Latest ebXML Message Envelope Specification-version 0-5

["Dick Brooks" <dick@8760.com>]

Thanks to Ian Jones and Chris Ferris for improvements in structure and
verbage throughout the attached, revised document.

Ian/Chris, I had formatting problems with the graphics used to describe the
nested enveloping structure in section  4.2 and have made some adjustments.
I've also added a few names to the contributors section.

There remain a few open issues with the current enveloping specification,
most notably:

- possible mis-use of the type parameter within the multipart/related header

According to section 3.1 of RFC 2387 the type parameter must contain the
MIME media type of the root body part. The current ebXML enveloping spec
does not follow RFC 2387 recommended usage for the type parameter. One
possible solution that has been discussed is the use of an ebXML MIME media
type to identify the ebXML header document (application/vnd.ebxml). The
application/xml media type currently associated with the ebXML header
document would be replaced with application/vnd.ebxml. The ebXML enveloping
specification would be modified to require the type parameter of the
multipart/related header to contain "application/vnd.ebxml" (media type of
the root body part), in accordance with section 3.1 of RFC 2387.

- possible mis-use of the Content-ID header within the header and payload
envelopes

According to section 7 or RFC 2045 the value associated with Content-ID must
be globally unique. The current ebXML enveloping specification does not
adhere to RFC 2045 specifications. One possible solution is to replace the
Content-ID header with the Content-Description header. The identifiers
"ebxmlheader" and "ebxmlpayload" would be associated with the
Content-Description header.

If anyone has comments or other suggestions related to the revised
specification or these outstanding issues and possible solutions please feel
free to comment/reply to this message.

Thanks,

Dick Brooks
Group 8760
110 12th Street North
Birmingham, AL 35203
dick@8760.com
205-250-8053
Fax: 205-250-8057
http://www.8760.com/

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ebXML Message Envelope Specification v0-5.doc