what is meant by string format? (was: Re: draft-ietf-ldapbis-filter-03.txt)

[mcs@netscape.com (Mark C Smith)]

Regarding draft-ietf-ldapbis-filter-03.txt, it has been suggested to me that we should first agree on what is meant by "string format." If we answer that question, then some of the detailed questions about which octet sequences must be escaped will be much easier to answer.

My definition would go something like this:

  The string representation of an LDAP search filter
  is a UTF-8 string.

That is, it consists of a series of octets that form a series of valid UTF-8 characters.  Comments?

-Mark Smith
Netscape