Network Working Group                                      J. Snell, Ed.
Internet-Draft                                                       IBM
Expires: June 30, 2007                                 December 27, 2006


                The application/atom+xml Type Parameter
                  draft-ietf-atompub-typeparam-00.txt

Status of this Memo

   By submitting this Internet-Draft, each author represents that any
   applicable patent or other IPR claims of which he or she is aware
   have been or will be disclosed, and any of which he or she becomes
   aware will be disclosed, in accordance with Section 6 of BCP 79.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups.  Note that
   other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-
   Drafts.

   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."

   The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at
   http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt.

   The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at
   http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html.

   This Internet-Draft will expire on June 30, 2007.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The IETF Trust (2006).

Abstract

   The Atom Syndication Format (RFC 4287) defines the 'application/
   atom+xml' media type to identify both Atom Feed and Atom Entry
   Documents.  This document defines an optional 'type' parameter used
   to differentiate the two types of Atom documents.

Editorial Note

   To provide feedback on this Internet-Draft, join the atom-protocol
   mailing list (http://www.imc.org/atom-protocol/index.html) [1].



Snell                     Expires June 30, 2007                 [Page 1]

Internet-Draft   The application/atom+xml Type Parameter   December 2006


Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
   2.  Notational Conventions  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
   3.  The 'type' parameter  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
   4.  Conformance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
   5.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
   6.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
   7.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
   Appendix A.  Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
   Appendix B.  Revision History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
   Author's Address  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
   Intellectual Property and Copyright Statements  . . . . . . . . . . 6






































Snell                     Expires June 30, 2007                 [Page 2]

Internet-Draft   The application/atom+xml Type Parameter   December 2006


1.  Introduction

   The Atom Syndication Format [RFC4287] defines two types of documents
   that can be identified using the 'application/atom+xml' media type.
   Implementation experience has demonstrated, however, that Atom Feed
   and Entry Documents can have different processing models and there
   are situations where they need to be differentiated.


2.  Notational Conventions

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119].


3.  The 'type' parameter

   This document defines a new "type" parameter for use with the
   'application/atom+xml' media type.
   type = "entry" / "feed"

   Neither the parameter name nor its value are case sensitive.

   The value 'entry' indicates that the media type identifies an Atom
   Entry Document.  The root element of the document MUST be atom:entry.

   The value 'feed' indicates that the media type identifies an Atom
   Feed Document.  The root element of the document MUST be atom:feed.

   If not specified, the type is assumed to be unspecified, requiring
   Atom processors to examine the root element to determine the type of
   Atom document.


4.  Conformance

   New specifications MAY require that the type parameter be used to
   identify the Atom Document type.  Producers of Atom Entry Documents
   SHOULD use the type parameter regardless of whether or not it is
   required.  Producers of Atom Feed Documents MAY use the parameter.

   Atom processors that do not recognize the 'type' parameter MUST
   ignore its value and examine the root element to determine the
   document type.

   Atom processors that do recognize the parameter SHOULD detect and
   report inconsistencies between the parameter's value and the actual



Snell                     Expires June 30, 2007                 [Page 3]

Internet-Draft   The application/atom+xml Type Parameter   December 2006


   type of the document's root element.


5.  IANA Considerations

   IANA is requested to add a reference to this specification in the
   'application/atom+xml' media type registration.


6.  Security Considerations

   The security considerations discussed in Section 8 of [RFC4287]
   apply.

7.  Normative References

   [RFC2046]  Freed, N. and N. Borenstein, "Multipurpose Internet Mail
              Extensions (MIME) Part Two: Media Types", RFC 2046,
              November 1996.

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.

   [RFC4287]  Nottingham, M., Ed. and R. Sayre, Ed., "The Atom
              Syndication Format", RFC 4287, December 2005.

   [1]  <http://www.imc.org/atom-protocol/index.html>


Appendix A.  Contributors

   The content and concepts within are a product of the Atom community
   and the Atompub Working Group.

   [[anchor9: chairs to compile a contribution list for 1.0 --snell]]


Appendix B.  Revision History

   draft-ietf-atompub-typeparam-00: Initial Draft











Snell                     Expires June 30, 2007                 [Page 4]

Internet-Draft   The application/atom+xml Type Parameter   December 2006


Author's Address

   James M Snell (editor)
   IBM
   285 W Bullard Ave.
   Fresno, CA  93704
   US

   Phone: +1 919 227 3750
   Email: jasnell@gmail.com
   URI:   http://ibm.com/








































Snell                     Expires June 30, 2007                 [Page 5]

Internet-Draft   The application/atom+xml Type Parameter   December 2006


Intellectual Property Statement

   The IETF takes no position regarding the validity or scope of any
   Intellectual Property Rights or other rights that might be claimed to
   pertain to the implementation or use of the technology described in
   this document or the extent to which any license under such rights
   might or might not be available; nor does it represent that it has
   made any independent effort to identify any such rights.  Information
   on the procedures with respect to rights in RFC documents can be
   found in BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Copies of IPR disclosures made to the IETF Secretariat and any
   assurances of licenses to be made available, or the result of an
   attempt made to obtain a general license or permission for the use of
   such proprietary rights by implementers or users of this
   specification can be obtained from the IETF on-line IPR repository at
   http://www.ietf.org/ipr.

   The IETF invites any interested party to bring to its attention any
   copyrights, patents or patent applications, or other proprietary
   rights that may cover technology that may be required to implement
   this standard.  Please address the information to the IETF at
   ietf-ipr@ietf.org.


Disclaimer of Validity

   This document and the information contained herein are provided on an
   "AS IS" basis and THE CONTRIBUTOR, THE ORGANIZATION HE/SHE REPRESENTS
   OR IS SPONSORED BY (IF ANY), THE INTERNET SOCIETY, THE IETF TRUST AND
   THE INTERNET ENGINEERING TASK FORCE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS
   OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF
   THE INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED
   WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.


Copyright Statement

   Copyright (C) The IETF Trust (2006).  This document is subject to the
   rights, licenses and restrictions contained in BCP 78, and except as
   set forth therein, the authors retain all their rights.


Acknowledgment

   Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
   Internet Society.




Snell                     Expires June 30, 2007                 [Page 6]