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Reminder: RFC Key Words as per RFC 2119
Most RFCs use capitalized key words defined in
RFC 2119 (summarized hereafter)
for indicating requirement levels.
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RFC2119
03/1997
(3 p.)
[html]
[pdf(2)] |
S. Bradner |
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Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels |
In many standards track documents several words are used to signify
the requirements in the specification. These words are often
capitalized. This document defines these words as they should be
interpreted in IETF documents. Authors who follow these guidelines
should incorporate this phrase near the beginning of their document:
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL
NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
"OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in
RFC 2119.
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Status: | Best Current Practice |
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This page simply reports these fundamental definitions.
| MUST
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This word, or the terms
"REQUIRED" or
"SHALL", mean that the
definition is an absolute requirement of the specification.
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| | MUST NOT
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This phrase, or the phrase "SHALL NOT", mean that the
definition is an absolute prohibition of the specification.
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| | SHOULD
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This word, or the adjective "RECOMMENDED", mean that there
may exist valid reasons in particular circumstances to ignore a
particular item, but the full implications must be understood and
carefully weighed before choosing a different course.
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| | SHOULD NOT
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This phrase, or the phrase "NOT RECOMMENDED" mean that
there may exist valid reasons in particular circumstances when the
particular behavior is acceptable or even useful, but the full
implications should be understood and the case carefully weighed
before implementing any behavior described with this label.
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| | MAY
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This word, or the adjective "OPTIONAL", mean that an item is
truly optional. One vendor may choose to include the item because a
particular marketplace requires it or because the vendor feels that
it enhances the product while another vendor may omit the same item.
An implementation which does not include a particular option MUST be
prepared to interoperate with another implementation which does
include the option, though perhaps with reduced functionality. In the
same vein an implementation which does include a particular option
MUST be prepared to interoperate with another implementation which
does not include the option (except, of course, for the feature the
option provides.)
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