Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!jarthur!ucivax!gateway
From: grimm@eiche.darmstadt.gmd.dbp.de (Ruediger Grimm)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.iso.x400
Subject: Re: Printable format
Message-ID: <363*grimm@eiche.darmstadt.gmd.dbp.de>
Date: 13 Aug 90 08:55:04 GMT
Lines: 23
Approved: usenet@ICS.UCI.EDU


 >  > As a member of RARE WG1, which is more or less responsible for putting the
 >  > format forward, I think I can state that the reason ; was chosen for a
 >  > delimiter
 >  > and not / was that / is a PrintableString character, while ; is not.
 >  > This means that in order to use /, we have to define a quoting syntax, while
 >  > using ; quotes would not be needed.
 >
 >  I must be missing something here.
 >   / and ; both *are printable* characters ( ASCII code 47 and 59 ).
 >
 >  I believe / has more visual contrast as opposed to ; that 'blends' with the
 >  address string.

The term "printable string" in this context refers to ASN.1, not to ASCII.
In ASN.1 (ISO 8824), para 29 defines several character string types,
NumericString, PrintableString, TeletexString, VideotexString,
VisibleString, IA5String, GraphicString, GeneralString.
In that paragraph, table 5 lists the characters which can appear in the
PrintableString type. For reference, see also into the RARE Recommendation
for a Short Hand X.400 Address Notation, Annex A, which explains the
situation with character types for use in O/R addresses.
---Ruediger