RFC Errata
RFC 791, "Internet Protocol", September 1981
Source of RFC: LegacyArea Assignment: int
Errata ID: 6677
Status: Reported
Type: Editorial
Publication Format(s) : TEXT
Reported By: Øyvind Bolme Fredriksen
Date Reported: 2021-09-06
Section 3.1 says:
Protocol: 8 bits This field indicates the next level protocol used in the data portion of the internet datagram. The values for various protocols are specified in "Assigned Numbers" [9].
It should say:
Protocol: 8 bits This field indicates the next upper level protocol used in the data portion of the internet datagram. The values for various protocols are specified in "Assigned Numbers" [9], section ASSIGNED INTERNET PROTOCOL NUMBERS.
Notes:
The word 'next' is ambiguous in the sense that it does not indicate whether the 'next' protocol is at the next LOWER or UPPER level (referring to Fig. 1). Although it may be obvious to people well versed in this domain that the next UPPER level protocol is meant, as a newcomer I had to think twice to reach at this conclusion.
Also, the reference to [9] could be more specific.