I-D ACTION:draft-ietf-drums-abnf-v2-01.txt

[[e-mail]]

A New Internet-Draft is available from the on-line Internet-Drafts directories.
This draft is a work item of the Detailed Revision/Update of Message Standards 
Working Group of the IETF.

	Title		: Augmented BNF for Syntax Specifications: ABNF
	Author(s)	: D. Crocker, P. Overell
	Filename	: draft-ietf-drums-abnf-v2-01.txt
	Pages		: 10
	Date		: 20-Nov-98
	
Internet technical specifications often need to define a format
syntax and are free to employ whatever notation their authors
deem useful.  Over the years, a modified version of Backus-Naur
Form (BNF), called Augmented BNF (ABNF), has been popular among
many Internet specifications.  It balances compactness and
simplicity, with reasonable representational power.  In the early
days of the Arpanet, each specification contained its own
definition of ABNF.  This included the email specifications,
RFC733 and then RFC822 which have come to be the common citations
for defining ABNF.  The current document separates out that
definition, to permit selective reference.  Predictably, it also
provides some modifications and enhancements.
 
The differences between standard BNF and ABNF involve naming
rules, repetition, alternatives, order-independence, and value
ranges.  Appendix A (Core) supplies rule definitions and encoding
for a core lexical analyzer of the type common to several
Internet specifications.  It is provided as a convenience and is
otherwise separate from the meta language defined in the body of
this document, and separate from its formal status.

Internet-Drafts are available by anonymous FTP.  Login with the username
"anonymous" and a password of your e-mail address.  After logging in,
type "cd internet-drafts" and then
	"get draft-ietf-drums-abnf-v2-01.txt".
A URL for the Internet-Draft is:
ftp://ftp.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-drums-abnf-v2-01.txt

Internet-Drafts directories are located at:

	Africa:	ftp.is.co.za
	
	Europe: ftp.nordu.net
		ftp.nic.it
			
	Pacific Rim: munnari.oz.au
	
	US East Coast: ftp.ietf.org
	
	US West Coast: ftp.isi.edu

Internet-Drafts are also available by mail.

Send a message to:	[e-mail].  In the body type:
	"FILE /internet-drafts/draft-ietf-drums-abnf-v2-01.txt".
	
NOTE:	The mail server at ietf.org can return the document in
	MIME-encoded form by using the "mpack" utility.  To use this
	feature, insert the command "ENCODING mime" before the "FILE"
	command.  To decode the response(s), you will need "munpack" or
	a MIME-compliant mail reader.  Different MIME-compliant mail readers
	exhibit different behavior, especially when dealing with
	"multipart" MIME messages (i.e. documents which have been split
	up into multiple messages), so check your local documentation on
	how to manipulate these messages.
		
		
Below is the data which will enable a MIME compliant mail reader
implementation to automatically retrieve the ASCII version of the
Internet-Draft.

ftp://ftp.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-drums-abnf-v2-01.txt"><ftp://ftp.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-drums-abnf-v2-01.txt>