RFC Integration for OCaml Projects

When to Use This Skill

Invoke this skill when:

• User mentions implementing an RFC
• Adding RFC citations to documentation
• Fetching RFC specifications
• Validating code against RFC requirements
• Discussing internet protocol standards

RFC Fetching and Storage

Fetching RFCs

Always fetch RFCs in plain text format from:

https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfcXXXX.txt

Important: Use .txt extension, not .html.

Storage Location

Save RFC files to spec/ directory in project root:

spec/rfc6265.txt
spec/rfc3492.txt

Create spec/ directory if it doesn't exist.

OCamldoc RFC Citation Format

Basic RFC Link

{{:https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfcXXXX}RFC XXXX}

Section-Specific Links

{{:https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfcXXXX#section-N.M}RFC XXXX Section N.M}

Common Section References

• #section-N - Main numbered section
• #section-N.M - Subsection
• #appendix-X - Appendix (A, B, C, etc.)

Documentation Patterns

Module-Level Documentation

(** RFC 3492 Punycode: A Bootstring encoding of Unicode for IDNA.

    This module implements the Punycode algorithm as specified in
    {{:https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3492}RFC 3492}.

    {2 References}
    {ul
    {- {{:https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3492}RFC 3492} - Punycode}
    {- {{:https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5891}RFC 5891} - IDNA}} *)

Function-Level Documentation

val adapt : delta:int -> numpoints:int -> firsttime:bool -> int
(** [adapt ~delta ~numpoints ~firsttime] computes the new bias value.

    Implements the bias adaptation algorithm from
    {{:https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3492#section-6.1}RFC 3492 Section 6.1}. *)

Type-Level Documentation

type error =
  | Overflow of position
      (** Arithmetic overflow. See
          {{:https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3492#section-6.4}
          RFC 3492 Section 6.4}. *)
  | Invalid_digit of position * char
      (** Invalid Punycode digit. See
          {{:https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3492#section-5}
          RFC 3492 Section 5}. *)

Constants and Parameters

val base : int
(** The base value (36) for Punycode encoding.
    See {{:https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3492#section-5}
    RFC 3492 Section 5}. *)

Reading and Parsing RFCs

RFC Structure

1. Header: RFC number, title, authors, date
2. Table of Contents: Section numbers and titles
3. Abstract: Brief summary
4. Main Body: Numbered sections
5. Appendices: Lettered sections
6. References: Citations to other documents

Key Sections to Extract

• Introduction - Background and motivation
• Terminology - Key terms (MUST, SHOULD, MAY)
• Algorithm - Core specification
• Security Considerations - Security implications

Validation Workflow

1. Read the RFC from spec/ directory
2. Extract key requirements (MUST, SHOULD, MAY)
3. Read implementation code
4. Check each requirement is implemented
5. Verify error handling matches RFC
6. Report gaps or inconsistencies

Best Practices

DO

• Always fetch and save RFC text files to spec/
• Use section-specific links when possible
• Link error types to their RFC requirements
• Document RFC parameters and constants
• Keep citations consistent across related functions

DON'T

• Link to HTML versions of RFCs
• Assume RFC sections without checking
• Omit section numbers in citations
• Duplicate RFC text verbatim (summarize instead)

Handling RFC Updates

When an RFC obsoletes another:

(** Implements {{:https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc6265}RFC 6265}
    which obsoletes {{:https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2965}RFC 2965}. *)

Multiple RFC References

(** IDNA-compatible encoding combining
    {{:https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5891}RFC 5891} (IDNA Protocol)
    with {{:https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc3492}RFC 3492} (Punycode). *)