The encoded data
An optional field used to describe the encoded data.
A field that exists only to determine the developer's choice of encoding used, per the pre-1994 definition of EXTERNAL.
A field indicating the the transfer syntax used to indicate the means by which the data-value field is encoded. Can also be used to specify the abstract syntax of what is encoded.
According to the https://www.itu.int/en/pages/default.aspx, International Telecommunications Union's https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.680/en, X.680 - Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1), the abstract definition for an $(MONO EXTERNAL), after removing the comments in the specification, is as follows:
Note that the abstract syntax resembles that of $(MONO EmbeddedPDV) and $(MONO CharacterString), except with a $(MONO WITH COMPONENTS) constraint that removes some of our choices of $(MONO identification). As can be seen on page 303 of Olivier Dubuisson's http://www.oss.com/asn1/resources/books-whitepapers-pubs/dubuisson-asn1-book.PDF, ASN.1: Communication Between Heterogeneous Systems, after applying the $(MONO WITH COMPONENTS) constraint, our reduced syntax becomes:
But, according to the https://www.itu.int/en/pages/default.aspx, International Telecommunications Union's http://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.690/en, X.690 - ASN.1 encoding rules, section 8.18, when encoded using Basic Encoding Rules (BER), is encoded as follows, for compatibility reasons:
The definition above is the pre-1994 definition of $(MONO EXTERNAL). The $(MONO syntax) field of the post-1994 definition maps to the $(MONO direct-reference) field of the pre-1994 definition. The $(MONO presentation-context-id) field of the post-1994 definition maps to the $(MONO indirect-reference) field of the pre-1994 definition. If $(MONO context-negotiation) is used, per the abstract syntax, then the $(MONO presentation-context-id) field of the $(MONO context-negotiation) $(MONO SEQUENCE) in the post-1994 definition maps to the $(MONO indirect-reference) field of the pre-1994 definition, and the $(MONO transfer-syntax) field of the $(MONO context-negotiation) $(MONO SEQUENCE) maps to the $(MONO direct-reference) field of the pre-1994 definition.
The following additional constraints are applied to the abstract syntax when using Canonical Encoding Rules or Distinguished Encoding Rules, which are also defined in the https://www.itu.int/en/pages/default.aspx, International Telecommunications Union's http://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-X.690/en, X.690 - ASN.1 encoding rules:
The stated purpose of the constraints shown above is to restrict the use of the $(MONO presentation-context-id), either by itself or within the $(MONO context-negotiation), which makes the following the effective abstract syntax of $(MONO EXTERNAL) when using Canonical Encoding Rules or Distinguished Encoding Rules:
With the constraints applied, the abstract syntax for $(MONO EXTERNAL)s encoded using Canonical Encoding Rules or Distinguished Encoding Rules becomes:
Upon removing the $(MONO CHOICE) tag (since you have no choice but to use syntax at this point), the encoding definition when using Canonical Encoding Rules or Distinguished Encoding Rules: