Extended MKCOL for Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV)
RFC 5689

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Network Working Group                                           C. Daboo
Request for Comments: 5689                                    Apple Inc.
Updates: 4791, 4918                                       September 2009
Category: Standards Track

  Extended MKCOL for Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV)

Abstract

   This specification extends the Web Distributed Authoring and
   Versioning (WebDAV) MKCOL (Make Collection) method to allow
   collections of arbitrary resourcetype to be created and to allow
   properties to be set at the same time.

Status of This Memo

   This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
   Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
   improvements.  Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
   Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
   and status of this protocol.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2009 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

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   This document may contain material from IETF Documents or IETF
   Contributions published or made publicly available before November
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   Without obtaining an adequate license from the person(s) controlling
   the copyright in such materials, this document may not be modified
   outside the IETF Standards Process, and derivative works of it may

Daboo                       Standards Track                     [Page 1]
RFC 5689               Extended MKCOL for WebDAV          September 2009

   not be created outside the IETF Standards Process, except to format
   it for publication as an RFC or to translate it into languages other
   than English.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
   2.  Conventions Used in This Document  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3
   3.  WebDAV Extended MKCOL  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
     3.1.  Extended MKCOL Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
       3.1.1.  Example: Using OPTIONS for the Discovery of
               Support for Extended MKCOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
     3.2.  Status Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  5
     3.3.  Additional Precondition for Extended MKCOL . . . . . . . .  5
     3.4.  Example: Successful Extended MKCOL Request . . . . . . . .  6
     3.5.  Example: Unsuccessful Extended MKCOL Request . . . . . . .  6
   4.  Using Extended MKCOL as an Alternative for MKxxx Methods . . .  8
     4.1.  MKCALENDAR Alternative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  8
       4.1.1.  Example: Using MKCOL Instead of MKCALENDAR . . . . . .  8
   5.  XML Element Definitions  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
     5.1.  mkcol XML Element  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
     5.2.  mkcol-response XML Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
   6.  Security Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
   7.  Acknowledgments  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
   8.  Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

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RFC 5689               Extended MKCOL for WebDAV          September 2009

1.  Introduction

   WebDAV [RFC4918] defines the HTTP [RFC2616] method MKCOL.  This
   method is used to create WebDAV collections on the server.  However,
   several WebDAV-based specifications (e.g., CalDAV [RFC4791]) define
   "special" collections -- ones that are identified by additional
   values in the DAV:resourcetype property assigned to the collection
   resource or by other means.  These "special" collections are created
   by new methods (e.g., MKCALENDAR).  The addition of a new MKxxx
   method for each new "special" collection adds to server complexity
   and is detrimental to overall reliability due to the need to make
   sure intermediaries are aware of these methods.

   This specification defines an extension to the WebDAV MKCOL method
   that adds a request body allowing a client to specify WebDAV
   properties to be set on the newly created collection or resource.  In
   particular, the DAV:resourcetype property can be used to create a