Document: FSC-0046
Version:  002
Date:     28-May-90




            A Product Idenfifier For FidoNet Message Handlers
                               Draft II

                         Joaquim Homrighausen
                           3:632/308@fidonet




Status of this document:

     This FSC suggests a proposed protocol for the FidoNet(r) community,
     and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements.
     Distribution of this document is unlimited.

     Fido and FidoNet are registered marks of Tom Jennings and Fido
     Software.



Purpose:

    This document should serve as a guide for the product identfier,
    PID hereafter, format for FidoNet message handlers. The purpose
    behind PIDs is related to my attempt to remove the requirement
    of Origin lines in conference mail messages.

    While I fully understand that this won't happen in all
    conferences, I would like to provide the facility to those who
    can use it (ie. for conferences where all the participants are
    using software that supports origin line-less messages).

    Another use for PIDs is to minimize the excessive amount of
    information some programs put on the tear lines which
    increases overall transportation cost of conference mail.

    A PID replaces the program identifier often seen on the tear
    line of conference mail messages and is hidden behind a ^a
    (SOH, 01h). This also allows for better tracking of software
    causing problems in conferences.

    Only one PID per message is allowed and should only be added
    by the program that creates the message. Ie. programs passing
    the message on to someone else may not add additional PIDs.

    A PID also offers the ability to add serial numbers to identify
    a specific copy of a program as being the source of a message
    with little or no effort.

    Format:

        ^aPID: <pID> <version> <serial#>


    Sample:

        ^aPID: FM 2/b

        Would identify FrontDoor's editor, 2.00/beta and replace:

        --- FM 2.00/beta


    Fields:

    pID         The ID of the product responsible for creating the
                message. This should be kept as short as possible.
                The maximum length for this field is 10 characters.

    version     The version of the product including any alpha, beta,
                or gamma status. Only the relevant part of the version
                should be included. Ie. 1.00 should be expressed as 1,
                1.10 as 1.1 and 1.01 as 1.01. Alpha, beta, or gamma
                status should be expressed by appending a / followed by
                a, b, or c. The maximum length for this field is eight
                (8) characters.

    serial#     The serial number of the product, omitted if irrelevant
                or zero. The maximum length for this field is 10
                characters.