RFC 2655 (rfc2655) - Page 1 of 17
CIP Index Object Format for SOIF Objects
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
Network Working Group T. Hardie
Request for Comments: 2655 Equinix
Category: Experimental M. Bowman
Transarc
D. Hardy
Netscape
M. Schwartz
Affinia, Inc.
D. Wessels
NLANR
August 1999
CIP Index Object Format for SOIF Objects
Status of this Memo
This memo defines an Experimental Protocol for the Internet
community. It does not specify an Internet standard of any kind.
Discussion and suggestions for improvement are requested.
Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1999). All Rights Reserved.
1. Abstract
The Common Indexing Protocol (CIP) allows servers to form a referral
mesh for query handling by defining a mechanism by which cooperating
servers exchange hints about the searchable indices they maintain.
The structure and transport of CIP are described in (Ref. 1), as are
general rules for the definition of index object types. This
document describes SOIF, the Summary Object Interchange Format, as an
index object type in the context of the CIP framework. SOIF is a
machine-readable syntax for transmitting structured summary objects,
currently used primarily in the context of the World Wide Web.
Query referral has often been dismissed as an ineffective strategy
for handling searches of Web resources, and Web resources certainly
present challenges not present in structured directory services like
Rwhois. In situations where a keyword-based free text search is
desired, query referral is not likely to be effective because the
query will probably be routed to every server participating in the
referral mesh. Where a search can be limited by reference to a
specific resource attribute, however, query referral is an effective
tool. SOIF can be used to create such a known-attribute query mesh
because it provides a method for associating attributes with net-
addressable resources.
Hardie, et al. Experimental
