GENWiki

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) A. Tamas Request for Comments: 8589 B. Phister, Ed. Category: Informational J-E. Rodriguez ISSN: 2070-1721 OP3FT

                                                              May 2019

                   The 'leaptofrogans' URI Scheme

Abstract

 This document describes the 'leaptofrogans' Uniform Resource
 Identifier (URI) scheme, which enables applications to launch Frogans
 Player on a given Frogans site.  Frogans is a medium for publishing
 content and services on the Internet, defined as a generic software
 layer on the Internet.  Frogans Player is software that enables end
 users to browse Frogans sites.

Status of This Memo

 This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is
 published for informational purposes.

 This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
 (IETF).  It has been approved for publication by the Internet
 Engineering Steering Group (IESG).  Not all documents approved by the
 IESG are candidates for any level of Internet Standard; see Section 2
 of RFC 7841.

 Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
 and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
 https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8589.

Copyright Notice

 Copyright (c) 2019 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
 (https://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.

Tamas, et al. Informational [Page 1] RFC 8589 leaptofrogans URI Scheme May 2019

Table of Contents

 1.  Background Information  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   1.1.  About Frogans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2
   1.2.  About the OP3FT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
 2.  The Need for a New URI Scheme and Its Purpose . . . . . . . .   3
 3.  Choice of the Scheme Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
 4.  Scheme Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   4.1.  URI Scheme  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   4.2.  IRI Usage and Encoding  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
 5.  Trademarks  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
 6.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
 7.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
 8.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
   8.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
   8.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
 Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9

1. Background Information

1.1. About Frogans

 Frogans is a medium for publishing content and services on the
 Internet.  From its inception in 1999, the medium was designed as a
 generic software layer running on top of the original Internet
 infrastructure (i.e., the TCP and IP protocols and the Domain Name
 System (DNS)), alongside other existing layers such as E-mail or the
 World Wide Web.

 As a medium, Frogans is not meant for publishing Web sites, but
 Frogans sites, a kind of site founded upon a different format,
 enabling a different kind of communication between end users and
 publishers of content and services.

 Frogans is intended to be complementary to the World Wide Web; it is
 not intended to be a replacement.  This is analogous to instant
 messaging, which was not intended to and did not replace E-mail.

 Compared to the World Wide Web, Frogans suggests publishing content
 and services that involve visual rather than text-based
 communication, focused content rather than long pages, and natural
 interaction rather than complex user interfaces.  For further
 information on the reasons for introducing Frogans on the Internet,
 and for an in-depth discussion of the similarities and differences
 between Frogans sites and Web sites, see [FSDL], Section 1.4
 ("Frogans sites and Web sites").

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 The technology making up the medium, i.e., the Frogans technology,
 includes multiple components such as:

 o  An XML-based language, called Frogans Slide Description Language
    [FSDL], used to develop Frogans sites.

 o  International identifiers, called Frogans addresses [IFAP], used
    to access Frogans sites.  Each Frogans site has its own Frogans
    address.

 o  Browsing software, called Frogans Player, enabling end users to
    browse Frogans sites.  An end user opens a Frogans site by
    entering its Frogans address in Frogans Player.

 o  A registry, called the Frogans Core Registry (FCR), that contains
    all Frogans addresses registered by Frogans site publishers.  The
    registry operator, called the FCR Operator, ensures the resolution
    of Frogans addresses when end users enter them in Frogans Player.

1.2. About the OP3FT

 Created in 2012, the Organization for the Promotion, Protection, and
 Progress of Frogans Technology [OP3FT] is a dedicated, non-profit
 organization whose purpose is to hold, promote, protect, and ensure
 the progress of the Frogans technology, in the form of an open
 standard, available to all, free of charge.

 As part of its mission, the OP3FT develops and releases technical
 specifications, reference implementations (including Frogans Player),
 and various policies, which define the rights and responsibilities of
 all stakeholders involved in the technology worldwide.

2. The Need for a New URI Scheme and Its Purpose

 Generic software layers running on top of the original Internet
 infrastructure offer mechanisms that enable end users to easily go
 from one layer to another, in both directions.  For example, end
 users can easily launch their usual Web browser on a given Web page
 from a message in their usual E-mail client; in the other direction,
 end users can easily launch their usual E-mail client with a given
 E-mail address from a Web page in their usual Web browser.  This is
 commonly achieved using URIs [RFC3986].

 As regards Frogans as a medium, in the outgoing direction, FSDL
 enables Frogans site publishers to include way-out buttons in their
 Frogans sites.  These buttons enable end users to launch their usual
 Web browser on a given Web page, or to launch their usual E-mail

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 client with a given E-mail address.  This is achieved by associating
 a URI with each of those way-out buttons (the scheme of the URI can
 be any of 'http', 'https', or 'mailto').

 Conversely, in the incoming direction, Web-site publishers should
 have a means to include in their Web pages links that enable end
 users to launch Frogans Player on a given Frogans site.  Likewise,
 people writing E-mail messages should have a means to include in
 their messages links that enable recipients to launch Frogans Player
 on a given Frogans site.  More generally, any end-user application
 should be able to launch Frogans Player on a given Frogans site.

 To achieve this, a new URI scheme, containing a Frogans address, is
 needed.

 Given that Frogans, as a medium, does not enable deep linking for
 Frogans sites, there is no need for additional information in the new
 URI scheme other than the Frogans address.

 The use of a media type as a means to include on a Web page a link
 that enables end users to launch Frogans Player on a given Frogans
 site was tested in 2006 with the registration of the
 'vnd.frogans.ltf' media type with IANA [LTF].  But use of a media
 type was determined to be unsatisfactory for several reasons.  First,
 for any such link included on a Web page, the author of the Web page
 had to create and host a .ltf file on the Web server hosting that Web
 page, which was cumbersome.  Furthermore, prior to creating such
 links, the author had to ask the server administrator to associate
 the .ltf files with the 'vnd.frogans.ltf' media type on the server.
 Alternatively, the author could create a link via a redirection
 service that would generate a .ltf file on the fly while associating
 it with the 'vnd.frogans.ltf' media type.  But that alternative
 raised privacy concerns and potentially added latency for end users.
 Finally, on the Web browser side, it appeared that using a media type
 from a Web page to launch another application did not always work,
 especially on mobile devices.

3. Choice of the Scheme Name

 The name chosen for the new URI scheme is 'leaptofrogans'.

 This scheme name was chosen in compliance with [RFC7595], Section 3.8
 ("Scheme Name Considerations").

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 The following shorter names were discussed, but they were not chosen:

 o  'ltf': this name, an acronym for "leap to Frogans", was considered
    insufficiently descriptive, especially for typical end users who
    have little technical knowledge.

 o  'leapto': this name was considered overly general, and it is not
    specifically associated with Frogans.

 o  'frogans': this name was rejected because it could create
    confusion between URIs based on this scheme and those Frogans
    addresses that start with "frogans".

4. Scheme Syntax

 Frogans addresses [IFAP] are international identifiers made up of
 Unicode characters.  Thus, a method for encoding non-US-ASCII
 characters is necessary when the new scheme is used as a URI.  The
 new scheme can also be useful as an IRI [RFC3987] in contexts where
 IRIs are allowed.

4.1. URI Scheme

 The syntax for the 'leaptofrogans' URI scheme is:

    leaptofrogans-uri = "leaptofrogans:" pct-encoded-frogans-address

 where pct-encoded-frogans-address is a Frogans address compliant with
 [IFAP] and whose Unicode characters are each encoded as follows:

 o  If the character is a US-ASCII character, do not replace it and
    skip to the next character.  Note that according to [IFAP], the
    US-ASCII character cannot be the U+0025 PERCENT SIGN character.

 o  Otherwise, apply steps 1 through 3 below:

    1.  Convert the character to a sequence of one or more octets
        using UTF-8 [UTF-8]

    2.  Convert each octet to %HH, where HH is the hexadecimal
        notation of the octet value.  Note that this is identical to
        the percent-encoding mechanism in Section 2.1 of [RFC3986].

    3.  Replace the original character with the resulting character
        sequence (i.e., a sequence of %HH triplets).

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 Examples of 'leaptofrogans' URIs:

if the Frogans address is the string of US-ASCII characters

"Network-Name*Site-Name", the URI is as follows:

      leaptofrogans:Network-Name*Site-Name

if the Frogans address is the string of Unicode characters U+7F51,

U+7EDC, U+540D, U+002A, U+7AD9, U+540D (which is a Chinese

    translation of the Frogans address in the previous example), the
    URI is as follows:

      leaptofrogans:%E7%BD%91%E7%BB%9C%E5%90%8D*%E7%AB%99%E5%90%8D

4.2. IRI Usage and Encoding

 The syntax for an IRI corresponding to the 'leaptofrogans' URI scheme
 is:

    leaptofrogans-iri = "leaptofrogans:" frogans-address

 where frogans-address is a Frogans address compliant with [IFAP] and
 encoded in UTF-8 [UTF-8].

 In contexts where both URIs and IRIs are allowed, end-user
 applications can use either a URI or an IRI based on the
 'leaptofrogans' URI scheme when launching Frogans Player on a given
 Frogans site.  This is because Frogans Player must interpret both
 URIs and IRIs based on the 'leaptofrogans' URI scheme.  If the U+0025
 PERCENT SIGN character is found in the string, then the string will
 be interpreted by Frogans Player as a URI; otherwise, it will be
 interpreted as an IRI.

5. Trademarks

 In order to enable all users worldwide to use the Frogans technology
 in a clearly defined, secure, and perpetual environment, the OP3FT
 Bylaws [BYLAWS] provide for the implementation of an intellectual
 property policy.

 In this context, the OP3FT is the holder of the "Frogans" trademark
 that is registered in France, the United States, and other countries
 around the world.  The right to use the "Frogans" trademark in
 references or as part of initiatives in connection with the Frogans
 technology is granted in the OP3FT Trademark Usage Policy [OTUP].

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6. IANA Considerations

 In accordance with the guidelines and registration procedures for new
 URI schemes [RFC7595], IANA has registered 'leaptofrogans' URI scheme
 as follows:

 Scheme name: 'leaptofrogans'

 Status: Permanent

 Scheme syntax: See Section 4 of RFC 8589.

 Scheme semantics: See Section 2 of RFC 8589.

 Encoding considerations: See Section 4 of RFC 8589.

 Applications/protocols that use this scheme name:  Frogans Player as
    well as any end-user application (such as a Web browser or an
    E-mail client) wishing to launch Frogans Player on a given Frogans
    site.

 Interoperability considerations:  There are no known interoperability
    concerns related to use of the 'leaptofrogans' URI scheme.

 Security considerations: See Section 7 of RFC 8589.

 Contact: Alexis Tamas <mailto:alexis.tamas@op3ft.org>

 Change controller: OP3FT <mailto:contact-standards@op3ft.org>

 References: RFC 8589

7. Security Considerations

 The author of a Web page can create a link where the true nature of
 the URI is hidden in the link text that is visible to end users.  The
 same applies for an E-mail message and other end-user applications.

 For URIs based on the 'leaptofrogans' URI scheme, the risk of
 confusion is mitigated because Frogans Player must always display the
 real Frogans address contained in the URI, and it must always require
 confirmation by the end user before opening the corresponding Frogans
 site.

 Also, an end-user application may provide a URI containing a Frogans
 address that is not valid.  This does not represent a risk because,
 before asking for confirmation by the end user, Frogans Player must

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 always verify that the Frogans address contained in the URI is
 compliant with [IFAP], and it must always raise an error if the
 Frogans address is not compliant.

8. References

8.1. Normative References

 [IFAP]     OP3FT, "International Frogans Address Pattern",
            Version 1.1, ISBN 978-2-37313-000-3, November 2014,
            <https://www.frogans.org/en/resources/ifap/access.html>.

 [RFC3986]  Berners-Lee, T., Fielding, R., and L. Masinter, "Uniform
            Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax", STD 66,
            RFC 3986, DOI 10.17487/RFC3986, January 2005,
            <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3986>.

 [RFC3987]  Duerst, M. and M. Suignard, "Internationalized Resource
            Identifiers (IRIs)", RFC 3987, DOI 10.17487/RFC3987,
            January 2005, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3987>.

 [RFC7595]  Thaler, D., Ed., Hansen, T., and T. Hardie, "Guidelines
            and Registration Procedures for URI Schemes", BCP 35,
            RFC 7595, DOI 10.17487/RFC7595, June 2015,
            <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7595>.

 [UTF-8]    Yergeau, F., "UTF-8, a transformation format of ISO
            10646", STD 63, RFC 3629, DOI 10.17487/RFC3629, November
            2003, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3629>.

8.2. Informative References

 [BYLAWS]   OP3FT, "Bylaws of the French Fonds de Dotation OP3FT,
            Organization for the Promotion, Protection and Progress of
            Frogans Technology", July 2016,
            <https://www.op3ft.org/en/resources/bylaws/access.html>.

 [FSDL]     OP3FT, "Frogans Slide Description Language", Version 3.0,
            Preliminary Draft 7, September 2018,
            <https://www.frogans.org/en/resources/fsdl/access.html>.

 [LTF]      IANA, "Media Types",
            <https://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types>.

 [OP3FT]    OP3FT, "Organization for the Promotion, Protection and
            Progress of Frogans Technology", <https://www.op3ft.org/>.

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 [OTUP]     OP3FT, "OP3FT Trademark Usage Policy", March 2017,
            <https://www.frogans.org/en/resources/otup/access.html>.

Authors' Addresses

 Alexis Tamas
 OP3FT
 6, Square Mozart
 75016 Paris
 France

 Phone: +33 1 53 92 00 40
 Email: alexis.tamas@op3ft.org

 Benjamin Phister (editor)
 OP3FT
 6, Square Mozart
 75016 Paris
 France

 Phone: +33 1 53 92 00 40
 Email: benjamin.phister@op3ft.org

 Jean-Emmanuel Rodriguez
 OP3FT
 6, Square Mozart
 75016 Paris
 France

 Phone: +33 1 53 92 00 40
 Email: jean-emmanuel.rodriguez@contrib.op3ft.org

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