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  <front>
    <title abbrev="non-ASCII in RFCs">The Use of Non-ASCII Characters in RFCs</title>
    <author fullname="Heather Flanagan" initials="H." role="editor" surname="Flanagan">
      <organization>RFC Editor</organization>
      <address>
        <postal>
          <street/>
          <city/>
          <region/>
          <code/>
          <country/>
        </postal>
        <phone/>
        <email>rse@rfc-editor.org</email>
        <uri>http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2647-2220</uri>
      </address>
    </author>
    <date month="August" year="2015" day="19"/>
    <area>General</area>
    <workgroup>Internet Engineering Task Force</workgroup>
    <keyword>RFC Series, UTF-8, ASCII, format, non-ASCII</keyword>
    <abstract>
      <t>In order to support the internationalization of protocols and a more diverse Internet community, the RFC Series must evolve to allow for the use of non-ASCII characters in RFCs.  While English remains the required language of the Series, the encoding of future RFCs will be in UTF-8, allowing for a broader range of characters than typically used in the English language.  This document describes the RFC Editor requirements and guidance regarding the use of non-ASCII characters in RFCs.  </t>
      <t>This document updates RFC 7322.  </t>
    </abstract>
  </front>
  <middle>
    <section title="Introduction" numbered="true" toc="default">
      <t>For much of the history of the RFC Series, the character encoding used for RFCs has been <xref target="ANSI.X3-4.1986" pageno="false" format="default">ASCII</xref>.  This was a sensible choice at the time: the language of the Series has always been English, a language that primarily uses ASCII-encoded characters (ignoring for a moment words borrowed from more richly decorated alphabets); and, ASCII is the "lowest common denominator" for character encoding, making cross-platform viewing trivial.  </t>
      <t>There are limits to ASCII, however, that hinder its continued use as the exclusive character encoding for the Series.  The increasing need for easily readable, internationalized content suggests it is time to allow non-ASCII characters in RFCs where necessary.  To support this move away from ASCII, RFCs will switch to supporting UTF-8 as the default character encoding and allow support for a broad range of Unicode character support.  <xref target="UnicodeCurrent" pageno="false" format="default"/>  Note that the RFC Editor may reject any codepoint that does not render adequately in enough formats or on in enough rendering engines using the current tooling.  </t>
      <t>Given the continuing goal of maximum readability across platforms, the use of non-ASCII characters should be limited in a document to only where necessary within the text.  This document describes the rules under which non-ASCII characters may be used in an RFC.  These rules will be applied as the necessary changes are made to submission checking and editorial tools.  </t>
      <t>This document updates the <xref target="RFC7322" pageno="false" format="default">RFC Style Guide</xref>.  </t>
      <t>The details described in this document are expected to change based on experience gained in implementing the RFC production center's toolset. Revised documents will be published capturing those changes as the toolset is completed. Other implementers must not expect those changes to remain backwards-compatible with the details described this document.</t>
    </section>
    <section title="Basic requirements" numbered="true" toc="default">
      <t>Two fundamental requirements inform the guidance and examples provided in this document.  They are: </t>
      <t><list style="symbols"><t>Searches against RFC indexes and database tables need to return expected results and support appropriate Unicode string matching behaviors; </t><t>RFCs must be able to display correctly across a wide range of readers and browsers.  People whose system does not have the fonts needed to display a particular RFC need to be able to read the various publication formats and the XML correctly in order to understand and implement the information described in the document.</t></list> </t>
    </section>
    <section title="Rules for the use of non-ASCII characters" numbered="true" toc="default">
      <t>This section describes the guidelines for the use of non-ASCII characters in the header, body, and reference sections of an RFC.  If the RFC Editor identifies areas where the use of non-ASCII characters negatively impacts the readability of the text, they will request alternate text.  </t>
      <t>The RFC Editor may, in cases of entire words represented in non-ASCII characters, ask for a set of reviewers to verify the meaning, spelling, characters, and grammar of the text.  </t>
      <section title="General usage throughout a document" numbered="true" toc="default">
        <t>Where the use of non-ASCII characters is purely as part of an example and not otherwise required for correct protocol operation, escaping the non-ASCII character is not required.  Note, however, that as the language of the RFC Series is English, the use of non-ASCII characters is based on the spelling of words commonly used in the English language following the guidance in the <xref target="MerrWeb" pageno="false" format="default">Merriam-Webster dictionary</xref>.  </t>
        <t>The RFC Editor will use the primary spelling listed in that dictionary by default.  </t>
        <t>Example of non-ASCII characters that do not require escaping <xref target="RFC4475" pageno="false" format="default"/>: <figure title="" suppress-title="false" align="left" alt="" width="" height=""><artwork xml:space="preserve" name="" type="" align="left" alt="" width="" height="">
This particular response contains unreserved and non-ascii
UTF-8 characters.
This response is well formed.  A parser must accept this message.
Message Details : unreason
SIP/2.0 200 = 2**3 * 5**2 &#1085;&#1086; &#1089;&#1090;&#1086; &#1076;&#1077;&#1074;&#1103;&#1085;&#1086;&#1089;&#1090;&#1086; &#1076;&#1077;&#1074;&#1103;&#1090;&#1100; - &#1087;&#1088;&#1086;&#1089;&#1090;&#1086;&#1077;
Via: SIP/2.0/UDP 192.0.2.198;branch=z9hG4bK1324923
Call-ID: unreason.1234ksdfak3j2erwedfsASdf
CSeq: 35 INVITE
From: sip:user@example.com;tag=11141343
To: sip:user@example.edu;tag=2229 Content-Length: 154
Content-Type: application/sdp
</artwork></figure> </t>
      </section>
      <section title="Authors, Contributors, and Acknowledgments" numbered="true" toc="default">
        <t>Person names may appear in several places within an RFC.  In all cases, valid Unicode is required.  For names that include non-ASCII characters, an author-provided, ASCII-only identifier is required to assist in search and indexing of the document.  </t>
        <t>Example for the header:</t>
        <figure title="" suppress-title="false" align="left" alt="" width="" height="">
          <artwork xml:space="preserve" name="" type="" align="left" alt="" width="" height="">
Network Working Group                                        L. Daigle
Request for Comments: 2611                    Thinking Cat Enterprises
BCP: 33                                                   D. van Gulik
Category: Best Current Practice                    ISIS/CEO, JRC Ispra
                                                           R. Iannella
                                                          DSTC Pty Ltd
                                           P. F&#228;ltstr&#246;m (P. Faltstrom)
                                                         Tele2/Swipnet
                                                             June 1999
</artwork>
        </figure>
        <t>Example for the Acknowledgements: </t>
        <t>OLD: The following people contributed significant text to early versions of this draft: Patrik Faltstrom, William Chan, and Fred Baker.  </t>
        <t>PROPOSED/NEW: The following people contributed significant text to early versions of this draft: Patrik F&#228;ltstr&#246;m (Patrik Faltstrom), &#38472;&#26234;&#26124; (William Chan), and Fred Baker.  </t>
      </section>
      <section title="Company Names" numbered="true" toc="default">
        <t>Company names may appear in several places within an RFC.  The rules for company names follow similar guidance to that of person names.  Valid Unicode is required.  For company names that include non-ASCII characters, an ASCII-only identifier is required to assist in search and indexing of the document.  </t>
      </section>
      <section title="Body of the document" numbered="true" toc="default">
        <t>When the mention of non-ASCII characters is required for correct protocol operation and understanding, the characters' Unicode character name or code point MUST be included in the text.  </t>
        <t><list style="symbols"><t>Non-ASCII characters will require identifying the Unicode code point.</t><t>Use of the actual UTF-8 character (e.g., &#916;) is encouraged so that a reader can more easily see what the character is, if their device can render the text.</t><t>The use of the Unicode character names like "INCREMENT" in addition to the use of Unicode code points is also encouraged.  When used, Unicode character names should be in all capital letters.</t></list> </t>
        <t>Examples:</t>
        <t>OLD <xref target="RFC7564" pageno="false" format="default"/>: </t>
        <figure title="" suppress-title="false" align="left" alt="" width="" height="">
          <artwork xml:space="preserve" name="" type="" align="left" alt="" width="" height="">
However, the problem is made more serious by introducing the full 
range of Unicode code points into protocol strings.  For example, 
the characters U+13DA U+13A2 U+13B5 U+13AC U+13A2 U+13AC U+13D2 from 
the Cherokee block look similar to the ASCII characters  "STPETER" as 
they might appear when presented using a "creative" font family.
</artwork>
        </figure>
        <t>NEW/ALLOWED:</t>
        <figure title="" suppress-title="false" align="left" alt="" width="" height="">
          <artwork xml:space="preserve" name="" type="" align="left" alt="" width="" height="">
However, the problem is made more serious by introducing the full 
range of Unicode code points into protocol strings.  For example, 
the characters U+13DA U+13A2 U+13B5 U+13AC U+13A2 U+13AC U+13D2 
(&#5082;&#5026;&#5045;&#5036;&#5026;&#5036;&#5074;) from the Cherokee block look similar to the ASCII 
characters "STPETER" as they might appear when presented using a 
"creative" font family.
</artwork>
        </figure>
        <t>ALSO ACCEPTABLE:</t>
        <figure title="" suppress-title="false" align="left" alt="" width="" height="">
          <artwork xml:space="preserve" name="" type="" align="left" alt="" width="" height="">
However, the problem is made more serious by introducing the full 
range of Unicode code points into protocol strings.  For example, 
the characters "&#5082;&#5026;&#5045;&#5036;&#5026;&#5036;&#5074;" (U+13DA U+13A2 U+13B5 U+13AC U+13A2 
U+13AC U+13D2) from the Cherokee block look similar to the ASCII 
characters "STPETER" as they might appear when presented using a 
"creative" font family.
</artwork>
        </figure>
        <t>Example of proper identification of Unicode characters in an RFC:</t>
        <t>Acceptable:</t>
        <t><list style="symbols"><t>Temperature changes in the Temperature Control Protocol are indicated by the U+2206 character.</t></list> </t>
        <t>Preferred: </t>
        <t><list style="numbers"><t>Temperature changes in the Temperature Control Protocol are indicated by the U+2206 character ("&#916;").</t><t>Temperature changes in the Temperature Control Protocol are indicated by the U+2206 character (INCREMENT).</t><t>Temperature changes in the Temperature Control Protocol are indicated by the U+2206 character ("&#916;", INCREMENT).</t><t>Temperature changes in the Temperature Control Protocol are indicated by the U+2206 character (INCREMENT, "&#916;").</t><t>Temperature changes in the Temperature Control Protocol are indicated by the [Delta] character "&#916;" (U+2206).</t><t>Temperature changes in the Temperature Control Protocol are indicated by the character "&#916;" (INCREMENT, U+2206).</t></list> </t>
        <t>Which option of (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), or (6) is preferred may depend on context and the specific character(s) in question.  All are acceptable within an RFC.  BCP 137, "ASCII Escaping of Unicode Character" describes the pros and cons of different options for identifying Unicode characters in an ASCII document <xref target="RFC5137" pageno="false" format="default">BCP137</xref>.  </t>
      </section>
      <section title="Tables" numbered="true" toc="default">
        <t>Tables follow the same rules for identifiers and characters as in "Section 3.4. Body of the document".  If it is sensible (i.e., more understandable for a reader) for a given document to have two tables -- one including the identifiers and non-ASCII characters and a second with just the non-ASCII characters -- that will be allowed on a case-by-case basis.  </t>
        <t>Original text from "Preparation, Enforcement, and Comparison of Internationalized Strings Representing Usernames and Passwords" <xref target="RFC7613" pageno="false" format="default"/>.  </t>
        <figure title="" suppress-title="false" align="left" alt="" width="" height="">
          <preamble>Table 3: A sample of legal passwords</preamble>
          <artwork xml:space="preserve" name="" type="" align="left" alt="" width="" height="">
+------------------------------------+------------------------------+
| # | Password                       | Notes                        |
+------------------------------------+------------------------------+
| 12| &lt;correct horse battery staple&gt; | ASCII space is allowed       |
+------------------------------------+------------------------------+
| 13| &lt;Correct Horse Battery Staple&gt; | Different from example 12    |
+------------------------------------+------------------------------+
| 14| &lt;&amp;#x3C0;&amp;#xDF;&amp;#xE5;&gt;          | Non-ASCII letters are OK     |
|   |                                | (e.g., GREEK SMALL LETTER    |
|   |                                | PI, U+03C0)                  |
+------------------------------------+------------------------------+
| 15| &lt;Jack of &amp;#x2666;s&gt;            | Symbols are OK (e.g., BLACK  |
|   |                                | DIAMOND SUIT, U+2666)        |
+------------------------------------+------------------------------+
| 16| &lt;foo&amp;#x1680;bar&gt;               | OGHAM SPACE MARK, U+1680, is |
|   |                                | mapped to U+0020 and thus    |
|   |                                | the full string is mapped to |
|   |                                | &lt;foo bar&gt;                    |
+------------------------------------+------------------------------+
        </artwork>
        </figure>
        <t>Preferred text:</t>
        <figure title="" suppress-title="false" align="left" alt="" width="" height="">
          <preamble>Table 3: A sample of legal passwords</preamble>
          <artwork xml:space="preserve" name="" type="" align="left" alt="" width="" height="">
+------------------------------------+------------------------------+
| # | Password                       | Notes                        |
+------------------------------------+------------------------------+
| 12| &lt;correct horse battery staple&gt; | ASCII space is allowed       |
+------------------------------------+------------------------------+
| 13| &lt;Correct Horse Battery Staple&gt; | Different from example 12    |
+------------------------------------+------------------------------+
| 14| &lt;&#960;&#223;&#3671;&gt;                          | Non-ASCII letters are OK     |
|   |                                | (e.g., GREEK SMALL LETTER    |
|   |                                | PI, U+03C0; LATIN SMALL      |
|   |                                | LETTER SHARP S, U+00DF; THAI |
|   |                                | DIGIT SEVEN, U+0E57)         |
+------------------------------------+------------------------------+
| 15| &lt;Jack of &#9830;s&gt;                   | Symbols are OK (e.g., BLACK  |
|   |                                | DIAMOND SUIT, U+2666)        |
+------------------------------------+------------------------------+
| 16| &lt;foo&#5760;bar&gt;                      | OGHAM SPACE MARK, U+1680, is |
|   |                                | mapped to U+0020 and thus    |
|   |                                | the full string is mapped to |
|   |                                | &lt;foo bar&gt;                    |
+------------------------------------+------------------------------+
        </artwork>
        </figure>
      </section>
      <section title="Code components" numbered="true" toc="default">
        <t>The RFC Editor encourages the use of the U+ notation except within a code component where you must follow the rules of the programming language in which you are writing the code.  </t>
      </section>
      <section title="Bibliographic text" numbered="true" toc="default">
        <t>The reference entry must be in English; whatever subfields are present must be available in ASCII-encoded characters.  As long as good sense is used, the reference entry may also include non-ASCII characters at the author's discretion and as provided by the author.  The RFC Editor may request a review of the non-ASCII reference entry.  This applies to both normative and informative references.  </t>
        <t>Example:</t>
        <figure title="" suppress-title="false" align="left" alt="" width="" height="">
          <artwork xml:space="preserve" name="" type="" align="left" alt="" width="" height="">
[GOST3410] "Information technology. Cryptographic data security. 
           Signature and verification processes of [electronic]
           digital signature.", GOST R 34.10-2001, Gosudarstvennyi 
           Standard of Russian Federation, Government Committee of 
           Russia for Standards, 2001. (In Russian)

Allowable addition to the above citation:
           "&#1048;&#1085;&#1092;&#1086;&#1088;&#1084;&#1072;&#1094;&#1080;&#1086;&#1085;&#1085;&#1072;&#1103; &#1090;&#1077;&#1093;&#1085;&#1086;&#1083;&#1086;&#1075;&#1080;&#1103;. &#1050;&#1088;&#1080;&#1087;&#1090;&#1086;&#1075;&#1088;&#1072;&#1092;&#1080;&#1095;&#1077;&#1089;&#1082;&#1072;&#1103; &#1079;&#1072;&#1097;&#1080;&#1090;&#1072;
           &#1080;&#1085;&#1092;&#1086;&#1088;&#1084;&#1072;&#1094;&#1080;&#1080;. &#1055;&#1088;&#1086;&#1094;&#1077;&#1089;&#1089;&#1099; &#1092;&#1086;&#1088;&#1084;&#1080;&#1088;&#1086;&#1074;&#1072;&#1085;&#1080;&#1103; &#1080; &#1087;&#1088;&#1086;&#1074;&#1077;&#1088;&#1082;&#1080;
           &#1101;&#1083;&#1077;&#1082;&#1090;&#1088;&#1086;&#1085;&#1085;&#1086;&#1081; &#1094;&#1080;&#1092;&#1088;&#1086;&#1074;&#1086;&#1081; &#1087;&#1086;&#1076;&#1087;&#1080;&#1089;&#1080;", GOST R 34.10-2001,
           &#1043;&#1086;&#1089;&#1091;&#1076;&#1072;&#1088;&#1089;&#1090;&#1074;&#1077;&#1085;&#1085;&#1099;&#1081; &#1089;&#1090;&#1072;&#1085;&#1076;&#1072;&#1088;&#1090; &#1056;&#1086;&#1089;&#1089;&#1080;&#1081;&#1089;&#1082;&#1086;&#1081; &#1060;&#1077;&#1076;&#1077;&#1088;&#1072;&#1094;&#1080;&#1080;, 2001.
</artwork>
        </figure>
      </section>
      <section title="Keywords and Citation Tags" numbered="true" toc="default">
        <t>Keywords and citation tags must be ASCII only.  </t>
      </section>
      <section title="Address Information" numbered="true" toc="default">
        <t>The purpose of providing address information, either postal or e-mail, is to assist readers of an RFC to contact the author or authors.  Authors may include the official postal address as recognized by their company or local postal service without additional non-ASCII character escapes.  If the email address includes non-ASCII characters and is a valid email address at the time of publication, non-ASCII character escapes are not required.  </t>
      </section>
    </section>
    <section title="Normalization Forms" numbered="true" toc="default">
      <t>Authors should not expect normalization forms to be preserved. If a particular normalization form is expected, note that in the text of the RFC.  </t>
    </section>
    <section title="XML Markup" numbered="true" toc="default">
      <t>As described above, use of non-ASCII characters in areas such as email, company name, addresses, and name is allowed. In order to make it easier for code to identify the appropriate ASCII alternatives, authors must include an "ascii" attribute to their XML markup.  See <xref target="I-D.hoffman-xml2rfc" pageno="false" format="default"/> for more detail.  </t>
    </section>
    <section title="IANA Considerations" numbered="true" toc="default">
      <t>This document makes no request of IANA.  </t>
      <t>Note to RFC Editor: this section may be removed on publication as an RFC.  </t>
    </section>
    <section title="Internationalization Considerations" numbered="true" toc="default">
      <t>The ability to use non-ASCII characters in RFCs in a clear and consistent manner will improve the ability to describe internationalized protocols and will recognize the diversity of authors. However, the goal of readability will override the use of non-ASCII characters within the text.  </t>
    </section>
    <section title="Security Considerations" numbered="true" toc="default">
      <t>Valid Unicode that matches the expected text must be verified in order to preserve expected behavior and protocol information.  </t>
    </section>
    <section title="Change log - to be removed by the RFC Editor" numbered="true" toc="default">
      <section title="-04 to -05" numbered="true" toc="default">
        <t>Keywords: expanded section to include citation tags.</t>
        <t>Internationalization considerations: reiterated that the use of non-ASCII characters is not automatically guaranteed.</t>
      </section>
      <section title="-04 to -05" numbered="true" toc="default">
        <t>Introduction: added statement regarding document subject to change.</t>
        <t>Tables: added example.</t>
        <t>Code: removed placeholder for example.</t>
      </section>
      <section title="-02 to -04" numbered="true" toc="default">
        <t>Introduction and Abstract: change to be clearer about what/why non-ASCII characters are being allowed.</t>
        <t>XML Markup: section added.</t>
      </section>
    </section>
  </middle>
  <back>
    <references title="References"><reference anchor="ANSI.X3-4.1986" quote-title="true"><front><title>Coded Character Set - 7-bit American Standard Code for Information Interchange</title><author><organization>American National Standards Institute</organization></author><date month="" year="1986"/></front><seriesInfo name="ANSI" value="X3.4"/></reference> <reference anchor="RFC3550" target="http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3550" quote-title="true"><front><title>RTP: A Transport Protocol for Real-Time Applications</title><author initials="H." surname="Schulzrinne" fullname="H. Schulzrinne"><organization/></author><author initials="S." surname="Casner" fullname="S. Casner"><organization/></author><author initials="R." surname="Frederick" fullname="R. Frederick"><organization/></author><author initials="V." surname="Jacobson" fullname="V. Jacobson"><organization/></author><date year="2003" month="July"/><abstract><t>This memorandum describes RTP, the real-time transport protocol.  RTP provides end-to-end network transport functions suitable for applications transmitting real-time data, such as audio, video or simulation data, over multicast or unicast network services.  RTP does not address resource reservation and does not guarantee quality-of- service for real-time services.  The data transport is augmented by a control protocol (RTCP) to allow monitoring of the data delivery in a manner scalable to large multicast networks, and to provide minimal control and identification functionality.  RTP and RTCP are designed to be independent of the underlying transport and network layers.  The protocol supports the use of RTP-level translators and mixers. Most of the text in this memorandum is identical to RFC 1889 which it obsoletes.  There are no changes in the packet formats on the wire, only changes to the rules and algorithms governing how the protocol is used. The biggest change is an enhancement to the scalable timer algorithm for calculating when to send RTCP packets in order to minimize transmission in excess of the intended rate when many participants join a session simultaneously.  [STANDARDS-TRACK]</t></abstract></front><seriesInfo name="STD" value="64"/><seriesInfo name="RFC" value="3550"/><seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC3550"/></reference> <reference anchor="RFC4475" target="http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4475" quote-title="true"><front><title>Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Torture Test Messages</title><author initials="R." surname="Sparks" fullname="R. Sparks" role="editor"><organization/></author><author initials="A." surname="Hawrylyshen" fullname="A. Hawrylyshen"><organization/></author><author initials="A." surname="Johnston" fullname="A. Johnston"><organization/></author><author initials="J." surname="Rosenberg" fullname="J. Rosenberg"><organization/></author><author initials="H." surname="Schulzrinne" fullname="H. Schulzrinne"><organization/></author><date year="2006" month="May"/><abstract><t>This informational document gives examples of Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) test messages designed to exercise and "torture" a SIP implementation.  This memo provides information for the Internet community.</t></abstract></front><seriesInfo name="RFC" value="4475"/><seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC4475"/></reference> <reference anchor="RFC5137" target="http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5137" quote-title="true"><front><title>ASCII Escaping of Unicode Characters</title><author initials="J." surname="Klensin" fullname="J. Klensin"><organization/></author><date year="2008" month="February"/><abstract><t>There are a number of circumstances in which an escape mechanism is needed in conjunction with a protocol to encode characters that cannot be represented or transmitted directly.  With ASCII coding, the traditional escape has been either the decimal or hexadecimal numeric value of the character, written in a variety of different ways.  The move to Unicode, where characters occupy two or more octets and may be coded in several different forms, has further complicated the question of escapes.  This document discusses some options now in use and discusses considerations for selecting one for use in new IETF protocols, and protocols that are now being internationalized.  This document specifies an Internet Best Current Practices for the Internet Community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements.</t></abstract></front><seriesInfo name="BCP" value="137"/><seriesInfo name="RFC" value="5137"/><seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC5137"/></reference> <reference anchor="RFC6949" target="http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6949" quote-title="true"><front><title>RFC Series Format Requirements and Future Development</title><author initials="H." surname="Flanagan" fullname="H. Flanagan"><organization/></author><author initials="N." surname="Brownlee" fullname="N. Brownlee"><organization/></author><date year="2013" month="May"/><abstract><t>This document describes the current requirements and requests for enhancements for the format of the canonical version of RFCs.  Terms are defined to help clarify exactly which stages of document production are under discussion for format changes.  The requirements described in this document will determine what changes will be made to RFC format.  This document updates RFC 2223.</t></abstract></front><seriesInfo name="RFC" value="6949"/><seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC6949"/></reference> <reference anchor="RFC7322" target="http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7322" quote-title="true"><front><title>RFC Style Guide</title><author initials="H." surname="Flanagan" fullname="H. Flanagan"><organization/></author><author initials="S." surname="Ginoza" fullname="S. Ginoza"><organization/></author><date year="2014" month="September"/><abstract><t>This document describes the fundamental and unique style conventions and editorial policies currently in use for the RFC Series.  It captures the RFC Editor's basic requirements and offers guidance regarding the style and structure of an RFC.  Additional guidance is captured on a website that reflects the experimental nature of that guidance and prepares it for future inclusion in the RFC Style Guide.  This document obsoletes RFC 2223, "Instructions to RFC Authors".</t></abstract></front><seriesInfo name="RFC" value="7322"/><seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC7322"/></reference> <reference anchor="RFC7564" target="http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7564" quote-title="true"><front><title>PRECIS Framework: Preparation, Enforcement, and Comparison of Internationalized Strings in Application Protocols</title><author initials="P." surname="Saint-Andre" fullname="P. Saint-Andre"><organization/></author><author initials="M." surname="Blanchet" fullname="M. Blanchet"><organization/></author><date year="2015" month="May"/><abstract><t>Application protocols using Unicode characters in protocol strings need to properly handle such strings in order to enforce internationalization rules for strings placed in various protocol slots (such as addresses and identifiers) and to perform valid comparison operations (e.g., for purposes of authentication or authorization).  This document defines a framework enabling application protocols to perform the preparation, enforcement, and comparison of internationalized strings ("PRECIS") in a way that depends on the properties of Unicode characters and thus is agile with respect to versions of Unicode.  As a result, this framework provides a more sustainable approach to the handling of internationalized strings than the previous framework, known as Stringprep (RFC 3454).  This document obsoletes RFC 3454.</t></abstract></front><seriesInfo name="RFC" value="7564"/><seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC7564"/></reference> <reference anchor="RFC7613" target="http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7613" quote-title="true"><front><title>Preparation, Enforcement, and Comparison of Internationalized Strings Representing Usernames and Passwords</title><author initials="P." surname="Saint-Andre" fullname="P. Saint-Andre"><organization/></author><author initials="A." surname="Melnikov" fullname="A. Melnikov"><organization/></author><date year="2015" month="August"/><abstract><t>This document describes updated methods for handling Unicode strings representing usernames and passwords.  The previous approach was known as SASLprep (RFC 4013) and was based on stringprep (RFC 3454). The methods specified in this document provide a more sustainable approach to the handling of internationalized usernames and passwords.  The preparation, enforcement, and comparison of internationalized strings (PRECIS) framework, RFC 7564, obsoletes RFC 3454, and this document obsoletes RFC 4013.</t></abstract></front><seriesInfo name="RFC" value="7613"/><seriesInfo name="DOI" value="10.17487/RFC7613"/></reference> <reference anchor="I-D.hoffman-xml2rfc" quote-title="true"><front><title>The 'XML2RFC' version 3 Vocabulary</title><author initials="P" surname="Hoffman" fullname="Paul Hoffman"><organization/></author><date month="September" day="4" year="2015"/><abstract><t>This document defines the "XML2RFC" version 3 vocabulary; an XML- based language used for writing RFCs and Internet-Drafts.  It is heavily derived from the version 2 vocabulary that is also under discussion.  This document obsoletes the v2 grammar described in RFC 2629 and its expected followup, draft-iab-xml2rfc.  Editorial Note (To be removed by RFC Editor)  Discussion of this draft takes place on the rfc-interest mailing list (rfc-interest@rfc-editor.org), which has its home page at &lt;https://www.rfc-editor.org/mailman/listinfo/rfc-interest&gt;.</t></abstract></front><seriesInfo name="Internet-Draft" value="draft-hoffman-xml2rfc-23"/><format type="TXT" target="http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-hoffman-xml2rfc-23.txt"/></reference> <reference anchor="MerrWeb" quote-title="true"><front><title>Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition</title><author><organization>Merriam-Webster,Inc.</organization></author><date year="2009"/></front></reference><reference anchor="UnicodeCurrent" target="http://www.unicode.org/versions/latest/" quote-title="true"><front><title>The Unicode Standard</title><author><organization>The Unicode Consortium</organization></author><date year="2014-present"/></front></reference></references>
    <section title="Acknowledgements" numbered="true" toc="default">
      <t>With many thanks to the members of the IAB i18n program and the RFC Format Design Team.  </t>
    </section>
  </back>
</rfc>
