Subject: RE: Need help on AS2

From: "Moberg, Dale" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2001 10:22:05 -0500

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dick Brooks [mailto:[email-masked]]
{ much stuff omitted]

> On the other hand, the e-mail packaging defined in AS2 is 
> non-standard and
> unique to AS2; it is only implemented by a few vendors, that 
> I'm aware of.

Sorry, Dick, but I think this remark is misleading. 

The so-called "email" packaging makes use of IETF standards
for MIME, the security multiparts, and the specifications
for Open-PGP and SMIME. It is as much
based on standards as is the packaging that makes
use of "multipart/form-data."

The questions about how many vendors have or are
implementing the specification are really not
ones for the ietf-ediint list. I think it is time
for someone to volunteer so that we can offload
interoperability and implementation issues from
this list. Anyone willing to host one?

---

From: "Dick Brooks" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2001 10:24:57 -0600

Dale,

> use of "multipart/form-data."

My comment about the email packaging of AS2 being non-standard refers to the
fact that
neither RFC 822 nor RFC 2045 nor RFC 2616 define the AS2-to or AS2-From
headers. In fact, these don't exist in the current AS2 draft (ref:
http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-ediint-as2-07.txt) nor any
previous draft of AS2. I know AS2 will be enhanced to support AS2-To and
AS2-From, but as of right now, these headers aren't defined in any RFC or
Internet Draft. Is this factual?

I also wanted to point out that the email packaging specification within AS2
doesn't follow MIME (RFC 2045) or RFC 822 (which defines the standard syntax
for e-mail messages) specifications for extension headers. According to
these specs extension headers are supposed to contain an "X-" prefix,
reference this excerpt from section 4.1 (Message Specification/Syntax) of
RFC 822:

"  extension-field =
                   <Any field which is defined in a document
                    published as a formal extension to this
                    specification; none will have names beginning
                    with the string "X-"> "

Is my assertion about AS2's email packaging use of non standard header
extensions factual?

I don't believe I've been misleading at all. To the best of my knowledge,
everything I've stated has been 100% factual.

Please let me know, specifically, how/where you believe I've been misleading
in my statements.

Dick Brooks
Group 8760
110 12th Street North
Birmingham, AL 35203
[email-masked]
205-250-8053
Fax: 205-250-8057
http://www.8760.com/

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