Xref: utzoo comp.misc:3110 comp.std.misc:33 comp.mail.misc:1165 comp.mail.uucp:1637 Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!mailrus!cornell!rochester!ritcv!cci632!chiron!jon From: jon@chiron.UUCP (Jon L. Griffeth) Newsgroups: comp.misc,comp.std.misc,comp.mail.misc,comp.mail.uucp Subject: Re: Standardizing Email? Keywords: Wouldn't it be nice Message-ID: <145@chiron.UUCP> Date: 16 Aug 88 02:25:22 GMT References: <788@vsi.UUCP> Distribution: comp Organization: Fairport, NY Lines: 49 As I begin, I would like to state that I am neither an expert, nor VERY well read on this subject. The following is the result of the short period (short for what this subject requires) I spent delving into this subject. First, RFC 821 and 822 are industry standards. X.400 is an international standard being produced by CCITT and ISO. The technical specifications can be obtained from OmniCom Publications (???). I don't currently have the address, but I may be able to locate it quickly enough. They're somewhere in Virginia. X.400 is actually a series of recommendations made by CCITT concerning the format of electronic messages and their subsequent transmission. It references numerous other recommendations and relies heavily on the Abstract Syntax Notation 1 (ANS.1). If anyone can tell how to obtain information on ANS.1, I'd be greatful. I seem to have missed it in my search. A (possibly incomplete) list of recommendations for X.400 include: X.400, X.402, X.403, X.407, X.408, X.411, X.413, X.419, X.420 etc. etc. etc.. In addition, you'll need recommendations X.208, X.217, X.218, X.219 and probably a host of others. I didn't have that much time to spend on it and eventual gave up (for now). The 1984 release is called the "Red Book". The 1988 release, called the "Blue Book," is not currently available (or wasn't the last time I heard, which was about two months ago). You shouldn't expect to see it until sometime next year. A draft version is out, but only to selected groups. The "Blue Book" is MUCH more extensive than the "Red Book". Also, the authors seem to have taken a perverse pleasure in making it as unreadable as possible (in my opinion). I had a lot of hope for X.400. However, after hearing some comments ("X.400 is the SNA of electronic mail"), I'm no longer sure. Jon L. Griffeth jon@chiron.UUCP P.S. If anyone can direct me towards a GOOD book on OSI, I would again be greatful. OSI is the basis for an international networking standard. Anyone wanting to learn about X.400 should learn this as well.