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RFC 865 INTERNET STANDARD TESTING · APPLICATION

QOTD: Quote of the Day Protocol

Defines a simple TCP or UDP service that replies with a short quote.

On rfc-editor.org ↗
PUBLISHED
May 1983
AUTHORS
J. Postel
STREAM
Legacy
TCP AND UDP PORT
17
RECOMMENDED QUOTE SIZE
Less than 512 characters
DOI
10.17487/RFC0865
ERRATA
Reported errata

RFC text

Original text · RFC Editor View on rfc-editor.org ↗ 
Network Working Group                                          J. Postel
Request for Comments: 865                                            ISI
                                                                May 1983



                       Quote of the Day Protocol




This RFC specifies a standard for the ARPA Internet community.  Hosts on
the ARPA Internet that choose to implement a Quote of the Day Protocol
are expected to adopt and implement this standard.

A useful debugging and measurement tool is a quote of the day service.
A quote of the day service simply sends a short message without regard
to the input.

TCP Based Character Generator Service

   One quote of the day service is defined as a connection based
   application on TCP.  A server listens for TCP connections on TCP port
   17.  Once a connection is established a short message is sent out the
   connection (and any data received is thrown away).  The service
   closes the connection after sending the quote.

UDP Based Character Generator Service

   Another quote of the day service is defined as a datagram based
   application on UDP.  A server listens for UDP datagrams on UDP port
   17.  When a datagram is received, an answering datagram is sent
   containing a quote (the data in the received datagram is ignored).

Quote Syntax

   There is no specific syntax for the quote.  It is recommended that it
   be limited to the ASCII printing characters, space, carriage return,
   and line feed.  The quote may be just one or up to several lines, but
   it should be less than 512 characters.

ISO Plain Language

On this page
PROBLEMA simple response service can help people debug and measure network connections.
MECHANISMA server on port 17 sends a short message over TCP and closes the connection, or returns a quote in response to each UDP datagram.
WHAT IT DOESThe quote has no required syntax; the RFC recommends ASCII printing characters and fewer than 512 characters.

§1A Short-Message Service

The Quote of the Day service sends a short message without regard to the input. The RFC describes it as a useful debugging and measurement tool for hosts that choose to implement it.

The service returns a short message even though it does not use the request's contents. It can help check a network connection.

§2TCP and UDP Replies

For TCP, the server listens on TCP port 17. After a connection opens, it sends a short message, ignores any received data, and closes the connection after the quote.

For UDP, the server listens on UDP port 17. When a datagram arrives, the server replies with a datagram containing a quote and ignores the received data.

With TCP, the server sends a quote and closes the connection. With UDP, each incoming datagram receives one datagram containing a quote.

§3Quote Content

The RFC defines no specific quote syntax. It recommends ASCII printing characters, space, carriage return, and line feed. A quote can occupy one line or several, but it should be less than 512 characters.

The message can be any short quote rather than a fixed format. The RFC recommends readable characters and keeping it under 512 characters.