Proposal for Fragment Id Prefix registration

[Yves Savourel <ysavourel@enlaso.com>]

Hi everyone,

I had an action item to make an initial proposal for the Fragment Identifier Prefix registration.
Here it goes:


===== 1) Create a new page on the TC web site to describe the process.

- The Home page of the TC should have a clear link to it.
- Anyone wanting to refer to the registration process could link to it.
- the page being information could be a wiki page if needed (but doesn't have to)
- We would have a short FAQ on it

See the initial proposed text at the end of the email.



===== 2) Create a registry file on SVN to store the registered prefixes

Location:

trunk/xliff2-fragids/registry.txt

Format: 

- UTF-8 file
- any empty line or line made of white spaces is to be ignored
- any line with the first non-white space character a '#' is a comment
- entry line are formatted as:

<uri><tab><prefix>

Where:

<uri> is the namespace URI associated with the prefix
<tab> is a single TAB character
<prefix> is the prefix associated with the namespace URI

Note that a unique prefix may be associated with several URI (e.g. several versions of the same namespace)




===== Here is the proposed text the page:

Fragment Identifier Prefix Registry

If you are using your own extension elements or attributes in XLIFF 2, and the extension has identifiers, you must register the
prefix corresponding to your extension's namespace so tools can point to the element following the Fragment Identifier mechanism of
XLIFF 2.

The prefix must be an NMTOKEN string of at least 2 characters.

The prefix currently registered are listed here: <link to the registry file>


To register a prefix:

1) Send a request for prefix registration to the public xliff-comment mailing list:

1.1) Subscribe to the xliff-comment list by sending a blank email message to: xliff-comment-subscribe@lists.oasis-open.org

1.2) Confirm your subscription request by replying to the confirmation email message you will receive from OASIS.

1.3) Watch your inbox for a Welcome message indicating that your subscription is now active.

1.4) Now you can send your request for prefix registration to xliff-comment@lists.oasis-open.org

- The email subject must clearly indicate this is about registering a fragment identifier prefix.

- The email must contain:
	- the prefix (a valid NMTOKEN string of 2 character at least)
	- the namespace URI associated with the prefix
	- Your name/your company name and a valid email address

- Optionally you can also include:
	- A description of the extension
	- A link to the extension specification
	- Any other information you deem necessary

Once received, your request will be promptly checked for correctness and verified against existing prefixes. If there is a problem,
you will be notified as soon as possible.

If your prefix is valid and available, one of the TC members responsible for the registration will add it to the registry and post
an email to the xliff-comment list announcing the new prefix.

Note that the TC reserves the right to refuse prefixes if they are deemed to cause potential conflicts or problems. 


FAQ:

--Q: What if I don't register a prefix with my extension?

--A: If your extension doesn't use IDs it's OK
If your extension uses IDs, no-one will be able to point to an element of your extension if they don't know the prefix to use, and
more importantly: XLIFF 2 validators will flag as invalid any documents using fragment identifiers with un-registered prefixes.



--Q: Are there other requirements for the ID mechanism?

--A: yes, your IDs values must follow the rules defined here:
http://docs.oasis-open.org/xliff/xliff-core/v2.0/cos01/xliff-core-v2.0-cos01.html#ext-constraints

The general Fragment identifier mechanism is described here:
http://docs.oasis-open.org/xliff/xliff-core/v2.0/cos01/xliff-core-v2.0-cos01.html#fragid



--Q: What is the length limit for the prefix?

--A: It must be at least two characters long. There is no maximum limit but you should try to keep its short: the prefix will be
used in URL fragment identifiers where shorter is better.



--Q: Are those prefixes the same as the ones used in custom values like in subState or subType?

--A: Technically no. They can be different and the prefixes used for custom values do not have to be registered. But it makes sense
and it is a recommended practice to be consistent and use the same prefix for both mechanisms in your custom data.



--Q: How long does it take to register a prefix?

--A: Not long, the TC members assigned to the task should be able to process your request quickly, likely within 24h if the request
has no issue.



--Q: What if I submit the same prefix as someone else at the same time?

--A: The first request posted (according the date in the xliff-comment archives) would win.



--Q: Can my prefix includes non-ASCII characters?

--A: Yes, as long as the string is a valid NMTOKEN it should be fine.


Cheers,
-yves