ACTION-928: X-Device-* HTTP header fields registration

Hi,

As agreed during last F2F, if we are to keep the X-Device-* HTTP header 
fields, then we'd better register them in the provisional message header 
field registry:
  http://www.iana.org/assignments/message-headers/prov-headers.html

The registration request simply consists of the form at the end of this 
email, where I succinctly explain our reasons to keep the infamous "X-" 
prefix.

Any comments on the form before I send it to the appropriate IETF 
mailing-list?

One thing that may be worth doing before I send the request form is to 
properly define the HTTP header fields in the guidelines. They are 
currently implicitly defined in 4.1.5.5. The definitions should be made 
explicit. What I have in mind is something similar to:
  http://www.w3.org/TR/access-control/#syntax

The proper ABNF syntax for the new HTTP header fields would be, using 
both the syntax and the definitions of RFC2616:
  X-Device-User-Agent = "X-Device-User-Agent" ":" 1*( product | comment )
  X-Device-Accept = "X-Device-Accept" ":" #( media-range [ accept-params ] )
  X-Device-Accept-Charset = "X-Device-Accept-Charset" ":" 1#( ( charset 
| "*" )[ ";" "q" "=" qvalue ] )
  X-Device-Accept-Encoding = "X-Device-Accept-Encoding" ":" 1#( codings 
[ ";" "q" "=" qvalue ] )
  X-Device-Accept-Language = "X-Device-Accept-Language" ":" 1#( 
language-range [ ";" "q" "=" qvalue ] )
... or we could find a way to simply state that they just match the 
production rules of their corresponding HTTP header fields as defined in 
RFC2616.

What about it?

Francois.



-----
HTTP header fields registration form
-----
Header field names:
X-Device-User-Agent (request header)
X-Device-Accept (request header)
X-Device-Accept-Charset (request header)
X-Device-Accept-Encoding (request header)
X-Device-Accept-Language (request header)

Applicable protocol:
http

Status:
provisional

Author/Change controller:
W3C Mobile Web Best Practices Working Group
http://www.w3.org/2005/MWI/BPWG/

Specification document(s):
http://www.w3.org/TR/ct-guidelines/ (Working Draft)
http://www.w3.org/2005/MWI/BPWG/Group/TaskForces/CT/editors-drafts/Guidelines/latest 
(Editor's Draft)

See section 4.1.5.5 Original Header Field in the documents.

Names were chosen on the basis that there are a already existing and 
deployed convention. Since there is no easy way to transition out of a 
situation where an "X-" prefix has been used for other purpose than a 
purely experimental one, the W3C Mobile Web Best Practices Working Group 
acknowledges that these HTTP header field names are already in use and 
requests that the "X-" prefix be kept.

Received on Wednesday, 15 April 2009 16:00:25 UTC