| Internet-Draft | ESEARCH Return Opt & Data Tag Registry | December 2022 |
| Murchison | Expires 9 June 2023 | [Page] |
This document creates a registry of IMAP Extended Search Return Options and Data Tags (RFC 4466) in order to help developers and IMAP extension writers track interactions between different extensions.¶
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The Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) [RFC3501], [RFC9051] is used for accessing and manipulating email messages on a server. Over the years, the syntax of the IMAP SEARCH command has been extended to include return options and corresponding return data in the response [RFC4466]. There is currently no easy way to find out all of the return options and data tags defined by IMAP extensions published in RFCs, which makes it quite difficult for IMAP extension writers and IMAP implementation developers to forsee interactions between such extensions.¶
This document creates a registry of IMAP Extended Search Return Options and Data Tags in order to help developers and IMAP extension writers track interactions between different extensions.¶
IANA is requested to create a new registry for IMAP ESEARCH Return Options and Data Tags. Registration of both options/tags specified in IETF Stream RFCs and vendor specific actions is allowed and encouraged. The registration template contains:¶
The registration procedure for this registry is Expert Review, per [RFC8126], Section 4.5. The Designated Expert only checks that the name of the return option or return data tag being registered matches the documentation, that the description field is accurate, that the correct documents are referenced and that the list of relevant documents is as complete as possible. The Designated Expert can't reject a registration based on personal dislike of the document defining a return option or return data tag and should always err on the side of registering, even if documentation is not complete.¶
Addition of a new reference to an existing registration or change to the description field goes through the same registration procedure as a new registration.¶
The following table is used to initialize the return option and data tag registry.¶
| Return Option Name | Implied Return Data Tags | Description | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALL | ALL | Return all message numbers/UIDs that satisfy the SEARCH criteria. | [RFC4731] (Section 3.1), [RFC9051] (Section 6.4.4) |
| CONTEXT | Indicate that subsequent use of the SEARCH criteria are likely. | [RFC5267] (Section 4.2) | |
| COUNT | COUNT | Return number of the messages that satisfy the SEARCH criteria. | [RFC4731] (Section 3.1), [RFC9051] (Section 6.4.4) |
| MAX | MAX | Return the highest message number/UID that satisfies the SEARCH criteria | [RFC4731] (Section 3.1), [RFC9051] (Section 6.4.4) |
| MIN | MIN | Return the lowest message number/UID that satisfies the SEARCH criteria. | [RFC4731] (Section 3.1), [RFC9051] (Section 6.4.4) |
| * | MODSEQ | The highest mod-sequence of all messages in the set that satisfy the SEARCH criteria and result options. | [RFC4731] (Section 3.2), [RFC7162] (Section 3.1.5) |
| PARTIAL | PARTIAL | Return a subset of the message numbers/UIDs that satisfy the SEARCH criteria. | [RFC5267] (Section 4.4), [I-D.ietf-extra-imap-partial] (Section 3.1) |
| RELEVANCY | RELEVANCY | Return a relevancy score for each message that satisfies the SEARCH criteria. | [RFC6203] (Section 4) |
| SAVE | Set the value of the search result variable to the set of message numbers/UIDs that satisfy the SEARCH criteria. | [RFC5182] (Section 2), [RFC9051] (Section 6.4.4) | |
| UPDATE | ADDTO, REMOVEFROM | Request unsolicited notifications of updates to the set of messages that satisfy the SEARCH criteria. | [RFC5267] (Section 4.3) |
| * Any set of return options (including the empty set) plus the MODSEQ SEARCH criteria. | |||
The sole purpose of this document is to create a new IANA registry, so it doesn't create new security considerations for IMAP implementations.¶
The new registry should help IMAP extension writers and IMAP implementors track interactions between different IMAP extensions, so it might improve quality of specifications and implementations, including security aspects.¶
Portions of the text in the document have been borrowed from [I-D.ietf-extra-sieve-action-registry].¶