[JDEV] Questions on the protocol

[Anders Qvist]

Some question that has arisen during my work with the protocol.
They're not very pressing, just my musings and some unclear issues.

1. Are we allowed to put subsessions within a session? Eg

   <jabber>
     <login><user>svempa</user>...</login>
     <message>...</message>
     <jabber>
       <login><user>nisse</user>...</login>
       <message>...</message>
     </jabber>
   </jabber>

   Don't know if there's any point in this. Anyone sees a use?

2. We should stipulate that the <login><user></user></login> always
   contains the user's whole address including domain. This would make
   it possible to create transparent proxies.

3. Current examples enters addresses for other transports as
   12341424 at ICQ. I'd like to propose the less ambiguous form
   icq:12312313. This will take care of the fact that someone else may
   come up with the same scheme as we have. Of course, pedants may use
   jabber:user at blah.org. Incidentally, we now have a subset uf the URI
   standard. 

   This will conflict with current description which allows special
   characters in the ID. These should then be escaped in accordance
   with URI standard.

4. According to various example docs (eg
   docs.jabber.org/overview.html) the sender's server is responsible
   for storing messages until recipient is back online. Like this:

      Message >> Client >> Server >> Offline storage

   Rather than:

      Message >> Client >> Server >> Server >> Offline storage

   Is this how we want it?

   + Storage closer to sender == easier to stop/punish abusers: it's
     *my* disk gets full, so I either train my users or pay for more
     disk.

   - Propagation/polling of status will increase traffic.

5. Overview says:

   Each "user" has multiple "sessions" 
       Every connection to a Jabber server can be "addressed"
       uniquely. This allows every user to connect multiple times, or
       use their account from
       several locations(home and work), and still be able to
       send/recieve messages at any one of the locations uniquely. 

   How is this identification/addressing done? If a user is running
   two different sessions, which one do we send status & messages to?

6. Receipts and confirmations. The current protocol examples does not
   include any mechanisms for receipts or confirmations that an XML
   fragment has been received. Is this intentional?

That's all for now.

Anders "Quest" Qvist
NetGuide Scandinavia

And we who listen to the sky, or walk the dusty grade,
Or break the very atoms down, to see how they are made,
Or study cells, or living things, seek truth with open hand;
The profoundest act of worship is to try to understand.

-- Catherine Faber, "The Word of God"