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RFC 865 INTERNET STANDARD TESTING · APPLICATION

QOTD: Quote of the Day Protocol

A tiny service that answers any request with one short quote, on port 17.

On rfc-editor.org ↗
PUBLISHED
May 1983
AUTHORS
J. Postel
STREAM
Legacy
PORT
17 (TCP and UDP)
RECOMMENDED QUOTE LENGTH
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.

AI ELI5

On this page
PROBLEMEngineers want a trivial service that returns a short message regardless of input, to debug and measure network connections.
MECHANISMA server on port 17 sends a short quote over TCP and then closes the connection, or sends one UDP datagram containing a quote. Any received data is ignored.
WHY IT MATTERSThe RFC is an Internet Standard for hosts that choose to implement it. The quote has no required syntax, but it should be under 512 characters.

§1A Quote of the Day Service

RFC 865 defines the Quote of the Day Protocol. The RFC calls a quote of the day service a useful debugging and measurement tool that simply sends a short message without regard to the input.

Hosts on the ARPA Internet that choose to implement it are expected to adopt this standard.

It is a machine that gives out one short saying whenever anyone asks, and does not care what you said.

§2The TCP and UDP Services

Over TCP, a server listens on TCP port 17. When a connection is established it sends a short message and discards any data it receives. The service then closes the connection after sending the quote.

Over UDP, a server listens on UDP port 17. When a datagram arrives, the server sends an answering datagram containing a quote, and the data in the received datagram is ignored. (The RFC's section headings for both services say "Character Generator Service", which looks like a leftover from RFC 864.)

With TCP you connect, get your quote, and the machine hangs up. With UDP you send a note and get one quote back.

§3Quote Syntax

There is no specific syntax for the quote. The RFC recommends limiting it to the ASCII printing characters, space, carriage return and line feed. The quote may be one line or several, but it should be less than 512 characters.

The quote can be any short saying made of ordinary letters and symbols. Keep it short, like a fortune cookie slip.