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IETF RFC 6694
Last modified on Tuesday, August 14th, 2012
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Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) S. Moonesamy, Ed.
Request for Comments: 6694 August 2012
Category: Informational
ISSN: 2070-1721
The "about" URI Scheme
 Abstract
This document describes the "about" URI scheme, which is widely used
by Web browsers and some other applications to designate access to
their internal resources, such as settings, application information,
hidden built-in functionality, and so on.
Status of This Memo
This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is
published for informational purposes.
This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF). It represents the consensus of the IETF community. It has
received public review and has been approved for publication by the
Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG). Not all documents
approved by the IESG are a candidate for any level of Internet
Standard; see Section 2 of RFC 5741.
Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/RFC 6694.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2012 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
document authors. All rights reserved.
This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
(http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
publication of this document. Please review these documents
carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
to this document. Code Components extracted from this document must
include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
described in the Simplified BSD License.
Moonesamy Informational PAGE 1 
RFC 6694 The "about" URI Scheme August 2012
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ....................................................2
2. URI Scheme Specification ........................................2
2.1. URI Scheme Syntax ..........................................2
2.2. URI Scheme Semantics .......................................3
2.2.1. Well-Known "about" URIs .............................3
2.3. Encoding Considerations ....................................3
3. "about:blank" ...................................................3
4. Security Considerations .........................................3
5. IANA Considerations .............................................4
5.1. URI Scheme Registration ....................................4
5.2. A Registry for Well-Known Tokens ...........................5
5.2.1. Registration Procedure ..............................5
6. References ......................................................6
6.1. Normative References .......................................6
6.2. Informative References .....................................6
Appendix A. Acknowledgments ........................................7
1. Introduction
This document describes the "about" Uniform Resource Identifier (URI)
scheme. The "about" URI scheme is currently widely used by Web
browsers to designate access to their internal resources, such as
settings, application information, and so-called "Easter eggs" (i.e.,
a hidden feature or joke in an application).
2. URI Scheme Specification
2.1. URI Scheme Syntax
The "about" URI syntactically conforms to the <about-uri> rule below,
expressed using the Augmented Backus-Naur Form (ABNF) [RFC 5234]:
about-uri = "about:" about-token [ about-query ] [ about-fragment ]
about-token = *pchar
about-query = "?" query
about-fragment = "#" fragment
pchar = <as specified in RFC 3986, Appendix A>
query = <as specified in RFC 3986, Appendix A>
fragment = <as specified in RFC 3986, Appendix A>
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RFC 6694 The "about" URI Scheme August 2012
2.2. URI Scheme Semantics
The resource that is referenced by a particular "about" URI is
denoted by the <about-token> part of the URI. It is not a
hierarchical element for a naming authority. The <about-query> part
specifies additional information about its handling and/or the
information that should be returned by the resource referenced by
the URI.
It is impossible to specify a binding between all the possible tokens
and the semantics of "about" URIs that would contain such tokens.
Therefore, the resource referenced by the URI is generally considered
to be specific to a Web browser implementation.
2.2.1. Well-Known "about" URIs
Some <about-token>s have been reserved, as the behavior of the
resource that is referenced is well-known (well-known tokens).
A well-known "about" URI is a URI that has a well-known token as its
<about-token> part. It is recommended that such URIs be handled in
accordance with the specification referenced in the "about" URI
Tokens registry (see Section 5.2).
Well-known "about" URIs are intended to be registered when there is a
need to codify the behavior of a particular <about-token>.
2.3. Encoding Considerations
"about" URIs are subject to encoding rules as defined in RFC 3986
[RFC 3986].
3. "about:blank"
This document defines one well-known token: "blank". The
"about:blank" URI refers to a resource represented in the browser by
a blank page.
4. Security Considerations
Security considerations for URIs are discussed in Section 7 of
RFC 3986 [RFC 3986]. However, most of those provisions do not apply
to the "about" URI scheme, as they are mainly scoped to schemes used
in the Internet.
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RFC 6694 The "about" URI Scheme August 2012
"about" URIs can sometimes refer to sensitive information, such as
user passwords stored in a cache, or parameters that, if changed,
could affect a user's data. The application therefore needs to
ensure that the user's data is secured and no threats are imposed by
"about" URIs.
5. IANA Considerations
5.1. URI Scheme Registration
The "about" URI scheme has been registered in the "Permanent URI
Schemes" registry. The information below is provided according to
the guidelines from RFC 4395 [RFC 4395]:
URI scheme name: about
Status: Permanent
URI scheme syntax: See Section 2.1 of RFC 6694.
URI scheme semantics: See Section 2.2 of RFC 6694.
URI scheme encoding considerations: See Section 2.3 of RFC 6694.
Applications that use the scheme: "about" URIs are predominantly
used by Web browsers.
Security considerations: See Section 4 of RFC 6694.
Contact: IETF Applications Area Directors
<app-ads@tools.ietf.org>
Author/Change controller: IESG <iesg@ietf.org> (on behalf of the
IETF)
References: See Section 6 of RFC 6694.
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RFC 6694 The "about" URI Scheme August 2012
5.2. A Registry for Well-Known Tokens
This document creates the '"about" URI Tokens' registry.
The registry entries consist of three fields: Token, Description, and
Reference. The Token field has to conform to <about-token>
production as defined in Section 2.1. The initial assignment is as
follows:
+--------------+------------------------------------+-------------+
| Token | Description | Reference |
+--------------+------------------------------------+-------------+
| blank | The about:blank URI references a | RFC 6694 |
| | blank page. | |
+--------------+------------------------------------+-------------+
5.2.1. Registration Procedure
The registration policy for this registry is "First Come First
Served", as described in RFC 5226 [RFC 5226]. The registrant of the
token should provide the information mentioned in the following
registration template:
o Registered token: The desired well-known token to be used in
"about" URIs.
o Intended usage: A short description of how "about" URIs with the
registered token are handled, including information about the
referenced resource.
o Contact/change controller: Person (including contact information)
authorized to change this registration.
o Specification: A stable reference to a document that specifies
the registered "about" URI. The question of interoperability does
not arise. The key motivation is to have a reference to a
specification documenting well-known behavior of the "about" URI
in Web browsers. As a rule of thumb, if the behavior is common to
two or more Web browser implementations, it can be considered
well-known. An existing assignment may be duplicated if the
registered token is used in more than one Web browser
implementation.
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RFC 6694 The "about" URI Scheme August 2012
The following is a template for the "blank" token:
o Registered token: blank
o Intended usage: The about:blank URI references a blank page.
o Contact/change controller: IESG <iesg@ietf.org> (on behalf of the
IETF).
o Specification: RFC 6694
6. References
6.1. Normative References
[RFC 3986] Berners-Lee, T., Fielding, R., and L. Masinter, "Uniform
Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax", STD 66,
RFC 3986, January 2005.
[RFC 5226] Narten, T. and H. Alvestrand, "Guidelines for Writing an
IANA Considerations Section in RFCs", BCP 26, RFC 5226,
May 2008.
[RFC 5234] Crocker, D., Ed., and P. Overell, "Augmented BNF for
Syntax Specifications: ABNF", STD 68, RFC 5234,
January 2008.
6.2. Informative References
[RFC 4395] Hansen, T., Hardie, T., and L. Masinter, "Guidelines and
Registration Procedures for New URI Schemes", BCP 35,
RFC 4395, February 2006.
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RFC 6694 The "about" URI Scheme August 2012
Appendix A. Acknowledgments
This document was formed from a previous draft document initially
authored by Lachlan Hunt and Joseph Holsten. Additionally, the
contributions of Frank Ellermann and Alexey Melnikov are gratefully
acknowledged. Barry Leiba and Murray Kucherawy deserve special
credit for providing a great amount of text that was used in this
document.
Lachlan Hunt and Mykyta Yevstifeyev edited previous versions of this
document. Tim Bray and John Klensin provided suggestions about how
to improve the document.
Author's Address
S. Moonesamy (editor)
76 Ylang Ylang Avenue
Quatre Bornes
Mauritius
EMail: sm+ietf@elandsys.com
Moonesamy Informational PAGE 7
RFC TOTAL SIZE: 11604 bytes
PUBLICATION DATE: Tuesday, August 14th, 2012
LEGAL RIGHTS: The IETF Trust (see BCP 78)
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