FNSL language and addressing

Coming soon: Major announcements concerning Frogans technology, along with major changes to Frogans.com.

FNSL (Frogans Network System Language) is a free XML-based language and is one of the pillars of Frogans technology (with the FSDL language, Frogans Player and Frogans software libraries).

Frogans Player will implement version 4.0 of the FNSL specifications.

Specifications

FNSL is specified with the precision of an Internet standard (in the format of an RFC from IETF).

The FNSL specifications are currently released in version 3.0 (May 2004 edition):

Developers are invited to send their comments on these specifications by e-mail to: fnsl@frogans.com.

The terms of use of FNSL 3.0 are perpetual and will not be revoked. Please read the terms of use in the FNSL specifications.

Creating Frogans networks

FNSL is used to create Frogans networks.

Frogans networks are scalable virtual networks established on the Internet or on private IP networks (intranets).

Frogans networks permit the publication of Frogans sites which are located by their Frogans addresses.

The two formats for Frogans addresses are:

network*primaryName
network*primaryName.extension

where "network" is the name of the Frogans network on which the Frogans site is published and where ".extension" allows for creating a family of Frogans addresses, ie., having the same primary name.

Frogans networks are technically and administratively operated by organizations, which are called Frogans network operators.

The Main Frogans Network

The principal Frogans network on the Internet is called the Main Frogans Network, where Frogans addresses start with "frogans*".

On the Main Frogans Network, all online publishers (individuals and organizations throughout the world) can publish their Frogans sites by registering one or more Frogans addresses of their choice.

For end-users, access to the Main Frogans Network is free of charge.

The Main Frogans Network is technically and administratively operated by STG Interactive S.A.

For more information, see STG Interactive S.A. and its role.

Dedicated Frogans networks

Frogans networks other than the Main Frogans Network are called dedicated Frogans networks.

Dedicated Frogans networks can be operated by:

organizations who want to publish Frogans sites on their intranets
ISPs and mobile carriers desiring to be independent from the Main Frogans Network in the technical and administrative management of their Frogans addresses
major websites desiring to be independent from the Main Frogans Network in the technical and administrative management of their Frogans addresses

For more information, see STG Interactive S.A. and its role.

Operating a Frogans network

FNSL was designed to permit the easy creation of Frogans networks, by means of a set of FNSL documents.

FNSL documents for a Frogans network comprise:

certificate record

This FNSL document permits the initialization of the Frogans network on the end-users' devices:
- on the Main Frogans Network and on dedicated Frogans networks established on the Internet, this FNSL document can be downloaded automatically by Frogans Player
- on dedicated Frogans networks established on private IP networks (intranets), this FNSL document can be distributed to end-users by e-mail or from an intranet web page; the Frogans network is then initialized by clicking on the FNSL document.
The size of this FNSL document is only a few kilobytes (KB).
topology record

This FNSL document permits the Frogans network operator to define the list of servers used for Frogans address lookups.

Several servers can be referenced to ensure load balancing and service continuity on the Frogans network. The load capacity can be specified separately for each server.
lookup records

These FNSL documents permit the Frogans network operator to define the Frogans addresses used in the Frogans network.

Each of these FNSL documents corresponds to the address of a Frogans site that is published on the Frogans network.

These FNSL documents, which are downloaded by Frogans Player just before the opening of the Frogans site, contain technical and administrative information about the Frogans site, such as:
- the adult filter status of the Frogans site
- the network protocol used for navigating the Frogans site
- the network location of the Frogans root directory (server directory which contains the Frogans site)
- the Frogans home slide (home page) in this directory
- the version of the FSDL specifications used to develop the Frogans site
- the encoding of the FSDL documents which make up the Frogans site
- the list of other Frogans addresses in the same Frogans family (Frogans addresses having the same primary name)
FNSL simplifies the publication of Frogans sites, by providing a value-added addressing system to online publishers.
status records

These FNSL documents permit the management of the process used by end-users to update Frogans Player on their devices, depending on the platform.

In this process, end-users keep control over the update of Frogans Player, and their settings are preserved from one version to the other.

Hosting FNSL documents

FNSL documents of a Frogans network are hosted by (or under the control of) the Frogans network operator, on one or more servers, which are called FNS servers.

These FNSL documents can be hosted on any HTTP server as static files or dynamically.

FNSL permits the creation of Frogans networks in all kinds of server environments.

Thanks to the cache system specified in FNSL, the Frogans network operator can easily and regularly update the FNSL documents on the end-users' devices, which make the architecture of a Frogans network flexible and scalable.

Frogans network security

FNSL permits the protection of Frogans networks.

FNSL documents of a Frogans network are authenticated by means of a digital signature:

the algorithm used to generate and verify digital signatures is specified in the American National Standard ANS X9.31-1998 (rDSA)
FNSL documents which permit end-users to initialize the Frogans network and to update Frogans Player are digitally signed by means of a key, called the root key:
- the length of the root key is 2048 bits
- the root key is kept by STG Interactive S.A.
other FNSL documents are digitally signed by means of a key, called the network key:
- the length of the network key is 2048 bits
- each Frogans network operator has their own network key

Digital signatures are systematically verified by Frogans Player.

Download

Download of the specifications:

FNSL 3.0 - May 2004 edition - ASCII text - 147,269 bytes
FNSL 3.0 - May 2004 edition - Adobe PDF - 105,753 bytes