Subject: IETF BOF on Universal Document Identifiers
From: [email-masked] (Tim Berners-Lee)
To: [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked]
Cc: [email-masked], [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 26 Jun 92 16:04:23 -0400

Universal Document Identifiers UDI BOF

        Time:                  Monday 13th July 1992 1:30 pm

	Chair:                 Tim Berners-Lee

	Background document:   file://info.cern.ch/pub/www/doc/udi2.ps

Aim:  To define some clear decisions to be made by a small WG to be
formed.    A skeleton charter for such a working group is appended,
and may be discussed at the BOF.  The overall aim is to standardize
on one unifying printable representation for names and addresses of
retrievable objects in existing and future name and address spaces.

Those who have not been following the discussion are asked to read the
background document first.  An archive of some of the discussion is
available as file://info.cern.ch/pub/www/doc/udi/discussion.mbox .
The BOF will avoid philosophy and a discussion of the differences
between names and addresses, or the relative merits of different naming
schemes, or the combination of names in different spaces recommended to
refer to an object.  If new schemes are required, a separate effort
may be forked off to create them.
_________________________________________________________________

Provisional Charter:

	To define a printable string syntax to the allow

1.	The expression of the address on the network of any
	accesable object using existing information retrieval protocols;

2.	The expression of the name of any object held in
	a directory system or unique naming space on the network;

3.	The distinction to be made easily in the syntax
	between such protocols and directories and name spaces;

4.	New protocols, directories and naming schemes to be included as
	and when they are developed.

The aim of the working group is to further the exchange of information
between people and applications using the network by allowing an
unambiguous reference to be cited to accessible units of information.

The working group will build on experience with existing information retrieval
protocols and will not invent new protocols or name spaces. The working
group will note the properties of established name and address spaces.

Deliverable:

A	Document describing:
		Overall syntax, character sets and limitations
		Formats for addresses of:-
		   FTP files and directories
		   WAIS documents and databases
		   HTTP objects
		   NNTP newsgroups and articles
		   Gopher items.

	Standards track.

B	Appendices to document A for x500 distinguished name spaces

C	Appendices to document A for selected established
	unique identifier name spaces. (possible separate parallel
	working group).

Milestones:

	Define at BOF.