From 4bfd864f10b68b71482b35c818559068ef8d5797 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Thomas Voss Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2024 20:54:24 +0100 Subject: doc: Add RFC documents --- doc/rfc/rfc744.txt | 354 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 354 insertions(+) create mode 100644 doc/rfc/rfc744.txt (limited to 'doc/rfc/rfc744.txt') diff --git a/doc/rfc/rfc744.txt b/doc/rfc/rfc744.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b150595 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/rfc/rfc744.txt @@ -0,0 +1,354 @@ + +NWG/RFC 744 JS5 8-Jan-78 21:59 42857 +Network Working Group Joanne Sattley +Request for Comments: 744 JZS@CCA +NIC: 42857 8 January 1978 + + + MARS - A Message Archiving & Retrieval Service + + +I. Introduction + ------------ + +This document describes a Message Archiving and Retrieval Service +(MARS) which has been developed at Computer Corporation of America; it +utilizes the Datacomputer, a network database utility developed by CCA +for ARPA. [Research and development of a prototype MARS system was +supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the +Department of Defense, under the ARPA Very Large Databases program, +and was monitored by the Office of Naval Research under Contract No. +N00014-76-C-0991.] + +The Service is available, primarily, to groups for storage of +teleconferencing transcripts. Is is also available, upon request, to +individual ARPANET correspondents. + +There are both 'public' and 'private' messages in the database. +Public messages may be retrieved by anyone. The public collection +includes the messages of the Header-People [@ MIT-MC] group, and the +MsgGroup [@ USC-ISI] proceedings. + +Private messages may be retrieved only by the users who have archived +them, or anyone whose name appears on the list of message recipients. + +Messages archived using MARS are heavily indexed and can be retrieved +in a variety of ways, including Boolean combinations of message +recipients, message composition date, any text words in the message +subject, and text words in the message body. The MARS facilities are +integrated very naturally into the existing collection of +message-handling tools: + + . A message is designated for archiving by sending it to + MARS-Filer @ CCA using one of the usual message-mailing tools such + as SNDMSG. + + . A message is designated for retrieval by sending a request as + ordinary mail to MARS-Retriever @ CCA. + +The Filer program checks for mail every hour; the Retriever program +checks every quarter-hour. The periodicity can be altered to meet +demand but the intent is for MARS to operate as a background job and +only during extremely low-activity periods. + +The next section (II) describes the indexing operation in greater +detail, and how to archive and retrieve messages. The last section +(III) is an extractable user card. + + + [Page 1] + +NWG/RFC 744 JS5 8-Jan-78 21:59 42857 +MARS - A Message Archiving & Retrieval Service + + + +II. Using MARS + ---------- + +A. Message Indexing + ---------------- + +For each message, a vector of parsed tokens is created. The parsed +tokens are collected by the message-field in which they occurred -- to +be used as "indexes", i.e., values of inverted fields, by the +Datacomputer. + +The Filer "indexes", essentially without analysis, except for the +following: + + -- Each distinguishable section of the message is indexed + separately; each header line is a separate inversion domain, as + is the body of the message. + + -- The header lines which contain ARPANET addresses are analyzed in + order to index separately on mailbox and host. + + -- The date-field is parsed and converted to the standard Tenex + internal date/time format, which is better adapted for + less-than/greater-than comparisons, as in retrievals which + specify a date range. + + -- One-character words in both the subject-field and the + message-text field arbitrarily discarded. + + -- Two-character words in the message-text field are arbitrarily + discarded. + + -- Hyphenated phrases, i.e., words bound together by hyphens, are + retained intact. + + -- All message formats which conform to RFC 733 standards are + accommodated. The minimum requirements are: a date-field, a + from-field, and a blank line between the message-header and + message-body. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + [Page 2] + +NWG/RFC 744 JS5 8-Jan-78 21:59 42857 +MARS - A Message Archiving & Retrieval Service + + + +B. To Archive Messages + ------------------- + +There are three modes of filing currently supported by MARS, to wit: + + -- single-message mode, wherein the MARS-Filer mailbox appears in + the message as an addressee; + + -- forwarded-message mode, wherein the MARS-Filer mailbox appears as + the only primary recipient; + + and + + -- batch mode, wherein the mailing envelope is addressed to + MARS-Filer and the subject-field contains the keyword "batch". + +Until the ARPANET standard for the format of messages is implemented +universally, the variability amongst formats is still greater than the +Filer can handle as it stands. Nonetheless, a user can successfully +file any message in a "foreign" format by forwarding it to the Filer +under the aegis of a mail-handling program which does produce good +formats. Admittedly, the correct header-field indexing, as described +above, will not be done on the enclosed message; but at least, the +words in its unreadable header fields will appear as "text" words in +the indexing. + +In the case of forwarded-message-mode filing, all interesting indexing +information is extracted from the message-header of the forwarding +envelope prior to discarding it. The name of the archiver, the date +and time the message was forwarded, and the subject-line information +are recorded. The remainder is handled as though it were a +non-forwarded message which had been CC'd to the Filer. + +A forwarded message may be 'annotated' by adding text (e.g., notes, +comments, keywords) in the forwarding envelope. Annotations are filed +and retrieved as part of the archived message. + +In the case of batch-mode filing, only the archiver's name and the +date and time s/he sent the package are extracted from the mailing +envelope. The message-body portion is then treated as a series of +individual messages. + + + + + + + + + + + + [Page 3] + +NWG/RFC 744 JS5 8-Jan-78 21:59 42857 +MARS - A Message Archiving & Retrieval Service + + + +C. To Retrieve Messages + -------------------- + +Retrievals are initiated by sending a Retrieval Request (which is a +specially formatted message) to "MARS-Retriever@CCA". Retrieved +messages are mailed back, one at a time, and will appear as new mail +in the requester's mailbox. + +Retrieval Request messages can be composed using any SNDMSG-type of +program, as follows: + + . The recipient of the RR message must be MARS-Retriever @ CCA + + . Other message header fields are ignored for now + + . The message body portion of the RR is used to compose Datalanguage + for performing the retrieval. Its format resembles a message + header, or selected portions thereof. + +The following list defines which field names are recognized, and some +notes on their interpretation. The scanning of each field is +terminated by a carriage-return. + + DATE: The format of the date field is day-month-year. Use of + hyphens is optional. This field will cause only those + messages composed on the specified date to be retrieved. + + AFTER: Use of this field will retrieve messages composed after + the specified date. + + SINCE: This field is interpreted like the AFTER: field. + + BEFORE: Use of this field will retrieve messages composed before + the specified date. + + UNTIL: This field is interpreted like the BEFORE: field. + + FROM: This field is expected to contain a valid mailbox name. + The host specification is optional. If more than one name + is specified, ORing of the names is implicit. + Retrieval based upon host specification alone has not been + implemented. + + TO: This field is expected to contain one or more valid + mailbox names. The host specification is optional. Spaces + and commas between the names imply AND. + + + + + + + [Page 4] + +NWG/RFC 744 JS5 8-Jan-78 21:59 42857 +MARS - A Message Archiving & Retrieval Service + + + + SUBJECT: Use of this field will retrieve all messages whose + indexed subject-field contents match the specified + word(s). Spaces and commas imply AND. The use of OR + must be explicit. + + TEXT: Use of this field will retrieve all messages whose + indexed message-body contents match the specified + word(s). Spaces and commas imply AND. The use of OR + must be explicit. + +An interactive TENEX-based program for composing RRs is available; +the filename is "RR.SAV". A copy of this program is stored on the +Datacomputer, available via DFTP under node COMMON>MARS. + +There is also a copy of the program in CCA's directory at SRI-KA; +another in the CCA-ACCAT directory at ISIA. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + [Page 5] + +NWG/RFC 744 JS5 8-Jan-78 21:59 42857 +MARS - A Message Archiving & Retrieval Service + + + +III. MARS User Card + -------------- + +:: Archiving + --------- + +Individual Messages + + . Include MARS-Filer@CCA on message distribution list + + . Forward message to MARS-Filer@CCA [Annotation is optional.] + +Batches of Messages + + . Incorporate the mail file as the message-body of a single + message sent to MARS-Filer@CCA with the clue "BATCH" in its + subject-field. + +:: Retrieving + ---------- + +Using RR Program + + . RR is a TENEX-based interactive program designed to prepare + Retrieval Request messages and to mail them to MARS-Retriever@CCA. + +Using SNDMSG-Type Program + + . Send a message to MARS-Retriever@CCA, specifying the retrieval + criteria in the body of the message. + +Sample Retrieval Criteria + +SUBJECT:RFC 733 or RFC733 ; OR must be explicit + +TEXT:MARS Project,goals ; spaces & commas imply AND + +DATE: 14 November 1977 +SINCE: 1 Nov 77 ; same as AFTER: 1 Nov 77 +AFTER: 1 Dec 1977 +UNTIL: 15 January 1978 ; same as BEFORE: 15 January 1978 +BEFORE: Aug 7 76 + +FROM: JZS@CCA ; host specification is optional +FROM: Hacker,JZS ; comma implies OR (in FROM: field only) + +TO: CCA@SRI-KA ; host specification is optional +TO: SDD-0:,SDD-1: ; spaces and commas imply AND + + + + + [Page 6] \ No newline at end of file -- cgit v1.2.3