Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site deepthot.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!deepthot!julian
From: julian@deepthot.UUCP (Julian Davies)
Newsgroups: net.mail,net.wanted
Subject: Re: Anyone know about X.400?
Message-ID: <245@deepthot.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 24-Mar-84 09:45:59 EST
Article-I.D.: deepthot.245
Posted: Sat Mar 24 09:45:59 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 25-Mar-84 13:54:59 EST
References: <1135@cbosgd.UUCP>
Organization: UWO CS, London Canada
Lines: 12

Directory services have not yet been specified.  And yes, a 'user
agent' program is supposed to provide the user interface.  The X.4xx
recommendations are only concerned with what happens on the network,
not with what kind of user interface may be built.  I agree with Mark,
the definitions are fairly impenetrable.  I wish there were more
worked examples in the definitions.  The protocols are quite different
from anything now happening on Usenet (or ARPAnet), and require an
8-bit wide data path for session connections.  Everything is encoded
in a system of 'self-describing data structures' -- where anything
starts with a length code and type code(s), which is where the 8-bit
wide data path is needed even if the stuff being encoded is ultimately
just ASCII text strings.