Last Modified 22/9/92 by RC,CTB

Profile elements

AUTH

Syntax: AUTH WHO=String PWD=String

This specifies the authorisation for the user, giving the user ID and password. Note: this ID is not the same as the one used in CLIENT: it is possible that the ID is that of a person who happens to use the client through a different user.

PUBKEY

Syntax: PUBKEY KEY=String

Public key, in case the server wants to encrypt data before sending it. See a very good summary of public-key cryptosystems in practice, including key certification issues, in the documentation of PGP .

CLIENT

Information about the person requesting the data, the user ID (which may be different from the authorisation user ID), the host (s)he's on, the email address and the organisation worked for. The syntax is CLIENT ID=String HOST=String EMAIL=String ORG=String

ID

represents the user on the given host.

HOST

The full domain name of the host machine on which the client program is running.

EMAIL

The contact address for the client. Optional.

ORG

The text of the client's affiliation. Optional.

[JFG] Perhaps use standard RFC-822 fields ? X.500 needed again !

I like the EMAIL field: servers can do some direct marketing :-) More seriously, inform their regular users on data updates, discount rates, change of public key, ... [RC: in other words, junk-hypertext. Forbidden in Germany? :-) ]

FORMAT

FORMAT NAME=String PENALTY=String

Describes a format the client can accept, and the penalty. Multiple instances of FORMAT add them to a list of acceptable formats.

See Rules for penalty calculation .

SOFTWARE

SOFTWARE PLATFORM=String PROGRAM=String VERSION=String

Information about the client software: the platform it's being run on, the program being used and its version.

Allows servers to adapt to the "market".

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