[Sip] Question on Accept ABNF

["Christer Holmberg" <[e-mail]>]

Hi,
 
I appologize if the following issue has already been dealt with.
 
In RFC3261 the ABNF for the Accept header is the following:
 
Accept              =  "Accept" HCOLON[ accept-range *(COMMA accept-range) ]
accept-range    =  media-range *(SEMI accept-param)
media-range     =  ( "*/*" / ( m-type SLASH "*" )  / ( m-type SLASH m-subtype )) *( SEMI m-parameter )
accept-param   =  ("q" EQUAL qvalue) / generic-param
qvalue               =  ( "0" [ "." 0*3DIGIT ] ) / ( "1" [ "." 0*3("0") ] )
generic-param  =  token [ EQUAL gen-value ]
gen-value         =  token / host / quoted-string
...
m-parameter     =  m-attribute EQUAL m-value
m-attribute       =  token
m-value            =  token / quoted-string

Now, when I receive: Accept: xxxx/yyyy;myParam=isThis

...how does my parser know whether "myParam" is a m-parameter, or an accept-param?

 
In RFC2616 (HTTP) it is solved by specifying that the first accept-param MUST be a "q" value, so unless you also have a "q" m-parameter you know that anything that comes before "q" is m-parameter, and the rest (including "q" is accept-param):
 
accept-params  = ";" "q" "=" qvalue *( accept-extension )

RFC2616 also says:
 
"Each media-range MAY be followed by one or more accept-params, beginning with the "q" parameter for indicating a relative quality
factor. The first "q" parameter (if any) separates the media-range parameter(s) from the accept-params."
 
...and:
 
"Note: Use of the "q" parameter name to separate media type
 parameters from Accept extension parameters is due to historical
 practice. Although this prevents any media type parameter named
 "q" from being used with a media range, such an event is believed
 to be unlikely given the lack of any "q" parameters in the IANA
 media type registry and the rare usage of any media type
 parameters in Accept. Future media types are discouraged from
 registering any parameter named "q"."
 
 
Now, RFC3261 DOES say that Accept follows the syntax defined in RFC2616, but then it is confusing that the 3261 Accept ABNF is not identical.
 
 
Regards,
 
Christer





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