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Run idnits with the --verbose option for more detailed information about the items above. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 IETF IDN Working Group Sung Jae Shim 2 Internet Draft DualName, Inc. 3 Document: draft-ietf-idn-vidn-01.txt 2 March 2001 4 Expires: 2 September 2001 6 Virtually Internationalized Domain Names (VIDN) 8 Status of this Memo 10 This document is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with all 11 provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026. 13 Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force 14 (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that other groups may also 15 distribute working documents as Internet-Drafts. 17 Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months and may be 18 updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is 19 inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference material or to cite them other 20 than as "work in progress." 22 The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at 23 http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt 25 The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at 26 http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html. 28 1. Abstract 30 This document proposes a method that enables domain names to be used in both 31 local and English scripts, as a directory-search solution at an upper layer 32 above the DNS. The method first converts virtual domain names typed in local 33 scripts into the corresponding domain names in English scripts that comply with 34 the DNS, using the knowledge of transliteration between local and English 35 scripts. Then, the method searches for and displays domain names in English 36 scripts that are active on the Internet so that the user can choose any of them. 37 The conversion takes place automatically and transparently in the user's 38 applications before DNS queries are sent, and so, the method does not make any 39 change to the DNS nor require separate name servers. 41 2. Conventions and definitions used in this document 43 The key words "REQUIRED" and "MAY" in this document are to be interpreted as 44 described in RFC-2119 [1]. 46 A "host" is a computer or device attached to the Internet. A "user host" is a 47 computer or device with which a user is connected to the Internet, and a "user" 48 is a person who uses a user host. A "server host" is a computer or device that 49 provides services to user hosts. 51 An "entity" is an organization or individual that has a domain name registered 52 with the DNS. 54 A "local language" is a language other than English language that a user prefers 55 to use in a local context. "Local scripts" are scripts of a local language and 56 "English scripts" are scripts of English language. 58 A "virtual domain name" is a domain name in local scripts, and it is not 59 registered with the DNS but used for the convenience of users. An "English 60 domain name" is a domain name in English scripts. A "domain name" refers to an 61 English domain name that complies with the DNS, unless specified otherwise. 63 A "coded portion" is a pre-coded portion of a domain name (e.g., generic codes 64 including 'com', 'edu', 'gov', 'int', 'mil', 'net', 'org', and country codes 65 such as 'kr', 'jp', 'cn', and so on). An "entity-defined portion" is a portion 66 of a domain name, which is defined by the entity that holds the domain name 67 (e.g., host name, organization name, server name, and so on). 69 The method proposed in this document is called "virtually internationalized 70 domain names (VIDN)," as it enables domain names in English scripts to be used 71 virtually in local scripts. 73 A number of Korean-language characters are used in the original of this document 74 for examples, which is available from the author upon request. The software used 75 for Internet-Drafts does not allow using multilingual characters other than 76 ASCII characters. Thus, this document may not display Korean-language characters 77 properly, although it may be comprehensible without the examples using Korean- 78 language characters. Also, when you open the original of this document, please 79 select your view encoding type to Korean for Korean-language characters to be 80 displayed properly. 82 3. Introduction 84 Domain names are valuable to Internet users as a main identifier of entities and 85 resources on the Internet. The DNS allows using only English scripts in naming 86 hosts or clusters of hosts on the Internet. More specifically, the DNS uses only 87 the basic Latin alphabets (case-insensitive), the decimal digits (0-9) and the 88 hyphen (-) in domain names. But there is a growing need for internationalized 89 domain names in local scripts. Recognizing this need, various methods have been 90 proposed to use local scripts in domain names. But to date, no method appears to 91 meet all the requirements of internationalized domain names as described in 92 Wenzel and Seng [2]. 94 A group of earlier methods tries to put internationalized domain names in local 95 scripts inside some parts of the overall DNS, using special encoding schemes of 96 Universal Character Set (UCS). But these methods put too much of a burden on the 97 DNS, requiring a great deal of work for transition and update of the DNS 98 components and the applications working with the DNS. Another group of earlier 99 methods tries to build separate directory services for internationalized domain 100 names or keywords in local scripts. But these methods also require complex 101 implementation efforts, duplicating much of the work already done for the DNS. 102 Both the groups of earlier methods require creating internationalized domain 103 names or keywords in local scripts from scratch, which is a costly and lengthy 104 process on the parts of the DNS and Internet users. Further, domain names or 105 keywords created in local scripts are usable only by those who know the local 106 scripts, and so, they may segregate the Internet into many groups of different 107 sets of local scripts that are less universal than English scripts. 109 VIDN intends to provide a more immediate and less costly solution to 110 internationalized domain names than earlier methods. VIDN does not make any 111 change to the DNS nor require creating additional domain names in local scripts. 112 VIDN takes notice of the fact that many domain names currently used in regions 113 where English scripts are not widely used have their entity-defined portions 114 consisting of English scripts as transliterated from the respective local 115 scripts. Using this knowledge of transliteration between local and English 116 scripts, VIDN converts virtual domain names typed in local scripts into the 117 corresponding domain names in English scripts that comply with the DNS. In this 118 way, VIDN enables the same domain names to be used not only in English scripts 119 as usual but also in local scripts, without creating additional domain names in 120 local scripts. 122 4. VIDN method 124 4.1. Objectives 126 Earlier methods of internationalized domain names try to create domain names or 127 keywords in local scripts one way or another in addition to existing domain 128 names in English scripts, and put them inside or outside the DNS, using special 129 encoding schemes or lookup services. These methods require a lengthy and costly 130 process of creating domain names in local scripts and updating the DNS 131 components and applications. Even when they are successfully implemented, these 132 methods have a risk of localizing the Internet by segregating it into groups of 133 different sets of local scripts that are less universal than English scripts and 134 so diminishing the international scope of the Internet. Further, these methods 135 may cause more problems and disputes on copyrights, trademarks, and so on, in 136 local contexts than those that we experience with current domain names in 137 English scripts. 139 VIDN intends to provide a solution to the problems of earlier methods of 140 internationalized domain names. VIDN enables the same domain names to be used in 141 both English scripts as usual and local scripts, and so, there is no need to 142 create domain names in local scripts in addition to domain names in English 143 scripts. VIDN works automatically and transparently in applications at user 144 hosts before DNS requests are sent, and so, there is no need to make any change 145 to the DNS or to have additional name servers. For these reasons as well as 146 others, VIDN can be implemented more immediately with less cost than other 147 methods of internationalized domain names. 149 4.2. Description 151 It is important to note that most domain names used in regions where English 152 scripts are not widely used have their entity-defined portions consisting of 153 English scripts as transliterated from local scripts. Of course, there are many 154 domain names in those regions that do not follow this kind of transliteration 155 between local and English scripts. In such case, new domain names in English 156 scripts need to be created following this transliteration, but the number would 157 be minimal, compared to the number of internationalized domain names in local 158 scripts to be created and registered under other methods. 160 The English scripts transliterated from local scripts do not have any meanings 161 in English language, but their originals in local scripts before the 162 transliteration have some meanings in the respective local language, usually 163 indicating organization names, brand names, trademarks, and so on. VIDN enables 164 to use these original local scripts as the entity-defined portions of virtual 165 domain names in local scripts, by transliterating them into the corresponding 166 entity-defined portions of actual domain names in English scripts. In this way, 167 VIDN enables the same domain names in English scripts to be used virtually in 168 local scripts without actually creating domain names in local scripts. 170 As domain names in English scripts overlay IP addresses, so virtual domain names 171 in local scripts do actual domain names in English scripts. The relationship 172 between virtual domain names in local scripts and actual domain names in English 173 scripts can be depicted as: 175 +---------------------------------+ 176 | User | 177 +---------------------------------+ 178 | | 179 +----------------|-----------------------|------------------+ 180 | v (Transliteration) v | 181 | +---------------------+ | +-----------------------+ | 182 | | Virtual domain name | | | Actual domain name | | 183 | | in local scripts |--+->| in English scripts | | 184 | +---------------------+ +-----------------------+ | 185 | User application | | 186 +----------------------------------------|------------------+ 187 v 188 DNS requests 190 VIDN uses the phonemes of local and English scripts as a medium in 191 transliterating the entity-defined portions of virtual domain names in local 192 scripts into those of actual domain names in English scripts. This process of 193 transliteration can be depicted as: 195 Local scripts English scripts 196 +----------------------------+ +-----------------------------+ 197 | Characters ----> Phonemes -----------> Phonemes ----> Characters | 198 | | | | | | | 199 | | | | | | | 200 | (Inverse of transcription) | Match | (Transcription) | 201 +----------------------------+ +-----------------------------+ 202 | ^ 203 | (Transliteration) | 204 +------------------------------------+ 206 First, each entity-defined portion of a virtual domain name typed in local 207 scripts is decomposed into individual characters or sets of characters so that 208 each individual character or set of characters can represent an individual 209 phoneme of the local language. This is the inverse of transcription of phonemes 210 into characters. Second, each individual phoneme of the local language is 211 matched with an equivalent phoneme of English language that has the same or most 212 proximate sound. Third, each phoneme of English language is transcribed into the 213 corresponding character or set of characters in English language. Finally, all 214 the characters or sets of characters converted into English scripts are united 215 to compose the corresponding entity-defined portion of an actual domain name in 216 English scripts. 218 For example, a word in Korean language, '����' that means 'century' in English 219 language, is transliterated into 'segi' in English scripts, and so, the entity 220 whose name contains '����' in Korean language may have an entity-defined portion 221 of its domain name as 'segi' in English scripts. VIDN enables to use '����' as 222 an entity-defined portion of a virtual domain name in Korean scripts, which is 223 converted into 'segi,' the corresponding entity-defined portion of an actual 224 domain name in English scripts. In other words, the phonemes represented by the 225 characters consisting of '����' in Korean scripts have the same sounds as the 226 phonemes represented by the characters consisting of 'segi' in English scripts. 227 In the local context, '����' in Korean scripts is clearly easier to remember and 228 type and more intuitive and meaningful than 'segi' in English scripts. 230 An entity-defined portion of a virtual domain name in Korean scripts, '����', is 231 transliterated into 'yahoo' in English scripts, since the phonemes represented 232 by the characters consisting of '����' in Korean scripts have the same sounds as 233 the phonemes represented by the characters consisting of 'yahoo' in English 234 scripts. That is, '����' in Korean scripts is pronounced as the same as 'yahoo' 235 in English scripts, and so, it is easy for Korean-speaking people to deduce '�� 236 ��' in Korean scripts as the virtual equivalent of 'yahoo' in English scripts. 237 VIDN enables to use virtual domain names in local scripts for domain names whose 238 originals are in local scripts, e.g., '����' in Korean scripts, as well as 239 domain names whose originals are in English scripts, e.g., '����' in Korean 240 scripts. In this way, VIDN is able to make domain names truly international, 241 allowing the same domain names to be used both in English and local scripts. 243 The coded portions of domain names such as generic codes and country codes can 244 also be transliterated from local scripts into English scripts, using their 245 phonemes as a medium. For example, seven generic codes in English scripts, 'com', 246 'edu', 'gov', 'int', 'mil', 'net', and 'org', can be transliterated from '��', ' 247 ����', '����', '��˫', '��', '��˫', '����' in Korean scripts, respectively, 248 which can be used as the corresponding generic codes of virtual domain names in 249 Korean scripts. Based upon its meaning in English language, each coded portion 250 of actual domain names also can be pre-assigned a virtual equivalent word or 251 code in local scripts. For example, seven generic codes in English scripts, 252 'com', 'edu', 'gov', 'int', 'mil', 'net', and 'org', can be pre-assigned '����' 253 (meaning 'commercial' in Korean language), '�Ϙ�' (meaning 'education' in Korean 254 language), '���' (meaning 'government' in Korean language), '��ª' (meaning 255 'international' in Korean language), '����' (meaning 'military' in Korean 256 language), '��˫' (meaning 'network' in Korean language), and '��ȭ' (meaning 257 'organization' in Korean language), respectively, which can be used as the 258 corresponding generic codes of virtual domain names in Korean scripts. 260 VIDN does not create such complexities as other conversion methods based upon 261 semantics do, since it uses phonemes as a medium of transliteration between 262 local and English scripts. Further, most languages have a small number of 263 phonemes. For example, Korean language has nineteen consonant phonemes and 264 twenty-one vowel phonemes, and English language has twenty-four consonant 265 phonemes and twenty vowel phonemes. Each phoneme of Korean language can be 266 matched with a phoneme of English language that has the same or proximate sound, 267 and vice versa. 269 Some characters or sets of characters may represent more than one phoneme. Some 270 phonemes may be represented by more than one character or set of characters. 271 Also, not every character or set of characters in local scripts may be neatly 272 transliterated into only one character or set of characters in English scripts. 273 In practice, people often transliterate the same local scripts differently into 274 English scripts or vice versa. VIDN incorporates the provisions to deal with 275 those variations that usually occur in particular situations as well as those 276 variations that are caused by common usage or idiomatic expressions. More 277 fundamentally, VIDN uses phonemes, which are very universal across different 278 languages, as a medium of transliteration rather than following a certain set of 279 transliteration rules that does not exist in many non-English-speaking countries 280 nor is followed by many non-English-speaking people. 282 One virtual domain name typed in local scripts may be converted into more than 283 one possible domain name in English scripts. In such case, VIDN can search for 284 and displays only those domain names in English scripts that are active on the 285 Internet, so that the user can choose any of them. Further, VIDN can be used as 286 a directory-search solution at an upper layer above the DNS. That is, the user 287 can use VIDN to query a phoneme-based domain name request in local scripts, 288 receive one or more corresponding domain names in English or ASCII-compatible 289 scripts preferably, choose one based upon the results of that search, and make 290 the final DNS request using any protocol or method to be chosen for 291 internationalized domain names. In this regard of directory search, VIDN uses 292 one-to-many map between virtual domain names in local scripts and actual domain 293 names in English scripts. 295 VIDN needs the one-to-many mapping and subsequent multiple DNS lookups only at 296 the first query of each virtual domain name typed in local scripts at the user 297 host. After the first query, the virtual domain name is set to the domain name 298 in English scripts that has been chosen at the first query. Any subsequent 299 queries with the same virtual domain name generate only one query with the 300 selected domain name in English scripts. Once the use selects one possible 301 domain name in English scripts from the list, VIDN remembers the user's 302 selection and directs the user to the same domain name at his or her subsequent 303 queries with that virtual domain name. In this way, VIDN can generate less 304 traffic on the DNS, while providing faster, easier, and simpler navigation on 305 the Internet to the user, using local scripts. 307 Utilizing a coding scheme, VIDN is also capable of making each virtual domain 308 name typed in local scripts correspond to exactly one actual domain name in 309 English scripts. In this coding scheme, a unique code such as the Unicode or 310 hexadecimal code represented by the virtual domain name, is pre-assigned to one 311 of the corresponding domain names in English scripts and stored in the 312 respective server host, so that both the user host and the server host can 313 support and understand the code. Then, VIDN checks whether the code at each 314 server host matches with the code generated at the user host. If one of the 315 servers stores the code that matches with the code generated at the user host, 316 the virtual domain name typed at the user host is recognized as corresponding 317 only to the domain name of that server host, and the user host is connected to 318 the server host. The domain names of the remaining server hosts that do not have 319 the matching code are also displayed at the user host as alternative sites. 321 Because a unique code is assigned to only one of the domain names in English 322 scripts, it does not cause any domain name squatting problem beyond what we 323 experience with current domain names in English scripts. Unique codes do not 324 need to be stored in any specific format, that is, they can be embedded in HTML, 325 XML, WML, and so on, so that the user host can interpret the retrieved code 326 correctly. Likewise, unique codes do not require any specific intermediate 327 transport protocol such as TCP/IP. The only requirement is that the protocol 328 must be understood among all participating user hosts and server hosts. For 329 security purpose, this coding scheme may use an encryption technique. 331 For example, 'ž��.��', a virtual domain name typed in Korean scripts, may 332 result in four corresponding domain names in English scripts, including 333 'jungang.com', 'joongang.com,' 'chungang.com', and 'choongang.com', since the 334 phonemes represented by characters consisting of 'ž��.��' in Korean scripts can 335 have the same or almost the same sounds as the phonemes represented by 336 characters consisting of 'jungang.com', 'joongang.com,' 'chungang.com', or 337 'choongang.com' in English scripts. In this case, we assume that the server host 338 with its domain name 'jungang.com' has the pre-assigned code that matches with 339 the code generated when 'ž��.��' in Korean scripts is entered in user 340 applications. Then, the user host is connected to this server host, and the 341 other server hosts may be listed to the user as alternative sites so that the 342 user can try them. 344 The process of this coding scheme that makes each virtual domain name in local 345 scripts correspond to only one actual domain name in English scripts, can be 346 depicted as: 348 +---------------------------------+ 349 | User | 350 +---------------------------------+ 351 | | 352 +----------------|-----------------------|------------------+ 353 | v v | 354 | +---------------------+ +-----------------------+ | 355 | | Virtual domain name | | Potential domain names| | 356 | | in a local language |---->| in English | | 357 | | e.g., 'ž��.��' | | e.g., 'jungang.com' | | 358 | | (code: 297437)| | 'joongang.com' | | 359 | | | | 'chungang.com' | | 360 | | | | 'choongang.com' | | 361 | +---------------------+ +-----------------------+ | 362 | User application | | 363 +----------------------------------------|------------------+ 364 ^ | 365 | | Code check by VIDN 366 Connection to | | +-- 'jungang.com' 367 the server host | | | (code: 297437) 368 'jungang.com' | | |-- 'joongang.com' 369 | |----+ (not active) 370 | | |-- 'chungang.com' 371 | | | (code: 381274) 372 | DNS request and | +-- 'choongang.com' 373 | response | (not active) 374 +-----------------------+ 376 Since VIDN converts separately the entity-defined portions and the coded 377 portions of a virtual domain name, it preserves the current syntax of domain 378 names, that is, the hierarchical dotted notation, which Internet users are 379 familiar with. Also, VIDN allows using a virtual domain name mixed with local 380 and English scripts as the user wishes to, since the conversion takes place on 381 each individual portion of the domain name and each individual character or set 382 of characters of the portion. 384 While VIDN preserves the hierarchical dotted notation of current domain names, 385 the principles of VIDN are applicable to domain names in other possible 386 notations such as those in a natural language (e.g., 'microsoft windows' rather 387 than 'windows.microsoft.com'). Also, the principles of VIDN can be applied into 388 other identifiers used on the Internet, such as user IDs of e-mail addresses, 389 names of directories and folders, names of web pages and files, keywords used in 390 search engines and directory services, and so on, allowing them to be used 391 interchangeably in local and English scripts, without creating additional 392 identifiers in local scripts. The conversion of VIDN can be done between any two 393 sets of scripts interchangeably. Thus, even when the DNS accepts and registers 394 domain names in other local scripts in addition to English, VIDN can allow using 395 the same domain names in any two sets of scripts by converting virtual domain 396 names in one set of scripts into actual domain names in another set of scripts. 398 4.3. Development and implementation 400 In a preferred arrangement, the development of VIDN for each set of local 401 scripts may be administered by one or more local standard bodies in regions 402 where the local scripts are widely used, for example, Korean Network Information 403 Center for Korean scripts, Japan Network Information Center for Japanese scripts, 404 and China, Hong Kong and Taiwan Network Information Centers for Chinese scripts, 405 with consultation with experts on phonemics and linguistics of the respective 406 local language and English language. Also, the unique codes for one-to-one 407 mapping between virtual domain names in local scripts and actual domain names in 408 English scripts can be administered by a central standard body like IANA. 409 Alternatively, the unique codes for each set of local scripts may be 410 administered by one or more local standard bodies in regions where the local 411 scripts are widely used, as with the development of VIDN. 413 VIDN is implemented in applications at the user host. That is, the conversion of 414 virtual domain names in local scripts into the corresponding actual domain names 415 in English scripts takes place at the user host before DNS requests are sent. 416 Thus, neither a special encoding nor a separate lookup service is needed to 417 implement VIDN. VIDN is also modularized with each module being used for 418 conversion of virtual domain names in one set of local scripts into the 419 corresponding actual domain names in English scripts. A user needs only the 420 module for conversion of his or her preferred set of local scripts into English 421 scripts. Alternatively, VIDN can be implemented at a central server host or a 422 cluster of local server hosts. A central server can provide the conversion 423 service for all sets of local scripts, or a cluster of local server hosts can 424 share the conversion service. In the latter case, each local server host can 425 provide the conversion service for one or more sets of local scripts used in a 426 certain region. 428 Because of its small size, VIDN can be easily embedded into applications 429 software such as web browser, e-mail software, ftp system, and so on at the user 430 host, or it can work as an add-on program to such software. In either case, the 431 only requirement on the part of the user is to install VIDN or software 432 embedding VIDN at the user host. Using virtual domain names in local scripts in 433 accordance with the principles of VIDN is very intuitive to those who use the 434 local scripts. The only requirement on the part of the entity whose server host 435 provides Internet services to user hosts is to have an actual domain name in 436 English scripts into which virtual domain names in local scripts are neatly 437 transliterated in accordance with the principles of VIDN. Most entities in 438 regions where English scripts are not widely used already have such domain names 439 in English scripts. Finally, there is nothing to change on the part of the DNS, 440 since VIDN uses the current DNS as it is. 442 Taken together, the features of VIDN can meet all the requirement of 443 internationalized domain names as described in Wenzel and Seng [2], with respect 444 to compatibility and interoperability, internationalization, canonicalization, 445 and operating issues. Given the fact that different methods toward 446 internationalized domain names confuse users, as already observed in some 447 regions where some of these methods have already been commercialized, e.g., 448 Korea, Japan and China, it is important to find and implement the most effective 449 solution to internationalized domain names as soon as possible. 451 4.4. Current status 453 VIDN has been developed for Korean-English conversion as a web browser add-on 454 program. The program contains all the features described in this document and is 455 capable of listing all the domain names in English scripts that correspond to a 456 virtual domain name typed in Korean scripts so that a user can choose any of 457 them. The program can cover more than ninety percent of the sample. That is, the 458 results of testing indicate that more than ninety percent of web sites in Korea 459 can be accessed using virtual domain names in Korean scripts without creating 460 additional domain names in Korean scripts. The remaining ten percent of domain 461 names are mostly those that contain acronyms, abbreviations or initials. With 462 improvement of its knowledge of transliteration, the program is expected to 463 cover more domain names used in Korea. 465 5. Security considerations 467 Because VIDN uses the DNS as it is, it inherits the same security considerations 468 as the DNS. 470 6. Intellectual property considerations 472 It is the intention of DualName, Inc. to submit the VIDN method and other 473 elements of VIDN software to IETF for review, comment or standardization. 475 DualName has applied for one or more patents on the technology related to 476 virtual domain name software and virtual email software. If a standard is 477 adopted by IETF and any patents are issued to DualName with claims that are 478 necessary for practicing the standard, DualName is prepared to make available, 479 upon written request, a non-exclusive license under fair, reasonable and non- 480 discriminatory terms and condition, based on the principle of reciprocity, 481 consistent with established practice. 483 7. References 485 1 Wenzel, Z. and Seng, J. (Editors), "Requirements of Internationalized Domain 486 Names," draft-ietf-idn-requirements-03.txt, August 2000 488 8. Author's address 490 Sung Jae Shim 491 DualName, Inc. 492 3600 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1814 493 Los Angeles, California 90010 494 USA 495 Email: shimsungjae@dualname.com