | ||||
| RFC 7235, DOI 10.17487/RFC7235, June 2014, | ||||
| <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7235>. | ||||
| [XMLHttpRequest] WhatWG, "XMLHttpRequest", | ||||
| <https://xhr.spec.whatwg.org/>. | ||||
| URIs | ||||
| [1] <mailto:ietf-http-wg@w3.org> | ||||
| [2] <mailto:ietf-http-wg-request@w3.org?subject=subscribe> | ||||
| Appendix A. Examples | ||||
| This section shows how some of the existing HTTP header fields would | This section shows how some of the existing HTTP header fields would | |||
| look like if they would use the format defined by this specification. | look like if they would use the format defined by this specification. | |||
| 6.1. Content-Length | A.1. Content-Length | |||
| "Content-Length" is defined in Section 3.3.2 of [RFC7230], with the | "Content-Length" is defined in Section 3.3.2 of [RFC7230], with the | |||
| field value's ABNF being: | field value's ABNF being: | |||
| Content-Length = 1*DIGIT | Content-Length = 1*DIGIT | |||
| So the field value is similar to a JSON number ([RFC7159], Section | So the field value is similar to a JSON number ([RFC7159], Section | |||
| 6). | 6). | |||
| Content-Length is restricted to a single field instance, as it | Content-Length is restricted to a single field instance, as it | |||
| skipping to change at page 6, line 20 ¶ | skipping to change at page 9, line 21 ¶ | |||
| ...and the prose definition would: | ...and the prose definition would: | |||
| o restrict all numbers to be non-negative integers without | o restrict all numbers to be non-negative integers without | |||
| fractions, and | fractions, and | |||
| o require that the array of values is of length 1 (but allow the | o require that the array of values is of length 1 (but allow the | |||
| case where the array is longer, but all members represent the same | case where the array is longer, but all members represent the same | |||
| value) | value) | |||
| 6.2. Content-Disposition | A.2. Content-Disposition | |||
| Content-Disposition field values, defined in [RFC6266], consist of a | Content-Disposition field values, defined in [RFC6266], consist of a | |||
| "disposition type" (a string), plus multiple parameters, of which at | "disposition type" (a string), plus multiple parameters, of which at | |||
| least one ("filename") sometime needs to carry non-ASCII characters. | least one ("filename") sometime needs to carry non-ASCII characters. | |||
| For instance, the first example in Section 5 of [RFC6266]: | For instance, the first example in Section 5 of [RFC6266]: | |||
| Attachment; filename=example.html | Attachment; filename=example.html | |||
| has a disposition type of "Attachment", with filename parameter value | has a disposition type of "Attachment", with filename parameter value | |||
| skipping to change at page 7, line 10 ¶ | skipping to change at page 10, line 12 ¶ | |||
| defined in [RFC5987], representing a filename starting with the | defined in [RFC5987], representing a filename starting with the | |||
| Unicode character U+20AC (EURO SIGN), followed by " rates". If the | Unicode character U+20AC (EURO SIGN), followed by " rates". If the | |||
| definition of Content-Disposition would have used the format proposed | definition of Content-Disposition would have used the format proposed | |||
| here, the workaround involving the "parameter*" syntax would not have | here, the workaround involving the "parameter*" syntax would not have | |||
| been needed at all. | been needed at all. | |||
| The JSON representation of this value could then be: | The JSON representation of this value could then be: | |||
| { "attachment": { "filename" : "\u20AC rates" } } | { "attachment": { "filename" : "\u20AC rates" } } | |||
| 6.3. WWW-Authenticate | A.3. WWW-Authenticate | |||
| The WWW-Authenticate header field value is defined in Section 4.1 of | The WWW-Authenticate header field value is defined in Section 4.1 of | |||
| [RFC7235] as a list of "challenges": | [RFC7235] as a list of "challenges": | |||
| WWW-Authenticate = 1#challenge | WWW-Authenticate = 1#challenge | |||
| ...where a challenge consists of a scheme with optional parameters: | ...where a challenge consists of a scheme with optional parameters: | |||
| challenge = auth-scheme [ 1*SP ( token68 / #auth-param ) ] | challenge = auth-scheme [ 1*SP ( token68 / #auth-param ) ] | |||
| skipping to change at page 8, line 5 ¶ | skipping to change at page 11, line 9 ¶ | |||
| } | } | |||
| } | } | |||
| ] | ] | |||
| ...which would translate to a header field value of: | ...which would translate to a header field value of: | |||
| { "Newauth" : { "realm": "apps", "type" : 1, | { "Newauth" : { "realm": "apps", "type" : 1, | |||
| "title": "Login to \"apps\"" }}, | "title": "Login to \"apps\"" }}, | |||
| { "Basic" : { "realm": "simple"}} | { "Basic" : { "realm": "simple"}} | |||
| 7. Discussion | A.4. Accept-Encoding | |||
| This approach uses a default of "JSON array", using implicit array | ||||
| markers. An alternative would be a default of "JSON object". This | ||||
| would simplify the syntax for non-list-typed header fields, but all | ||||
| the benefits of having the same data model for both types of header | ||||
| fields would be gone. A hybrid approach might make sense, as long as | ||||
| it doesn't require any heuristics on the recipient's side. | ||||
| Note: a concrete proposal was made by Kazuho Oku in <https:// | The Accept-Encoding header field value is defined in Section 5.3.4 of | |||
| lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/ietf-http-wg/2016JanMar/0155.html>. | [RFC7231] as a list of codings, each of which allowing a weight | |||
| parameter 'q': | ||||
| [[anchor7: Use of generic libs vs compactness of field values..]] | Accept-Encoding = #( codings [ weight ] ) | |||
| codings = content-coding / "identity" / "*" | ||||
| weight = OWS ";" OWS "q=" qvalue | ||||
| qvalue = ( "0" [ "." 0*3DIGIT ] ) | ||||
| / ( "1" [ "." 0*3("0") ] ) | ||||
| [[anchor8: Mention potential "Key" header field extension ([KEY]).]] | An example for a complex header field value given in the definition | |||
| of the header field is: | ||||
| 8. Deployment Considerations | gzip;q=1.0, identity; q=0.5, *;q=0 | |||
| This JSON-based syntax will only apply to newly introduced header | Due to the defaulting rules for the quality value ([RFC7231], Section | |||
| fields, thus backwards compatibility is not a problem. That being | 5.3.1), this could also be written as: | |||
| said, it is conceivable that there is existing code that might trip | ||||
| over double quotes not being used for HTTP's quoted-string syntax | ||||
| (Section 3.2.6 of [RFC7230]). | ||||
| 9. Internationalization Considerations | gzip, identity; q=0.5, *; q=0 | |||
| In HTTP/1.1, header field values are represented by octet sequences, | A JSON representation could be: | |||
| usually used to transmit ASCII characters, with restrictions on the | ||||
| use of certain control characters, and no associated default | ||||
| character encoding, nor a way to describe it ([RFC7230], Section | ||||
| 3.2). HTTP/2 does not change this. | ||||
| This specification maps all characters which can cause problems to | [ | |||
| JSON escape sequences, thereby solving the HTTP header field | { | |||
| internationalization problem. | "gzip" : { | |||
| } | ||||
| }, | ||||
| { | ||||
| "identity" : { | ||||
| "q": 0.5 | ||||
| } | ||||
| }, | ||||
| { | ||||
| "*" : { | ||||
| "q": 0 | ||||
| } | ||||
| } | ||||
| ] | ||||
| Future specifications of HTTP might change to allow non-ASCII | ...which would translate to a header field value of: | |||
| characters natively. In that case, header fields using the syntax | ||||
| defined by this specification would have a simple migration path (by | ||||
| just stopping to require escaping of non-ASCII characters). | ||||
| 10. Security Considerations | {"gzip": {}}, {"identity": {"q": 0.5}}, {"*": {"q": 0}} | |||
| Using JSON-shaped field values is believed to not introduce any new | In this example, the part about "gzip" appears unnecessarily verbose, | |||
| threads beyond those described in Section 12 of [RFC7159], namely the | as the value is just an empty object. A simpler notation would | |||
| risk of recipients using the wrong tools to parse them. | collapse members like these to string literals: | |||
| Other than that, any syntax that makes extensions easy can be used to | "gzip", {"identity": {"q": 0.5}}, {"*": {"q": 0}} | |||
| smuggle information through field values; however, this concern is | ||||
| shared with other widely used formats, such as those using parameters | ||||
| in the form of name/value pairs. | ||||
| 11. References | If this is desirable, the header field definition could allow both | |||
| string literals and objects, and define that a mere string literal | ||||
| would be mapped to a member whose name is given by the string | ||||
| literal, and the value is an empty object. | ||||
| 11.1. Normative References | For what it's worth, one of the most common cases for 'Accept- | |||
| Encoding' would become: | ||||
| [RFC0020] Cerf, V., "ASCII format for network interchange", | "gzip", "deflate" | |||
| STD 80, RFC 20, DOI 10.17487/RFC0020, October 1969, | ||||
| <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc20>. | ||||
| [RFC5234] Crocker, D., Ed. and P. Overell, "Augmented BNF for | which would be only a small overhead over the original format. | |||
| Syntax Specifications: ABNF", STD 68, RFC 5234, | ||||
| DOI 10.17487/RFC5234, January 2008, | ||||
| <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5234>. | ||||
| [RFC7159] Bray, T., "The JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) | Appendix B. Discussion | |||
| Data Interchange Format", RFC 7159, DOI 10.17487/ | ||||
| RFC7159, March 2014, | ||||
| <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7159>. | ||||
| [RFC7230] Fielding, R., Ed. and J. Reschke, Ed., "Hypertext | This approach uses a default of "JSON array", using implicit array | |||
| Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Message Syntax and | markers. An alternative would be a default of "JSON object". This | |||
| Routing", RFC 7230, DOI 10.17487/RFC7230, | would simplify the syntax for non-list-typed header fields, but all | |||
| June 2014, | the benefits of having the same data model for both types of header | |||
| <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7230>. | fields would be gone. A hybrid approach might make sense, as long as | |||
| it doesn't require any heuristics on the recipient's side. | ||||
| [RFC7231] Fielding, R., Ed. and J. Reschke, Ed., "Hypertext | Note: a concrete proposal was made by Kazuho Oku in <https:// | |||
| Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Semantics and | lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/ietf-http-wg/2016JanMar/0155.html>. | |||
| Content", RFC 7231, DOI 10.17487/RFC7231, | ||||
| June 2014, | ||||
| <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7231>. | ||||
| 11.2. Informative References | [[anchor15: Use of generic libs vs compactness of field values..]] | |||
| [ISO-8859-1] International Organization for Standardization, | [[anchor16: Mention potential "Key" header field extension ([KEY]).]] | |||
| "Information technology -- 8-bit single-byte coded | ||||
| graphic character sets -- Part 1: Latin alphabet | ||||
| No. 1", ISO/IEC 8859-1:1998, 1998. | ||||
| [KEY] Fielding, R. and M. Nottingham, "The Key HTTP | Appendix C. Change Log (to be removed by RFC Editor before publication) | |||
| Response Header Field", draft-ietf-httpbis-key-01 | ||||
| (work in progress), March 2016. | ||||
| [RFC5987] Reschke, J., "Character Set and Language Encoding | C.1. Since draft-reschke-http-jfv-00 | |||
| for Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) Header Field | ||||
| Parameters", RFC 5987, DOI 10.17487/RFC5987, | ||||
| August 2010, | ||||
| <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5987>. | ||||
| [RFC6266] Reschke, J., "Use of the Content-Disposition Header | Editorial fixes + working on the TODOs. | |||
| Field in the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)", | ||||
| RFC 6266, DOI 10.17487/RFC6266, June 2011, | ||||
| <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6266>. | ||||
| [RFC6365] Hoffman, P. and J. Klensin, "Terminology Used in | C.2. Since draft-reschke-http-jfv-01 | |||
| Internationalization in the IETF", BCP 166, | ||||
| RFC 6365, DOI 10.17487/RFC6365, September 2011, | ||||
| <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6365>. | ||||
| [RFC7235] Fielding, R., Ed. and J. Reschke, Ed., "Hypertext | Mention slightly increased risk of smuggling information in header | |||
| Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Authentication", | field values. | |||
| RFC 7235, DOI 10.17487/RFC7235, June 2014, | ||||
| <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7235>. | ||||
| [XMLHttpRequest] van Kesteren, A., Aubourg, J., Song, J., and H. | C.3. Since draft-reschke-http-jfv-02 | |||
| Steen, "XMLHttpRequest Level 1", W3C Working | ||||
| Draft WD-XMLHttpRequest-20140130, January 2014, <ht | ||||
| tp://www.w3.org/TR/2014/ | ||||
| WD-XMLHttpRequest-20140130/>. | ||||
| Latest version available at | Mention Kazuho Oku's proposal for abbreviated forms. | |||
| <http://www.w3.org/TR/XMLHttpRequest/>. | ||||
| URIs | Added a bit of text about the motivation for a concrete JSON subset | |||
| (ack Cory Benfield). | ||||
| [1] <mailto:ietf-http-wg@w3.org> | Expand I18N section. | |||
| [2] <mailto:ietf-http-wg-request@w3.org?subject=subscribe> | C.4. Since draft-reschke-http-jfv-03 | |||
| Appendix A. Change Log (to be removed by RFC Editor before publication) | Mention relation to KEY header field. | |||
| A.1. Since draft-reschke-http-jfv-00 | C.5. Since draft-reschke-http-jfv-04 | |||
| Editorial fixes + working on the TODOs. | Between June and December 2016, this was a work item of the HTTP | |||
| working group (see | ||||
| <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-httpbis-jfv/>). Work | ||||
| (if any) continues now on | ||||
| <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-reschke-http-jfv/>. | ||||
| A.2. Since draft-reschke-http-jfv-01 | Changes made while this was a work item of the HTTP Working Group: | |||
| Mention slightly increased risk of smuggling information in header | C.5.1. Since draft-ietf-httpbis-jfv-00 | |||
| field values. | ||||
| A.3. Since draft-reschke-http-jfv-02 | Added example for "Accept-Encoding" (inspired by Kazuho's feedback), | |||
| showing a potential way to optimize the format when default values | ||||
| apply. | ||||
| Mention Kazuho Oku's proposal for abbreviated forms. | C.5.2. Since draft-ietf-httpbis-jfv-01 | |||
| Added a bit of text about the motivation for a concrete JSON subset | Add interop discussion, building on I-JSON and ECMA-262 (see | |||
| (ack Cory Benfield). | <https://github.com/httpwg/http-extensions/issues/225>). | |||
| Expand I18N section. | C.5.3. Since draft-ietf-httpbis-jfv-02 | |||
| A.4. Since draft-reschke-http-jfv-03 | Move non-essential parts into appendix. | |||
| Mention relation to KEY header field. | Updated XHR reference. | |||
| Appendix B. Acknowledgements | Appendix D. Acknowledgements | |||
| Thanks go to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Working Group | Thanks go to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol Working Group | |||
| participants. | participants. | |||
| Author's Address | Author's Address | |||
| Julian F. Reschke | Julian F. Reschke | |||
| greenbytes GmbH | greenbytes GmbH | |||
| Hafenweg 16 | Hafenweg 16 | |||
| Muenster, NW 48155 | Muenster, NW 48155 | |||
| End of changes. 55 change blocks. | ||||
| 140 lines changed or deleted | 270 lines changed or added | |||
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