ietf-smime
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RE: Simple Commerce Messaging Protocol

1998-03-09 06:35:03
Interesting.... what will this will give use over and above SSL (using the 
HTTP/Post protocol) for the non-store-and-forward application?

Best Regards, Rik

-----Original Message-----
From:   Tom Arnold [SMTP:dptom(_at_)cybersource(_dot_)com]
Sent:   Sunday, March 08, 1998 1:48 AM
To:     ietf-smime(_at_)imc(_dot_)org
Cc:     rhousley(_at_)nile(_dot_)spyrus(_dot_)com
Subject:        Simple Commerce Messaging Protocol

Hello all,

In a prior discussion with Russ, we proposed expanding the group's charter
to include a discussion of a S/MIME based commerce messaging protocol.
After reviewing this withRuss, he suggested I ask the group for comments on
the possiblity of extending the S/MIME working group's charter.  I've
included an abstract from the document.

        Title           : Simple Commerce Messaging Protocol (SCMP)
        Author(s)       : T. Arnold, J. Pettitt, M. Myers
        Filename        : draft-arnold-scmp.txt
        Pages           : 11
        Date            : 05-Feb-1998

1. Introduction

The Simple Commerce Messaging Protocol (SCMP) is a general-purpose 
commerce transport protocol for securely communicating a set of data 
from a sending agent's application to a receiving agent's server. 
The intent of this protocol is to define a method where trading 
partners can perform on-line business transactions in an environment 
where the sending partner is fully authenticated, and the message 
cannot be repudiated.

The SCMP message content (referred to as message payload) is not 
intended to be defined or specified. This intent is to permit 
trading partners to either implement a standard commerce message 
format as in ANSI-X12 Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), EMAP 
General Internet commerce message format [BOSE], or any other 
proprietary transaction format.  

The only specification about the payload is that it be identified to 
the receiver utilizing a naming convention similar to standard MIME 
naming and formatting [MIME] is used to identify the type of payload 
contained in the SCMP data area.

In this manner, SCMP fundamentally differs from many emerging 
Internet commerce message protocols, like the VISA sponsored Secure 
Electronic Transaction (SET) protocol. Beyond specifying the method 
for transport, encryption, authentication and handling, SET 
specifies the contents of the message and details how trading 
partners are to process and handle the messages. SCMP does not 
specify payload contents or how trading partners are expected to 
process requests, beyond gateway server handling.

SCMP is intended as both an on-line and batch protocol.  The exact 
content of the message and the processing constraints are specified 
in SCMP- headers.