Subject: [Cbor] WG Action: Rechartered Concise Binary Object Representation Maintenance and Extensions (cbor)

From: The IESG <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2019 13:05:10 -0700

The Concise Binary Object Representation Maintenance and Extensions (cbor) WG
in the Applications and Real-Time Area of the IETF has been rechartered. For
additional information, please contact the Area Directors or the WG Chairs.

Concise Binary Object Representation Maintenance and Extensions (cbor)
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Current status: Active WG

Chairs:
  Francesca Palombini <[email-masked]>
  Jim Schaad <[email-masked]>

Assigned Area Director:
  Alexey Melnikov <[email-masked]>

Applications and Real-Time Area Directors:
  Adam Roach <[email-masked]>
  Alexey Melnikov <[email-masked]>
  Barry Leiba <[email-masked]>

Mailing list:
  Address: [email-masked]
  To subscribe: https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/cbor
  Archive: https://www.ietf.org/mail-archive/web/cbor/current/maillist.html

Group page: https://datatracker.ietf.org/group/cbor/

Charter: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/charter-ietf-cbor/

Concise Binary Object Representation (CBOR, RFC 7049) extends the JavaScript
Object Notation (JSON, RFC 8259) data interchange format to include binary
data and an extensibility model, using a binary representation format that
is easy to parse correctly. It has been picked up by a number of IETF
efforts (e.g., CORE, ANIMA GRASP) as a message format.

The CBOR working group will update RFC 7049 to deal with existing errata.
Security issues and clarifications may be addressed, but changes to the
document will ensure backward compatibility for widespread deployed
codebases. The resulting document will be targeted at becoming an Internet
Standard.

Similar to the way ABNF (RFC 5234/7405) can be used to describe the set of
valid messages in a text representation, it is useful for protocol
specifications to use a description format for the data in CBOR-encoded
messages. The Concise Data Definition Language (CDDL) is such a description
technique that has already been used in CORE, ANIMA, CDNI, and efforts
outside the IETF.

CDDL has been published as RFC 8610. While this specification has been
completed, several new features were raised during the update process that
were not included, in order not to delay publication, and to allow
publication in the Standards Track. One example of such a feature is the
ability to combine multiple CDDL files together using a mechanism other than
manually concatenating them together for processing. The working group will
collect these features as well as other features that are raised by users of
CDDL, evaluate their utility and add to a second edition of the
specification where warranted.

The working group will define the approach to further evolving CDDL as a
sequence of editions, which might also add further extension points,
probably as part of the introduction of the next edition of the CDDL base
specification. The body of existing specifications that make use of CDDL is
considered precious, and the WG will set out not to damage their value.

The working group will evaluate the necessity of providing advice and
guidance for developers using CBOR and CDDL. It is currently expected that
this would be done using a Wiki of some type. This work would not be
expected to be published by the IETF as an RFC.

There are a number of additional CBOR tagged types and CBOR related media
type specifications that are currently adopted by the working group,
are work items in other working groups, or exist as individual
submissions. Additionally, there are expected to be other such documents
that will come to the attention of the working group. In some cases, the
working group will be asked to adopt and publish these proposals.
The working group will evaluate such requests individually and decide about
adoption and milestones as such requests arise. Proposals that are deemed to
be out of scope for the working group, for example because they are too
narrow-purpose of a specification, may still be published as individual
submissions or in other groups if there is a specific need. The CBOR group
will review these proposals on request.

Milestones:

  Oct 2018 - Submit rfc7049bis to IESG as a Proposed Standard