cellar S. Lhomme Internet-Draft Intended status: Standards Track D. Rice Expires: July 28, 2019 M. Bunkus January 24, 2019 Extensible Binary Meta Language draft-ietf-cellar-ebml-09 Abstract This document defines the Extensible Binary Meta Language (EBML) format as a generalized file format for any type of data in a hierarchical form. EBML is designed as a binary equivalent to XML and uses a storage-efficient approach to build nested Elements with identifiers, lengths, and values. Similar to how an XML Schema defines the structure and semantics of an XML Document, this document defines how EBML Schemas are created to convey the semantics of an EBML Document. Status of This Memo This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79. Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-Drafts. The list of current Internet- Drafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/. Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as "work in progress." This Internet-Draft will expire on July 28, 2019. Copyright Notice Copyright (c) 2019 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the document authors. All rights reserved. This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (https://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of publication of this document. Please review these documents Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 1] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect to this document. Code Components extracted from this document must include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as described in the Simplified BSD License. Table of Contents 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2. Notation and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 4. Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 5. Variable Size Integer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 5.1. VINT_WIDTH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 5.2. VINT_MARKER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 5.3. VINT_DATA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 5.4. VINT Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 6. Element ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 7. Element Data Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 8. EBML Element Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 8.1. Signed Integer Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 8.2. Unsigned Integer Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 8.3. Float Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 8.4. String Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 8.5. UTF-8 Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 8.6. Date Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 8.7. Master Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 8.8. Binary Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 9. Terminating Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 10. Guidelines for Updating Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 10.1. Reducing a Element Data in Size . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 10.1.1. Adding a Void Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 10.1.2. Extending the Element Data Size . . . . . . . . . . 17 10.1.3. Terminating Element Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 10.2. Considerations when Updating Elements with CRC . . . . . 18 11. EBML Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 11.1. EBML Header . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 11.2. EBML Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 12. EBML Stream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 13. Elements semantic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 13.1. EBML Schema . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 13.1.1. EBML Schema Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 13.1.2. Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 13.1.3. Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 13.1.4. Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 13.1.5. Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 13.1.6. Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 13.1.7. Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 2] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 13.1.8. Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 13.1.9. Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 13.1.10. Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 13.1.11. XML Schema for EBML Schema . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 13.1.12. Identically Recurring Elements . . . . . . . . . . . 30 13.1.13. Textual expression of floats . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 13.1.14. Note on the use of default attributes to define Mandatory EBML Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 13.2. EBML Header Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 13.2.1. EBML Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 13.2.2. EBMLVersion Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 13.2.3. EBMLReadVersion Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 13.2.4. EBMLMaxIDLength Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 13.2.5. EBMLMaxSizeLength Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 13.2.6. DocType Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 13.2.7. DocTypeVersion Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 13.2.8. DocTypeReadVersion Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 13.2.9. DocTypeExtension Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 13.2.10. DocTypeExtensionName Element . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 13.2.11. DocTypeExtensionVersion Element . . . . . . . . . . 36 13.3. Global Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 13.3.1. CRC-32 Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 13.3.2. Void Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 14. Considerations for Reading EBML Data . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 15. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 15.1. CELLAR EBML Element ID Registry . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 15.2. CELLAR EBML DocType Registry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 16. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 16.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 16.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 16.3. URIs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 1. Introduction "EBML", short for Extensible Binary Meta Language, specifies a binary and octet (byte) aligned format inspired by the principle of XML (a framework for structuring data). The goal of this document is to define a generic, binary, space- efficient format that can be used to define more complex formats using an "EBML Schema". "EBML" is used by the multimedia container Matroska [1]. It MAY be used for use cases similar to those. The applicability of "EBML" for other use cases is beyond the scope of this document. The definition of the "EBML" format recognizes the idea behind HTML and XML as a good one: separate structure and semantics allowing the Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 3] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 same structural layer to be used with multiple, possibly widely differing semantic layers. Except for the "EBML Header" and a few "Global Elements" this specification does not define particular "EBML" format semantics; however this specification is intended to define how other "EBML"-based formats can be defined. "EBML" uses a simple approach of building "Elements" upon three pieces of data (tag, length, and value) as this approach is well known, easy to parse, and allows selective data parsing. The "EBML" structure additionally allows for hierarchical arrangement to support complex structural formats in an efficient manner. 2. Notation and Conventions The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14 [2] [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here. This document defines specific terms in order to define the format and application of "EBML". Specific terms are defined below: "EBML": Extensible Binary Meta Language "EBML Document Type": A name provided by an "EBML Schema" to designate a particular implementation of "EBML" for a data format (e.g.: matroska and webm). "EBML Schema": A standardized definition for the structure of an "EBML Document Type". "EBML Document": A datastream comprised of only two components, an "EBML Header" and an "EBML Body". "EBML Reader": A data parser that interprets the semantics of an "EBML Document" and creates a way for programs to use "EBML". "EBML Stream": A file that consists of one or more "EBML Documents" that are concatenated together. "EBML Header": A declaration that provides processing instructions and identification of the "EBML Body". The "EBML Header" is analogous to an XML Declaration [W3C.REC-xml-20081126] (see section 2.8 on Prolog and Document Type Declaration). "EBML Body": All data of an "EBML Document" following the "EBML Header". Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 4] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 "Variable Size Integer": A compact variable-length binary value which defines its own length. "VINT": Also known as "Variable Size Integer". "EBML Element": A foundation block of data that contains three parts: an "Element ID", an "Element Data Size", and "Element Data". "Element ID": The "Element ID" is a binary value, encoded as a "Variable Size Integer", used to uniquely identify a defined "EBML Element" within a specific "EBML Schema". "EBML Class": A representation of the octet length of an "Element ID". "Element Data Size": An expression, encoded as a "Variable Size Integer", of the length in octets of "Element Data". "VINTMAX": The maximum possible value that can be stored as "Element Data Size". "Unknown-Sized Element": An "Element" with an unknown "Element Data Size". "Element Data": The value(s) of the "EBML Element" which is identified by its "Element ID" and "Element Data Size". The form of the "Element Data" is defined by this document and the corresponding "EBML Schema" of the Element's "EBML Document Type". "Root Level": The starting level in the hierarchy of an "EBML Document". "Root Element": A mandatory, non-repeating "EBML Element" which occurs at the top level of the path hierarchy within an "EBML Body" and contains all other "EBML Elements" of the "EBML Body", excepting optional "Void Elements". "Top-Level Element": An "EBML Element" defined to only occur as a "Child Element" of the "Root Element". "Master Element": The "Master Element" contains zero, one, or many other "EBML Elements". "Child Element": A "Child Element" is a relative term to describe the "EBML Elements" immediately contained within a "Master Element". "Parent Element": A relative term to describe the "Master Element" which contains a specified element. For any specified "EBML Element" Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 5] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 that is not at "Root Level", the "Parent Element" refers to the "Master Element" in which that "EBML Element" is contained. "Descendant Element": A relative term to describe any "EBML Elements" contained within a "Master Element", including any of the "Child Elements" of its "Child Elements", and so on. "Void Element": A "Void Element" is an "Element" used to overwrite damaged data or reserve space within a "Master Element" for later use. "Element Name": The official human-readable name of the "EBML Element". "Element Path": The hierarchy of "Parent Element" where the "EBML Element" is expected to be found in the "EBML Body". "Empty Element": An "EBML Element" that has an "Element Data Size" with all "VINT_DATA" bits set to zero, which indicates that the "Element Data" of the "Element" is zero octets in length. 3. Security Considerations "EBML" itself does not offer any kind of security and does not provide confidentiality. "EBML" does not provide any kind of authorization. "EBML" only offers marginally useful and effective data integrity options, such as CRC elements. Even if the semantic layer offers any kind of encryption, "EBML" itself could leak information at both the semantic layer (as declared via the "DocType Element") and within the "EBML" structure (the presence of "EBML Elements" can be derived even with an unknown semantic layer using a heuristic approach; not without errors, of course, but with a certain degree of confidence). An "EBML Document" that has the following issues may still be handled by the "EBML Reader" and the data accepted as such: o Invalid "Element IDs" that are longer than the limit stated in the "EBMLMaxIDLength Element" of the "EBML Header". o Invalid "Element IDs" that are not encoded in the shortest- possible way. o Invalid "Element IDs" comprised of reserved values. o Invalid "Element Data Size" values that are longer than the limit stated in the "EBMLMaxSizeLength Element" of the "EBML Header". Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 6] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 o Usage of "0x00" octets in "EBML Elements" with a string type. An "EBML Reader" may discard some or all data if the following errors are found in the "EBML Document": o Invalid "Element Data Size" values (e.g. extending the length of the "EBML Element" beyond the scope of the "Parent Element"; possibly triggering access-out-of-bounds issues). o Very high lengths in order to force out-of-memory situations resulting in a denial of service, access-out-of-bounds issues etc. o Missing "EBML Elements" that are mandatory and have no declared default value. o Usage of invalid UTF-8 encoding in "EBML Elements" of UTF-8 type (e.g. in order to trigger access-out-of-bounds or buffer overflow issues). o Usage of invalid data in "EBML Elements" with a date type. Side channel attacks could exploit: o The semantic equivalence of the same string stored in a "String Element" or "UTF-8 Element" with and without zero-bit padding. o The semantic equivalence of "VINT_DATA" within "Element Data Size" with two different lengths due to left-padding zero bits. o Data contained within a "Master Element" which is not itself part of an "EBML Element". o Extraneous copies of "Identically Recurring Element". o Copies of "Identically Recurring Element" within a "Parent Element" that contain invalid "CRC-32 Elements". o Use of "Void Elements". An "EBML Reader" MAY use the data if it considers it doesn't create any security issue. 4. Structure "EBML" uses a system of "Elements" to compose an "EBML Document". "EBML Elements" incorporate three parts: an "Element ID", an "Element Data Size", and "Element Data". The "Element Data", which is Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 7] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 described by the "Element ID", includes either binary data, one or more other "EBML Elements", or both. 5. Variable Size Integer The "Element ID" and "Element Data Size" are both encoded as a "Variable Size Integer". The "Variable Size Integer" is composed of a "VINT_WIDTH", "VINT_MARKER", and "VINT_DATA", in that order. "Variable Size Integers" MUST left-pad the "VINT_DATA" value with zero bits so that the whole "Variable Size Integer" is octet-aligned. "Variable Size Integer" will be referred to as "VINT" for shorthand. 5.1. VINT_WIDTH Each "Variable Size Integer" begins with a "VINT_WIDTH" which consists of zero or many zero-value bits. The count of consecutive zero-values of the "VINT_WIDTH" plus one equals the length in octets of the "Variable Size Integer". For example, a "Variable Size Integer" that starts with a "VINT_WIDTH" which contains zero consecutive zero-value bits is one octet in length and a "Variable Size Integer" that starts with one consecutive zero-value bit is two octets in length. The "VINT_WIDTH" MUST only contain zero-value bits or be empty. Within the "EBML Header" the "VINT_WIDTH" MUST NOT exceed three bits in length (meaning that the "Variable Size Integer" MUST NOT exceed four octets in length). Within the "EBML Body", when a "VINT" is used to express an "Element ID", the maximum length allowed for the "VINT_WIDTH" is one less than the value set in the "EBMLMaxIDLength Element". Within the "EBML Body", when a "VINT" is used to express an "Element Data Size", the maximum length allowed for the "VINT_WIDTH" is one less than the value set in the "EBMLMaxSizeLength Element". 5.2. VINT_MARKER The "VINT_MARKER" serves as a separator between the "VINT_WIDTH" and "VINT_DATA". Each "Variable Size Integer" MUST contain exactly one "VINT_MARKER". The "VINT_MARKER" is one bit in length and contain a bit with a value of one. The first bit with a value of one within the "Variable Size Integer" is the "VINT_MARKER". 5.3. VINT_DATA The "VINT_DATA" portion of the "Variable Size Integer" includes all data that follows (but not including) the "VINT_MARKER" until end of the "Variable Size Integer" whose length is derived from the "VINT_WIDTH". The bits required for the "VINT_WIDTH" and the Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 8] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 "VINT_MARKER" use one out of every eight bits of the total length of the "Variable Size Integer". Thus a "Variable Size Integer" of 1 octet length supplies 7 bits for "VINT_DATA", a 2 octet length supplies 14 bits for "VINT_DATA", and a 3 octet length supplies 21 bits for "VINT_DATA". If the number of bits required for "VINT_DATA" are less than the bit size of "VINT_DATA", then "VINT_DATA" MUST be zero-padded to the left to a size that fits. The "VINT_DATA" value MUST be expressed as a big-endian unsigned integer. 5.4. VINT Examples This table shows examples of "Variable Size Integers" with lengths from 1 to 5 octets. The Size column refers to the size of the "VINT_DATA" in bits. The Representation column depicts a binary expression of "Variable Size Integers" where "VINT_WIDTH" is depicted by '0', the "VINT_MARKER" as '1', and the "VINT_DATA" as 'x'. +-------------+------+----------------------------------------------+ | Octet | Size | Representation | | Length | | | +-------------+------+----------------------------------------------+ | 1 | 2^7 | 1xxx xxxx | | 2 | 2^14 | 01xx xxxx xxxx xxxx | | 3 | 2^21 | 001x xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx | | 4 | 2^28 | 0001 xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx | | 5 | 2^35 | 0000 1xxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx | | | | xxxx | +-------------+------+----------------------------------------------+ Data encoded as a "Variable Size Integer" MAY be rendered at octet lengths larger than needed to store the data in order to facilitate overwriting it at a later date, e.g. when its final size isn't known in advance. In this table a binary value of "0b10" is shown encoded as different "Variable Size Integers" with lengths from one octet to four octet. All four encoded examples have identical semantic meaning though the "VINT_WIDTH" and the padding of the "VINT_DATA" vary. +--------------+--------------+-------------------------------------+ | Binary Value | Octet Length | As Represented in Variable Size | | | | Integer | +--------------+--------------+-------------------------------------+ | 10 | 1 | 1000 0010 | | 10 | 2 | 0100 0000 0000 0010 | | 10 | 3 | 0010 0000 0000 0000 0000 0010 | | 10 | 4 | 0001 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 | | | | 0010 | +--------------+--------------+-------------------------------------+ Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 9] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 6. Element ID The "Element ID" is encoded as a "Variable Size Integer". By default, "Element IDs" are encoded in lengths from one octet to four octets, although "Element IDs" of greater lengths are used if the octet length of the longest "Element ID" of the "EBML Document" is declared in the "EBMLMaxIDLength Element" of the "EBML Header" (see Section 13.2.4). The "VINT_DATA" component of the "Element ID" MUST NOT be either defined or written as either all zero values or all one values. Any "Element ID" with the "VINT_DATA" component set as all zero values or all one values MUST be ignored. The "VINT_DATA" component of the "Element ID" MUST be encoded at the shortest valid length. For example, an "Element ID" with binary encoding of "1011 1111" is valid, whereas an "Element ID" with binary encoding of "0100 0000 0011 1111" stores a semantically equal "VINT_DATA" but is invalid because a shorter "VINT" encoding is possible. Additionally, an "Element ID" with binary encoding of "1111 1111" is invalid since the "VINT_DATA" section is set to all one values, whereas an "Element ID" with binary encoding of "0100 0000 0111 1111" stores a semantically equal "VINT_DATA" and is the shortest possible "VINT" encoding. The following table details these specific examples further: +------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------+ | VINT_WIDTH | VINT_MARKER | VINT_DATA | Element ID Status | +------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------+ | | 1 | 0000000 | Invalid: "VINT_DATA" | | | | | MUST NOT be set to | | | | | all 0 | | 0 | 1 | 00000000000000 | Invalid: "VINT_DATA" | | | | | MUST NOT be set to | | | | | all 0 | | | 1 | 0000001 | Valid | | 0 | 1 | 00000000000001 | Invalid: A shorter | | | | | "VINT_DATA" encoding | | | | | is available. | | | 1 | 0111111 | Valid | | 0 | 1 | 00000000111111 | Invalid: A shorter | | | | | "VINT_DATA" encoding | | | | | is available. | | | 1 | 1111111 | Invalid: "VINT_DATA" | | | | | MUST NOT be set to | | | | | all 1 | | 0 | 1 | 00000001111111 | Valid | +------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------+ The octet length of an "Element ID" determines its "EBML Class". Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 10] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 +------------+--------------+--------------------------------+ | EBML Class | Octet Length | Number of Possible Element IDs | +------------+--------------+--------------------------------+ | Class A | 1 | 2^7 - 2 = 126 | | Class B | 2 | 2^14 - 2^7 - 1 = 16,255 | | Class C | 3 | 2^21 - 2^14 - 1 = 2,080,767 | | Class D | 4 | 2^28 - 2^21 - 1 = 266,338,303 | +------------+--------------+--------------------------------+ 7. Element Data Size The "Element Data Size" expresses the length in octets of "Element Data". The "Element Data Size" itself is encoded as a "Variable Size Integer". By default, "Element Data Sizes" can be encoded in lengths from one octet to eight octets, although "Element Data Sizes" of greater lengths MAY be used if the octet length of the longest "Element Data Size" of the "EBML Document" is declared in the "EBMLMaxSizeLength Element" of the "EBML Header" (see Section 13.2.5). Unlike the "VINT_DATA" of the "Element ID", the "VINT_DATA" component of the "Element Data Size" is not mandated to be encoded at the shortest valid length. For example, an "Element Data Size" with binary encoding of "1011 1111" or a binary encoding of "0100 0000 0011 1111" are both valid "Element Data Sizes" and both store a semantically equal value (both "0b00000000111111" and "0b0111111", the "VINT_DATA" sections of the examples, represent the integer 63). Although an "Element ID" with all "VINT_DATA" bits set to zero is invalid, an "Element Data Size" with all "VINT_DATA" bits set to zero is allowed for "EBML Element Types" which do not mandate a non-zero length (see Section 8). An "Element Data Size" with all "VINT_DATA" bits set to zero indicates that the "Element Data" is zero octets in length. Such an "EBML Element" is referred to as an "Empty Element". If an "Empty Element" has a "default" value declared then the "EBML Reader" MUST interpret the value of the "Empty Element" as the "default" value. If an "Empty Element" has no "default" value declared then the "EBML Reader" MUST interpret the value of the "Empty Element" as defined as part of the definition of the corresponding "EBML Element Type" associated with the "Element ID". An "Element Data Size" with all "VINT_DATA" bits set to one is reserved as an indicator that the size of the "EBML Element" is unknown. The only reserved value for the "VINT_DATA" of "Element Data Size" is all bits set to one. An "EBML Element" with an unknown "Element Data Size" is referred to as an "Unknown-Sized Element". A "Master Element" MAY be an "Unknown-Sized Element"; however an "EBML Element" that is not a "Master Element" MUST NOT be an "Unknown-Sized Element". "Master Elements" MUST NOT use an unknown size unless the Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 11] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 "unknownsizeallowed" attribute of their "EBML Schema" is set to true (see Section 13.1.5.10). The use of "Unknown-Sized Elements" allows for an "EBML Element" to be written and read before the size of the "EBML Element" is known. "Unknown-Sized Element" MUST NOT be used or defined unnecessarily; however if the "Element Data Size" is not known before the "Element Data" is written, such as in some cases of data streaming, then "Unknown-Sized Elements" MAY be used. The end of an "Unknown-Sized Element" is determined by whichever comes first: the end of the file or the beginning of the next "EBML Element", defined by this document or the corresponding "EBML Schema", that is not independently valid as "Descendant Element" of the "Unknown-Sized Element". For "Element Data Sizes" encoded at octet lengths from one to eight, this table depicts the range of possible values that can be encoded as an "Element Data Size". An "Element Data Size" with an octet length of 8 is able to express a size of 2^56-2 or 72,057,594,037,927,934 octets (or about 72 petabytes). The maximum possible value that can be stored as "Element Data Size" is referred to as "VINTMAX". +--------------+----------------------+ | Octet Length | Possible Value Range | +--------------+----------------------+ | 1 | 0 to 2^7-2 | | 2 | 0 to 2^14-2 | | 3 | 0 to 2^21-2 | | 4 | 0 to 2^28-2 | | 5 | 0 to 2^35-2 | | 6 | 0 to 2^42-2 | | 7 | 0 to 2^49-2 | | 8 | 0 to 2^56-2 | +--------------+----------------------+ If the length of "Element Data" equals "2^(n*7)-1" then the octet length of the "Element Data Size" MUST be at least "n+1". This rule prevents an "Element Data Size" from being expressed as a reserved value. The following table clarifies this rule by showing a valid and invalid expression of an "Element Data Size" with a "VINT_DATA" of 127 (which is equal to 2^(1_7)-1) and 16,383 (which is equal to 2^(2_7)-1). Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 12] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 +------------+-------------+-----------------------+----------------+ | VINT_WIDTH | VINT_MARKER | VINT_DATA | Element Data | | | | | Size Status | +------------+-------------+-----------------------+----------------+ | | 1 | 1111111 | Reserved | | | | | (meaning | | | | | Unknown) | | 0 | 1 | 00000001111111 | Valid (meaning | | | | | 127 octets) | | 00 | 1 | 000000000000001111111 | Valid (meaning | | | | | 127 octets) | | 0 | 1 | 11111111111111 | Reserved | | | | | (meaning | | | | | Unknown) | | 00 | 1 | 000000011111111111111 | Valid (16,383 | | | | | octets) | +------------+-------------+-----------------------+----------------+ 8. EBML Element Types "EBML Elements" are defined by an "EBML Schema" which MUST declare one of the following "EBML Element Types" for each "EBML Element". An "EBML Element Type" defines a concept of storing data within an "EBML Element" that describes such characteristics as length, endianness, and definition. "EBML Elements" which are defined as a "Signed Integer Element", "Unsigned Integer Element", "Float Element", or "Date Element" use big endian storage. 8.1. Signed Integer Element A "Signed Integer Element" MUST declare a length from zero to eight octets. If the "EBML Element" is not defined to have a "default" value, then a "Signed Integer Element" with a zero-octet length represents an integer value of zero. A "Signed Integer Element" stores an integer (meaning that it can be written without a fractional component) which could be negative, positive, or zero. Signed Integers are stored with two's complement notation with the leftmost bit being the sign bit. Because "EBML" limits Signed Integers to 8 octets in length a "Signed Integer Element" stores a number from -9,223,372,036,854,775,808 to +9,223,372,036,854,775,807. Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 13] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 8.2. Unsigned Integer Element An "Unsigned Integer Element" MUST declare a length from zero to eight octets. If the "EBML Element" is not defined to have a "default" value, then an "Unsigned Integer Element" with a zero-octet length represents an integer value of zero. An "Unsigned Integer Element" stores an integer (meaning that it can be written without a fractional component) which could be positive or zero. Because "EBML" limits Unsigned Integers to 8 octets in length an "Unsigned Integer Element" stores a number from 0 to 18,446,744,073,709,551,615. 8.3. Float Element A "Float Element" MUST declare a length of either zero octets (0 bit), four octets (32 bit) or eight octets (64 bit). If the "EBML Element" is not defined to have a "default" value, then a "Float Element" with a zero-octet length represents a numerical value of zero. A "Float Element" stores a floating-point number as defined in [IEEE.754.1985]. 8.4. String Element A "String Element" MUST declare a length in octets from zero to "VINTMAX". If the "EBML Element" is not defined to have a "default" value, then a "String Element" with a zero-octet length represents an empty string. A "String Element" MUST either be empty (zero-length) or contain printable ASCII characters [RFC0020] in the range of "0x20" to "0x7E", with an exception made for termination (see Section 9). 8.5. UTF-8 Element A "UTF-8 Element" MUST declare a length in octets from zero to "VINTMAX". If the "EBML Element" is not defined to have a "default" value, then a "UTF-8 Element" with a zero-octet length represents an empty string. A "UTF-8 Element" contains only a valid Unicode string as defined in [RFC3629], with an exception made for termination (see Section 9). Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 14] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 8.6. Date Element A "Date Element" MUST declare a length of either zero octets or eight octets. If the "EBML Element" is not defined to have a "default" value, then a "Date Element" with a zero-octet length represents a timestamp of 2001-01-01T00:00:00.000000000 UTC [RFC3339]. The "Date Element" stores an integer in the same format as the "Signed Integer Element" that expresses a point in time referenced in nanoseconds from the precise beginning of the third millennium of the Gregorian Calendar in Coordinated Universal Time (also known as 2001-01-01T00:00:00.000000000 UTC). This provides a possible expression of time from 1708-09-11T00:12:44.854775808 UTC to 2293-04-11T11:47:16.854775807 UTC. 8.7. Master Element A "Master Element" MUST declare a length in octets from zero to "VINTMAX". The "Master Element" MAY also use an unknown length. See Section 7 for rules that apply to elements of unknown length. The "Master Element" contains zero, one, or many other elements. "EBML Elements" contained within a "Master Element" MUST have the "EBMLParentPath" of their "Element Path" equals to the "EBMLReferencePath" of the "Master Element" "Element Path" (see Section 13.1.5.2). "Element Data" stored within "Master Elements" SHOULD only consist of "EBML Elements" and SHOULD NOT contain any data that is not part of an "EBML Element". When "EBML" is used in transmission or streaming, data that is not part of an "EBML Element" is permitted to be present within a "Master Element" if "unknownsizeallowed" is enabled within the definition for that "Master Element". In this case, the "EBML Reader" should skip data until a valid "Element ID" of the same "EBMLParentPath" or the next upper level "Element Path" of the "Master Element" is found. The "EBML Schema" identifies what "Element IDs" are valid within the "Master Elements" for that version of the "EBML Document Type". Any data contained within a "Master Element" that is not part of a "Child Element" MUST be ignored. 8.8. Binary Element A "Binary Element" MUST declare a length in octets from zero to "VINTMAX". The contents of a "Binary Element" should not be interpreted by the "EBML Reader". Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 15] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 9. Terminating Elements "Null Octets", which are octets with all bits set to zero, MAY follow the value of a "String Element" or "UTF-8 Element" to serve as a terminator. An "EBML Writer" MAY terminate a "String Element" or "UTF-8 Element" with "Null Octets" in order to overwrite a stored value with a new value of lesser length while maintaining the same "Element Data Size" (this can prevent the need to rewrite large portions of an "EBML Document"); otherwise the use of "Null Octets" within a "String Element" or "UTF-8 Element" is NOT RECOMMENDED. An "EBML Reader" MUST consider the value of the "String Element" or "UTF-8 Element" to be terminated upon the first read "Null Octet" and MUST ignore any data following the first "Null Octet" within that "Element". A string value and a copy of that string value terminated by one or more "Null Octets" are semantically equal. The following table shows examples of semantics and validation for the use of "Null Octets". Values to represent "Stored Values" and the "Semantic Meaning" as represented as hexadecimal values. +---------------------+---------------------+ | Stored Value | Semantic Meaning | +---------------------+---------------------+ | 0x65 0x62 0x6d 0x6c | 0x65 0x62 0x6d 0x6c | | 0x65 0x62 0x00 0x6c | 0x65 0x62 | | 0x65 0x62 0x00 0x00 | 0x65 0x62 | | 0x65 0x62 | 0x65 0x62 | +---------------------+---------------------+ 10. Guidelines for Updating Elements An EBML Document can be updated without requiring that the entire EBML Document be rewritten. These recommendations describe strategies to change the "Element Data" of a written "EBML Element" with minimal disruption to the rest of the "EBML Document". 10.1. Reducing a Element Data in Size There are three methods to reduce the size of "Element Data" of a written "EBML Element". 10.1.1. Adding a Void Element When an "EBML Element" is changed to reduce its total length by more than one octet, an "EBML Writer" SHOULD fill the freed space with a "Void Element". Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 16] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 10.1.2. Extending the Element Data Size The same value for "Element Data Size" MAY be written in variable lengths, so for minor reductions in octet length the "Element Data Size" MAY be written to a longer octet length to fill the freed space. For example, the first row of the following table depicts a "String Element" that stores an "Element ID" (3 octets), "Element Data Size" (1 octet), and "Element Data" (4 octets). If the "Element Data" is changed to reduce the length by one octet and if the current length of the "Element Data Size" is less than its maximum permitted length, then the "Element Data Size" of that "Element" MAY be rewritten to increase its length by one octet. Thus before and after the change the "EBML Element" maintains the same length of 8 octets and data around the "Element" does not need to be moved. +-------------+------------+-------------------+--------------+ | Status | Element ID | Element Data Size | Element Data | +-------------+------------+-------------------+--------------+ | Before edit | 0x3B4040 | 0x84 | 0x65626d6c | | After edit | 0x3B4040 | 0x4003 | 0x6d6b76 | +-------------+------------+-------------------+--------------+ This method is RECOMMENDED when the "Element Data" is reduced by a single octet; for reductions by two or more octets it is RECOMMENDED to fill the freed space with a "Void Element". Note that if the "Element Data" length needs to be rewritten as shortened by one octet and the "Element Data Size" could be rewritten as a shorter "VINT" then it is RECOMMENDED to rewrite the "Element Data Size" as one octet shorter, shorten the "Element Data" by one octet, and follow that "Element" with a "Void Element". For example, the following table depicts a "String Element" that stores an "Element ID" (3 octets), "Element Data Size" (2 octets, but could be rewritten in one octet), and "Element Data" (3 octets). If the "Element Data" is to be rewritten to a two octet length, then another octet can be taken from "Element Data Size" so that there is enough space to add a two octet "Void Element". +--------+------------+-----------------+-------------+-------------+ | Status | Element ID | Element Data | Element | Void | | | | Size | Data | Element | +--------+------------+-----------------+-------------+-------------+ | Before | 0x3B4040 | 0x4003 | 0x6d6b76 | | | After | 0x3B4040 | 0x82 | 0x6869 | 0xEC80 | +--------+------------+-----------------+-------------+-------------+ Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 17] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 10.1.3. Terminating Element Data For "String Elements" and "UTF-8 Elements" the length of "Element Data" MAY be reduced by adding "Null Octets" to terminate the "Element Data" (see Section 9). In the following table, a four octet long "Element Data" is changed to a three octet long value followed by a "Null Octet"; the "Element Data Size" includes any "Null Octets" used to terminate "Element Data" so remains unchanged. +-------------+------------+-------------------+--------------+ | Status | Element ID | Element Data Size | Element Data | +-------------+------------+-------------------+--------------+ | Before edit | 0x3B4040 | 0x84 | 0x65626d6c | | After edit | 0x3B4040 | 0x84 | 0x6d6b7600 | +-------------+------------+-------------------+--------------+ Note that this method is NOT RECOMMENDED. For reductions of one octet, the method for "Extending the Element Data Size" SHOULD be used. For reduction by more than one octet, the method for "Adding a Void Element" SHOULD be used. 10.2. Considerations when Updating Elements with CRC If the "Element" to be changed is a "Descendant Element" of any "Master Element" that contains an "CRC-32 Element" then the "CRC-32 Element" MUST be verified before permitting the change. Additionally the "CRC-32 Element" value MUST be subsequently updated to reflect the changed data. 11. EBML Document An "EBML Document" is comprised of only two components, an "EBML Header" and an "EBML Body". An "EBML Document" MUST start with an "EBML Header" that declares significant characteristics of the entire "EBML Body". An "EBML Document" consists of "EBML Elements" and MUST NOT contain any data that is not part of an "EBML Element". 11.1. EBML Header The "EBML Header" is a declaration that provides processing instructions and identification of the "EBML Body". The "EBML Header" of an "EBML Document" is analogous to the XML Declaration of an XML Document. The "EBML Header" documents the "EBML Schema" (also known as the "EBML DocType") that is used to semantically interpret the structure Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 18] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 and meaning of the "EBML Document". Additionally the "EBML Header" documents the versions of both "EBML" and the "EBML Schema" that were used to write the "EBML Document" and the versions required to read the "EBML Document". The "EBML Header" MUST contain a single "Master Element" with an "Element Name" of "EBML" and "Element ID" of "0x1A45DFA3" (see Section 13.2.1) and any number of additional "EBML Elements" within it. The "EBML Header" of an "EBML Document" that uses an "EBMLVersion" of "1" MUST only contain "EBML Elements" that are defined as part of this document. "EBML Elements" within the "EBML Header" MUST NOT use any "Element ID" with a length greater than 4 octets. All "EBML Elements" within the "EBML Header" MUST NOT use any "Element Data Size" with a length greater than 4 octets. 11.2. EBML Body All data of an "EBML Document" following the "EBML Header" is the "EBML Body". The end of the "EBML Body", as well as the end of the "EBML Document" that contains the "EBML Body", is reached at whichever comes first: the beginning of a new "EBML Header" at the "Root Level" or the end of the file. The "EBML Body" MUST consist only of "EBML Elements" and MUST NOT contain any data that is not part of an "EBML Element". This document defines precisely what "EBML Elements" are to be used within the "EBML Header", but does not name or define what "EBML Elements" are to be used within the "EBML Body". The definition of what "EBML Elements" are to be used within the "EBML Body" is defined by an "EBML Schema". 12. EBML Stream An "EBML Stream" is a file that consists of one or more "EBML Documents" that are concatenated together. An occurrence of a "EBML Header" at the "Root Level" marks the beginning of an "EBML Document". 13. Elements semantic 13.1. EBML Schema An "EBML Schema" is a well-formed XML Document that defines the properties, arrangement, and usage of "EBML Elements" that compose a specific "EBML Document Type". The relationship of an "EBML Schema" to an "EBML Document" is analogous to the relationship of an XML Schema [W3C.REC-xmlschema-0-20010502] to an XML Document [W3C.REC-xml-20081126]. An "EBML Schema" MUST be clearly associated Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 19] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 with one or more "EBML Document Types". An "EBML Document Type" is identified by a string stored within the "EBML Header" in the "DocType Element"; for example "matroska" or "webm" (see Section 13.2.6). The "DocType" value for an "EBML Document Type" SHOULD be unique and persistent. An "EBML Schema" MUST declare exactly one "EBML Element" at "Root Level" (referred to as the "Root Element") that occurs exactly once within an "EBML Document". The "Void Element" MAY also occur at "Root Level" but is not a "Root Element" (see Section 13.3.2). The "EBML Schema" MUST document all Elements of the "EBML Body". The "EBML Schema" does not document "Global Elements" that are defined by this document (namely the "Void Element" and the "CRC-32 Element"). An "EBML Schema" MAY constrain the use of "EBML Header Elements" (see Section 13.2) by adding or constraining that Element's "range" attribute. For example, an "EBML Schema" MAY constrain the "EBMLMaxSizeLength" to a maximum value of "8" or MAY constrain the "EBMLVersion" to only support a value of "1". If an "EBML Schema" adopts the "EBML Header Element" as-is, then it is not required to document that Element within the "EBML Schema". If an "EBML Schema" constrains the range of an "EBML Header Element", then that "Element" MUST be documented within an "" node of the "EBML Schema". This document provides an example of an "EBML Schema", see Section 13.1.1. 13.1.1. EBML Schema Example Container of data and attributes representing one or many files. An attached file. Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 20] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 Filename of the attached file. MIME type of the file. Modification timestamp of the file. The data of the file. 13.1.2. Element As an XML Document, the "EBML Schema" MUST use "" as the top level element. The "" element MAY contain "" sub-elements. 13.1.3. Attributes Within an "EBML Schema" the "" element uses the following attributes: 13.1.3.1. docType The "docType" lists the official name of the "EBML Document Type" that is defined by the "EBML Schema"; for example, "". Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 21] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 The "docType" attribute is REQUIRED within the "" Element. 13.1.3.2. version The "version" lists an non-negative integer that specifies the version of the docType documented by the "EBML Schema". Unlike XML Schemas, an "EBML Schema" documents all versions of a docType's definition rather than using separate "EBML Schemas" for each version of a "docType". "EBML Elements" may be introduced and deprecated by using the "minver" and "maxver" attributes of "". The "version" attribute is REQUIRED within the "" Element. 13.1.4. Element Each "" defines one "EBML Element" through the use of several attributes that are defined in Section 13.1.3. "EBML Schemas" MAY contain additional attributes to extend the semantics but MUST NOT conflict with the definitions of the "" attributes defined within this document. The "" nodes contain a description of the meaning and use of the "EBML Element" stored within one or more "" sub- elements and zero or one "" sub-element. All "" nodes MUST be sub-elements of the "". 13.1.5. Attributes Within an "EBML Schema" the "" uses the following attributes to define an "EBML Element": 13.1.5.1. name The "name" provides the official human-readable name of the "EBML Element". The value of the name MUST be in the form of characters "A" to "Z", "a" to "z", "0" to "9", "-" and ".". The "name" attribute is REQUIRED. 13.1.5.2. path The path defines the allowed storage locations of the "EBML Element" within an "EBML Document". This path MUST be defined with the full hierarchy of "EBML Elements" separated with a "/". The top "EBML Element" in the path hierarchy being the first in the value. The syntax of the "path" attribute is defined using this Augmented Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 22] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 Backus-Naur Form (ABNF) [RFC5234] with the case sensitive update [RFC7405] notation: The "path" attribute is REQUIRED. EBMLFullPath = EBMLElementOccurrence "(" EBMLReferencePath ")" EBMLReferencePath = [EBMLParentPath] EBMLElementPath EBMLParentPath = EBMLFixedParent EBMLLastParent EBMLFixedParent = *(EBMLPathAtom) EBMLElementPath = EBMLPathAtom / EBMLPathAtomRecursive EBMLPathAtom = PathDelimiter EBMLAtomName EBMLPathAtomRecursive = "(1*(" EBMLPathAtom "))" EBMLLastParent = EBMLPathAtom / EBMLVariableParent EBMLVariableParent = "(" VariableParentOccurrence "\)" EBMLAtomName = 1*(EBMLNameChar) EBMLNameChar = ALPHA / DIGIT / "-" / "." PathDelimiter = "\" EBMLElementOccurrence = [EBMLMinOccurrence] "*" [EBMLMaxOccurrence] EBMLMinOccurrence = 1*DIGIT EBMLMaxOccurrence = 1*DIGIT VariableParentOccurrence = [PathMinOccurrence] "*" [PathMaxOccurrence] PathMinOccurrence = 1*DIGIT PathMaxOccurrence = 1*DIGIT The ""*"", ""("" and "")"" symbols are interpreted as defined in [RFC5234]. The "EBMLPathAtom" part of the "EBMLElementPath" MUST be equal to the "name" attribute of the "EBML Schema". The starting "PathDelimiter" of the path corresponds to the root of the "EBML Document". The "EBMLElementOccurrence" part is interpreted as an ABNF Variable Repetition. The repetition amounts correspond to how many times the "EBML Element" can be found in its "Parent Element". The "EBMLMinOccurrence" represents the minimum number of occurrences of this "EBML Element" within its "Parent Element". Each instance of the "Parent Element" MUST contain at least this many instances of this "EBML Element". If the "EBML Element" has an empty "EBMLParentPath" then "EBMLMinOccurrence" refers to constraints on the occurrence of the "EBML Element" within the "EBML Document". If "EBMLMinOccurrence" is not present then that "EBML Element" has an "EBMLMinOccurrence" value of 0. The semantic meaning of "EBMLMinOccurrence" within an "EBML Schema" is analogous to the meaning of "minOccurs" within an "XML Schema". "EBML Elements" with "EBMLMinOccurrence" set to "1" that also have a "default" value (see Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 23] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 Section 13.1.5.8) declared are not REQUIRED to be stored but are REQUIRED to be interpreted, see Section 13.1.14. An "EBML Element" defined with a "EBMLMinOccurrence" value greater than zero is called a "Mandatory EBML Element". The "EBMLMaxOccurrence" represents the maximum number of occurrences of this "EBML Element" within its "Parent Element". Each instance of the "Parent Element" MUST contain at most this many instances of this "EBML Element". If the "EBML Element" has an empty "EBMLParentPath" then "EBMLMaxOccurrence" refers to constraints on the occurrence of the "EBML Element" within the "EBML Document". If "EBMLMaxOccurrence" is not present then that "EBML Element" has no maximum occurrence. The semantic meaning of "EBMLMaxOccurrence" within an "EBML Schema path" is analogous to the meaning of "maxOccurs" within an "XML Schema". The "VariableParentOccurrence" part is interpreted as an ABNF Variable Repetition. The repetition amounts correspond to the amount of unspecified "Parent Element" levels there can be between the "EBMLFixedParent" and the actual "EBMLElementPath". If the path contains an "EBMLPathAtomRecursive" part, the "EBML Element" can occur within itself recursively (see the Section 13.1.5.11). 13.1.5.3. id The "Element ID" encoded as a "Variable Size Integer" expressed in hexadecimal notation prefixed by a "0x" that is read and stored in big-endian order. To reduce the risk of false positives while parsing "EBML Streams", the "Element IDs" of the "Root Element" and "Top-Level Elements" SHOULD be at least 4 octets in length. "Element IDs" defined for use at "Root Level" or directly under the "Root Level" MAY use shorter octet lengths to facilitate padding and optimize edits to "EBML Documents"; for instance, the "Void Element" uses an "Element ID" with a one octet length to allow its usage in more writing and editing scenarios. The "id" attribute is REQUIRED. 13.1.5.4. minOccurs An integer expressing the minimum number of occurrences of this "EBML Element" within its "Parent Element". The "minOccurs" value MUST be equal to the "EBMLMinOccurrence" value of the "path". The "minOccurs" attribute is OPTIONAL. If the "minOccurs" attribute is not present then that "EBML Element" has a "minOccurs" value of 0. Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 24] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 13.1.5.5. maxOccurs An integer expressing the maximum number of occurrences of this "EBML Element" within its "Parent Element". The "maxOccurs" value MUST be equal to the "EBMLMaxOccurrence" value of the "path". The "maxOccurs" attribute is OPTIONAL. If the "maxOccurs" attribute is not present then that "EBML Element" has no maximum occurrence, similar to "unbounded" in the XML world. 13.1.5.6. range A numerical range for "EBML Elements" which are of numerical types (Unsigned Integer, Signed Integer, Float, and Date). If specified the value of the "EBML Element" MUST be within the defined range. See Section 13.1.5.6.1 for rules applied to expression of range values. The "range" attribute is OPTIONAL. If the "range" attribute is not present then any value legal for the "type" attribute is valid. 13.1.5.6.1. Expression of range The "range" attribute MUST only be used with "EBML Elements" that are either "signed integer", "unsigned integer", "float", or "date". The "range" expression may contain whitespace for readability but whitespace within a "range" expression MUST NOT convey meaning. The expression of the "range" MUST adhere to one of the following forms: o "x-y" where x and y are integers or floats and "y" MUST be greater than "x", meaning that the value MUST be greater than or equal to "x" and less than or equal to "y". "x" MUST be less than "y". o ">x" where "x" is an integer or float, meaning that the value MUST be greater than "x". o ">=x" where "x" is an integer or float, meaning that the value MUST be greater than or equal to "x". o "". Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 27] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 13.1.6. Element The "" element provides additional information about the "EBML Element". 13.1.7. Attributes 13.1.7.1. lang A "lang" attribute which is set to the [RFC5646] value of the language of the element's documentation. The "lang" attribute is OPTIONAL. 13.1.7.2. type A "type" attribute distinguishes the meaning of the documentation. Values for the "" sub-element's "type" attribute MUST include one of the following: "definition", "rationale", "usage notes", and "references". The "type" attribute is OPTIONAL. 13.1.8. Element The "" element provides information about restrictions to the allowable values for the "EBML Element" which are listed in "" elements. 13.1.9. Element The "" element stores a list of values allowed for storage in the "EBML Element". The values MUST match the "type" of the "EBML Element" (for example "" cannot be a valid value for a "EBML Element" that is defined as an unsigned integer). An "" element MAY also store "" elements to further describe the "". 13.1.10. Attributes 13.1.10.1. label The "label" provides a concise expression for human consumption that describes what the "value" of the "" represents. The "label" attribute is OPTIONAL. Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 28] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 13.1.10.2. value The "value" represents data that MAY be stored within the "EBML Element". The "value" attribute is REQUIRED. 13.1.11. XML Schema for EBML Schema Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 29] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 13.1.12. Identically Recurring Elements An "Identically Recurring Element" is an "EBML Element" that MAY occur within its "Parent Element" more than once but that each recurrence within that "Parent Element" MUST be identical both in storage and semantics. "Identically Recurring Elements" are permitted to be stored multiple times within the same "Parent Element" in order to increase data resilience and optimize the use of "EBML" in transmission. For instance a pertinent "Top-Level Element" could be periodically resent within a data stream so that an "EBML Reader" which starts reading the stream from the middle could better interpret the contents. "Identically Recurring Elements" SHOULD include a "CRC-32 Element" as a "Child Element"; this is especially recommended when "EBML" is used for long-term storage or transmission. If a "Parent Element" contains more than one copy of an "Identically Recurring Element" which includes a "CRC-32 Element" as a "Child Element" then the first instance of the "Identically Recurring Element" with a valid CRC-32 value should be used for interpretation. If a "Parent Element" contains more than one copy of an "Identically Recurring Element" which does not contain a "CRC-32 Element" or if "CRC-32 Elements" are present but none are valid then the first instance of the "Identically Recurring Element" should be used for interpretation. 13.1.13. Textual expression of floats When a float value is represented textually in an "EBML Schema", such as within a "default" or "range" value, the float values MUST be expressed as Hexadecimal Floating-Point Constants as defined in the Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 30] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 C11 standard [ISO.9899.2011] (see section 6.4.4.2 on Floating Constants). The following table provides examples of expressions of float ranges. +-------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | as decimal | as Hexadecimal Floating-Point Constants | +-------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | 0.0 | "0x0p+1" | | 0.0-1.0 | "0x0p+1-0x1p+0" | | 1.0-256.0 | "0x1p+0-0x1p+8" | | 0.857421875 | "0x1.b7p-1" | | -1.0--0.857421875 | "-0x1p+0--0x1.b7p-1" | +-------------------+-----------------------------------------+ Within an expression of a float range, as in an integer range, the "-" (hyphen) character is the separator between the minimal and maximum value permitted by the range. Hexadecimal Floating-Point Constants also use a "-" (hyphen) when indicating a negative binary power. Within a float range, when a "-" (hyphen) is immediately preceded by a letter "p", then the "-" (hyphen) is a part of the Hexadecimal Floating-Point Constant which notes negative binary power. Within a float range, when a "-" (hyphen) is not immediately preceded by a letter "p", then the "-" (hyphen) represents the separator between the minimal and maximum value permitted by the range. 13.1.14. Note on the use of default attributes to define Mandatory EBML Elements If a "Mandatory EBML Element" has a default value declared by an "EBML Schema" and the value of the "EBML Element" is equal to the declared default value then that "EBML Element" is not required to be present within the "EBML Document" if its "Parent Element" is present. In this case, the default value of the "Mandatory EBML Element" MUST be read by the "EBML Reader" although the "EBML Element" is not present within its "Parent Element". If a "Mandatory EBML Element" has no default value declared by an "EBML Schema" and its "Parent Element" is present then the "EBML Element" MUST be present as well. If a "Mandatory EBML Element" has a default value declared by an "EBML Schema" and its "Parent Element" is present and the value of the "EBML Element" is NOT equal to the declared default value then the "EBML Element" MUST be present. This table clarifies if a "Mandatory EBML Element" MUST be written, according to if the "default" value is declared, if the value of the "EBML Element" is equal to the declared "default" value, and if the "Parent Element" is used. Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 31] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 +---------------+---------------+---------------+-------------------+ | Is the | Is the value | Is the Parent | Then is storing | | default value | equal to | Element | the EBML Element | | declared? | default? | present? | REQUIRED? | +---------------+---------------+---------------+-------------------+ | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | | Yes | Yes | No | No | | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | | Yes | No | No | No | | No | n/a | Yes | Yes | | No | n/a | No | No | +---------------+---------------+---------------+-------------------+ 13.2. EBML Header Elements This document contains definitions of all "EBML Elements" of the "EBML Header". 13.2.1. EBML Element name: "EBML" path: "1*1(\EBML)" id: "0x1A45DFA3" minOccurs: 1 maxOccurs: 1 type: "Master Element" description: Set the "EBML" characteristics of the data to follow. Each "EBML Document" has to start with this. 13.2.2. EBMLVersion Element name: "EBMLVersion" path: "1*1(\EBML\EBMLVersion)" id "0x4286" minOccurs: 1 maxOccurs: 1 range: not 0 Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 32] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 default: 1 type: Unsigned Integer description: The version of "EBML" specifications used to create the "EBML Document". The version of "EBML" defined in this document is 1, so "EBMLVersion" SHOULD be 1. 13.2.3. EBMLReadVersion Element name: "EBMLReadVersion" path: "1*1(\EBML\EBMLReadVersion)" id: "0x42F7" minOccurs: 1 maxOccurs: 1 range: 1 default: 1 type: Unsigned Integer description: The minimum "EBML" version an "EBML Reader" has to support to read this "EBML Document". The "EBMLReadVersion Element" MUST be less than or equal to "EBMLVersion". 13.2.4. EBMLMaxIDLength Element name: "EBMLMaxIDLength" path: "1*1(\EBML\EBMLMaxIDLength)" id "0x42F2" minOccurs: 1 maxOccurs: 1 range: >=4 default: 4 type: Unsigned Integer Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 33] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 description: The "EBMLMaxIDLength Element" stores the maximum length in octets of the "Element IDs" to be found within the "EBML Body". An "EBMLMaxIDLength Element" value of four is RECOMMENDED, though larger values are allowed. 13.2.5. EBMLMaxSizeLength Element name: "EBMLMaxSizeLength" path: "1*1(\EBML\EBMLMaxSizeLength)" id "0x42F3" minOccurs: 1 maxOccurs: 1 range: not 0 default: 8 type: Unsigned Integer description: The "EBMLMaxSizeLength Element" stores the maximum length in octets of the expression of all "Element Data Sizes" to be found within the "EBML Body". To be clear the "EBMLMaxSizeLength Element" documents the maximum 'length' of all "Element Data Size" expressions within the "EBML Body" and not the maximum 'value' of all "Element Data Size" expressions within the "EBML Body". "EBML Elements" that have an "Element Data Size" expression which is larger in octets than what is expressed by "EBMLMaxSizeLength ELEMENT" are invalid. 13.2.6. DocType Element name: "DocType" path: "1*1(\EBML\DocType)" id "0x4282" minOccurs: 1 maxOccurs: 1 size: >0 type: String Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 34] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 description: A string that describes and identifies the content of the "EBML Body" that follows this "EBML Header". 13.2.7. DocTypeVersion Element name: "DocTypeVersion" path: "1*1(\EBML\DocTypeVersion)" id "0x4287" minOccurs: 1 maxOccurs: 1 range: not 0 default: 1 type: Unsigned Integer description: The version of "DocType" interpreter used to create the "EBML Document". 13.2.8. DocTypeReadVersion Element name: DocTypeReadVersion path: "1*1(\EBML\DocTypeReadVersion)" id "0x4285" minOccurs: 1 maxOccurs: 1 range: not 0 default: 1 type: Unsigned Integer description: The minimum "DocType" version an "EBML Reader" has to support to read this "EBML Document". The value of the "DocTypeReadVersion Element" MUST be less than or equal to the value of the "DocTypeVersion Element". Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 35] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 13.2.9. DocTypeExtension Element name: "DocTypeExtension" path: "0*(\EBML\DocTypeExtension)" id "0x4281" minOccurs: 0 type: "Master Element" description: A "DocTypeExtension" adds extra "Elements" to the main "DocType"+"DocTypeVersion" tuple it's attached to. An "EBML Reader" MAY know these extra "Elements" and how to use them. A "DocTypeExtension" MAY be used to iterate between experimental "Elements" before they are integrated in a regular "DocTypeVersion". Reading one "DocTypeExtension" version of a "DocType"+"DocTypeVersion" tuple doesn't imply one should be able to read upper values of this "DocTypeExtension". 13.2.10. DocTypeExtensionName Element name: "DocTypeExtensionName" path: "1*1(\EBML\DocTypeExtension\Name)" id "0x4283" minOccurs: 1 maxOccurs: 1 size: >0 type: String description: The name of the "DocTypeExtension" to identify it from other "DocTypeExtension" of the same "DocType"+"DocTypeVersion" tuple. A "DocTypeExtensionName" value MUST be unique within the "EBML Header". 13.2.11. DocTypeExtensionVersion Element name: "DocTypeExtensionVersion" path: "1*1(\EBML\DocTypeExtension\Version)" Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 36] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 id "0x4284" minOccurs: 1 maxOccurs: 1 range: not 0 type: Unsigned Integer description: The version of the "DocTypeExtension". Different "DocTypeExtensionVersion" values of the same "DocType"+"DocTypeVersion"+"DocTypeExtensionName" tuple MAY contain completely different sets of extra "Elements". An "EBML Reader" MAY support multiple versions of the same "DocTypeExtension", only one or none. 13.3. Global Elements EBML defines these "Global Elements" which MAY be stored within any "Master Element" of an "EBML Document" as defined by their "Element Path". 13.3.1. CRC-32 Element name: CRC-32 path: "*1((1*\)\CRC-32)" id: "0xBF" minOccurs: 0 maxOccurs: 1 size: 4 type: Binary description: The "CRC-32 Element" contains a 32-bit Cyclic Redundancy Check value of all the "Element Data" of the "Parent Element" as stored except for the "CRC-32 Element" itself. When the "CRC-32 Element" is present, the "CRC-32 Element" MUST be the first ordered "EBML Element" within its "Parent Element" for easier reading. All "Top-Level Elements" of an "EBML Document" that are "Master Elements" SHOULD include a "CRC-32 Element" as a "Child Element". The CRC in use is the IEEE-CRC-32 algorithm as used in the [ISO.3309.1979] standard and in section 8.1.1.6.2 of [ITU.V42.1994], with initial Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 37] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 value of "0xFFFFFFFF". The CRC value MUST be computed on a little endian bitstream and MUST use little endian storage. 13.3.2. Void Element name: Void path: "*((*\)\Void)" id: "0xEC" minOccurs: 0 type: Binary description: Used to void damaged data or to avoid unexpected behaviors when using damaged data. The content is discarded. Also used to reserve space in a sub-element for later use. 14. Considerations for Reading EBML Data The following scenarios describe events to consider when reading "EBML Documents" and the recommended design of an "EBML Reader". If a "Master Element" contains a "CRC-32 Element" that doesn't validate, then the "EBML Reader" MAY ignore all contained data except for "Descendant Elements" that contain their own valid "CRC-32 Element". If a "Master Element" contains more occurrences of a "Child Master Element" than permitted according to the "maxOccurs" and "recurring" attributes of the definition of that "Element" then the occurrences in addition to "maxOccurs" MAY be ignored. If a "Master Element" contains more occurrences of a "Child Element" that is not a "Master Element" than permitted according to the "maxOccurs" attribute of the definition of that "Element" then all but the instance of that "Element" with the smallest byte offset from the beginning of its "Parent Element" SHOULD be ignored. 15. IANA Considerations 15.1. CELLAR EBML Element ID Registry This document creates a new IANA Registry called "CELLAR EBML Element ID Registry". Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 38] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 Element IDs are described in section "Element ID". Element IDs are encoded using the VINT mechanism described in section Section 5 can be between one and five octets long. Five octet long Element IDs are possible only if declared in the header. This IANA Registry only applies to "Elements" contained at least in the "EBML Header", thus including "Global Elements". "Elements" only found in the "EBML Body" have their own set of independent "Element IDs" and are not part of this IANA Registry. The VINT Data value of one-octet Element IDs MUST be between 0x01 and 0x7E. These items are valuable because they are short, and need to be used for commonly repeated elements. Values from 1 to 126 are to be allocated according to the "RFC Required" policy [RFC8126]. The VINT Data value of two-octet Element IDs MUST be between 0x007F and 0x3FFE. Numbers are be allocated within this range according to the "Specification Required" policy [RFC8126]. The numbers 0x3FFF and 0x4000 are RESERVED. The VINT Data value of three-octet Element IDs MUST be between 0x4001 and 0x1FFFFE. Numbers may be allocated within this range according to the "First Come First Served" policy [RFC8126]. The numbers 0x1FFFFF and 0x200000 are RESERVED. Four octet Element IDs are numbers between 0x2000001 and 0xFFFFFFE. Four octet Element IDs are somewhat special in that they are useful for resynchronizing to major structures in the event of data corruption or loss. As such four octet Element IDs are split into two categories. Four octet Element IDs whose lower three octets (as encoded) would make printable 7-bit ASCII values MUST be allocated by the "Specification Required" policy. Sequential allocation of values is not required: specifications SHOULD include a specific request, and are encouraged to do early allocations. To be clear about the above category: four octet Element IDs always start with hex 0x10 to 0x1F, and that octet may be chosen so that the entire number has some desirable property, such as a specific CRC. The other three octets, when ALL having values between 0x21 (33, ASCII !) and 0x7e (126, ASCII ~), fall into this category. Other four octet Element IDs may be allocated by the "First Come First Served" policy. The numbers 0xFFFFFFF and 0x1000000 are RESERVED. Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 39] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 Five octet Element IDs (values from 0x10000001 upwards) are RESERVED according to the "Experimental Use" policy [RFC8126]: they may be used by anyone at any time, but there is no coordination. ID Values found in this document are assigned as initial values as follows: +------------+-------------------------+----------------------------+ | ID | Element Name | Reference | +------------+-------------------------+----------------------------+ | 0x1A45DFA3 | EBML | Described in Section | | | | 13.2.1 | | 0x4286 | EBMLVersion | Described in Section | | | | 13.2.2 | | 0x42F7 | EBMLReadVersion | Described in Section | | | | 13.2.3 | | 0x42F2 | EBMLMaxIDLength | Described in Section | | | | 13.2.4 | | 0x42F3 | EBMLMaxSizeLength | Described in Section | | | | 13.2.5 | | 0x4282 | DocType | Described in Section | | | | 13.2.6 | | 0x4287 | DocTypeVersion | Described in Section | | | | 13.2.7 | | 0x4285 | DocTypeReadVersion | Described in Section | | | | 13.2.8 | | 0x4281 | DocTypeExtension | Described in Section | | | | 13.2.9 | | 0x4283 | DocTypeExtensionName | Described in Section | | | | 13.2.10 | | 0x4284 | DocTypeExtensionVersion | Described in Section | | | | 13.2.11 | | 0xBF | CRC-32 | Described in Section | | | | 13.3.1 | | 0xEC | Void | Described in Section | | | | 13.3.2 | +------------+-------------------------+----------------------------+ 15.2. CELLAR EBML DocType Registry This document creates a new IANA Registry called "CELLAR EBML DocType Registry". DocType values are described in Section 13.1.3.1. DocTypes are ASCII strings, defined in Section 8.4, which label the official name of the "EBML Document Type". The strings may be allocated according to the "First Come First Served" policy. Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 40] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 The use of ASCII corresponds to the types and code already in use, the value is not meant to be visible to the user. DocType string values of "matroska" and "webm" are RESERVED to the IETF for future use. These can be assigned via the "IESG Approval" or "RFC Required" policies [RFC8126]. 16. References 16.1. Normative References [IEEE.754.1985] Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, "Standard for Binary Floating-Point Arithmetic", IEEE Standard 754, August 1985. [ISO.3309.1979] International Organization for Standardization, "Data communication - High-level data link control procedures - Frame structure", ISO Standard 3309, 1979. [ISO.9899.2011] International Organization for Standardization, "Programming languages - C", ISO Standard 9899, 2011. [ITU.V42.1994] International Telecommunications Union, "Error-correcting Procedures for DCEs Using Asynchronous-to-Synchronous Conversion", ITU-T Recommendation V.42, 1994. [RFC0020] Cerf, V., "ASCII format for network interchange", STD 80, RFC 20, DOI 10.17487/RFC0020, October 1969, . [RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997, . [RFC3339] Klyne, G. and C. Newman, "Date and Time on the Internet: Timestamps", RFC 3339, DOI 10.17487/RFC3339, July 2002, . [RFC3629] Yergeau, F., "UTF-8, a transformation format of ISO 10646", STD 63, RFC 3629, DOI 10.17487/RFC3629, November 2003, . Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 41] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 [RFC5234] Crocker, D., Ed. and P. Overell, "Augmented BNF for Syntax Specifications: ABNF", STD 68, RFC 5234, DOI 10.17487/RFC5234, January 2008, . [RFC5646] Phillips, A., Ed. and M. Davis, Ed., "Tags for Identifying Languages", BCP 47, RFC 5646, DOI 10.17487/RFC5646, September 2009, . [RFC7405] Kyzivat, P., "Case-Sensitive String Support in ABNF", RFC 7405, DOI 10.17487/RFC7405, December 2014, . [RFC8126] Cotton, M., Leiba, B., and T. Narten, "Guidelines for Writing an IANA Considerations Section in RFCs", BCP 26, RFC 8126, DOI 10.17487/RFC8126, June 2017, . [RFC8174] Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC 2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174, May 2017, . [W3C.REC-xml-20081126] Bray, T., Paoli, J., Sperberg-McQueen, M., Maler, E., and F. Yergeau, "Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0 (Fifth Edition)", World Wide Web Consortium Recommendation REC- xml-20081126, November 2008, . 16.2. Informative References [W3C.REC-xmlschema-0-20010502] Fallside, D., "XML Schema Part 0: Primer", World Wide Web Consortium Recommendation REC-xmlschema-0-20010502, May 2001, . 16.3. URIs [1] https://github.com/Matroska-Org/matroska-specification/ [2] https://tools.ietf.org/html/bcp14 Authors' Addresses Steve Lhomme Email: slhomme@matroska.org Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 42] Internet-Draft EBML January 2019 Dave Rice Email: dave@dericed.com Moritz Bunkus Email: moritz@bunkus.org Lhomme, et al. Expires July 28, 2019 [Page 43]