Re: Proposal for VFREEBUSY in icalendar rfc 2445

[Doug Royer <Doug.Royer@xxxxxxx>]

> Date: Sun, 25 Jul 1999 15:25:11 +0100
> From: Ian Woollard <Ian.Woollard@tesco.net>
> 
> I've been looking at the icalendar standard. The standard seems very
> well thought out, but I'm deliberately poking in corners to
> see what might be missed, and to see if I can understand it better.
> 
> There are 3 independent questions I have about freebusy:
> 
> 1. priority- should the free busy include priority
> 2. quantity- should free busy specify quantity rather than
> boolean free/busy
> 3. event- should free busy refer back to the event that
> uses it up?

The BUSY time means 'busy time'.  It seems to me that you are wanting
detailed information, if so, then ask for the details.  And for
details you need CAP.  In iTIP there is no METHOD that allows for you
to ask for the details that you need.  In CAP the current proposals
allow for you to ask those questions.  (Although the current CAP
proposals have iCAL components that are MIME objects that could be
sent in email.  The details have not be discussed yet on how that
might be done with iTIP/iMIP).

With CAP you can ask for DTSTART, DTEND/DURATION, PRIORITY, and UID
You can calculate quantity because of the reply (you get 0 or more in
one time slice). The UID will tie it back to the full component.

As for (3) - no.  That's the point of the VFREEBUSY.  The CS
implementation can decide (as directed by a CUA), what shows up a BUSY
or TRANSPARENT in a VFREEBUSY.  Many felt there needed a way to find
BUSY time without showing the details you want - VFREEBUSY.

There is nothing in iCAL, iTIP, or iMIP that restricts how the CS
determines the VFREEBUSY time.  Some of the WG wants to allow for
multiple bookings in one time period.  CAP allows for a calendar
property that allows or disallows multiple bookings in one time
period.

-Doug
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