On 06/05/2021 14:52, Bryan Frimin wrote:
1. The maximum line length.
RFC 5322 section 2.1.1[2] describes two possible line length limits. The
historical one, 78 characters, and the new one, 998 characters. Is the
historical limit still relevant for an email client in 2021, or can I
just use the new one?
998 is a MUST (to avoid possibly breaking something, although it's
unlikely nowadays)
78 is a SHOULD (to make it easier for users to read).
The 78 character limit is not 'historical'; it's a recommendation, not a
requirement. In fact in RFC 822, there are no line length limits defined
at all, just a suggestion not to make them too long. The limits were
first introduced in RFC 2822 as far as I can see, and that uses the same
wording as RFC 5322
When reading RFCs it's very important to know the difference between
MUST and SHOULD (in capitals) as they have a strict meaning.
So, you should try to make lines no longer than 78 characters, but if
they're longer (but no longer than 998) it's not going to break anything.
2. The long line folding mechanism.
RFC 5322 section 2.2.3[3] defines a folding mechanism for long header
fields. But it does define whether it is possible to fold a header field
name longer than the limit (yes it is an edge case, but it could
happen). And folding can only be done if a lexical token or a space is
present. So what about values without any separator ?
Don't fold them if you can't. I don't think you'd fold a header field
name (we don't) - as you say it's an edge-case, and I've never come
across it.
It is very possible to have header lines where the data does not contain
any spaces and is longer than 78 characters. That's exactly why the 78
character line-length limit is a SHOULD and not a MUST.
Obviously if you've got a header field name longer than 998 characters
that you would HAVE to fold but you can't, then you've got a problem -
in more ways than one.
--
Paul
Paul Smith Computer Services
support(_at_)pscs(_dot_)co(_dot_)uk - 01484 855800
--
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Tel: 01484 855800
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