RFC 3470 · BEST CURRENT PRACTICE · 2003

Guidelines for the Use of Extensible Markup Language within IETF Protocols

Overview

RFC 3470, “Guidelines for the Use of Extensible Markup Language within IETF Protocols”, is a Best Current Practice document published in January 2003 by S. Hollenbeck, M. Rose, L. Masinter. It has since been updated by RFC 8996. The canonical text is published by the RFC Editor.

Abstract

The Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a framework for structuring data. While it evolved from Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) -- a markup language primarily focused on structuring documents -- XML has evolved to be a widely-used mechanism for representing structured data. There are a wide variety of Internet protocols being developed; many have need for a representation for structured data relevant to their application. There has been much interest in the use of XML as a representation method. This document describes basic XML concepts, analyzes various alternatives in the use of XML, and provides guidelines for the use of XML within IETF standards-track protocols. This document specifies an Internet Best Current Practices for the Internet Community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements.

Abstract as published in the RFC, via rfc-editor.org.

What “Best Current Practice” means

Documents the IETF community's recommended operational or procedural practice rather than a protocol specification.

Read this RFC

The canonical text of RFC 3470 is hosted at rfc-editor.org. Available in TXT,HTML.

Relationships to other RFCs
Updated by
RFC 8996
Other RFCs from 2003

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