So here's the nightmare scenario: X.693 (XER - XML Encoding Rules for ASN.1).
You get the "best" of ASN.1 and XML -- undecipherable ASCII text with lots of
angle brackets :-)
-----Original Message-----
From: Karl Auerbach [mailto:karl(_at_)cavebear(_dot_)com]
Sent: Sun, August 24, 2003 9:12 PM
To: Dean Anderson
Cc: IETF
Subject: Re: Pretty clear ... SIP
It has been my experience that ASN.1, no matter which
encoding rules are
used, has proven to be a failure and lingering
interoperability and
denial-of-service disaster.
I think the nugget of our discussion is the old, and probably
unanswerable, question of what is the proper balance between present
function and future (unforeseen) extension.
Back in the 1970's I met a very smart system designer. He drew a
distinction between "intricate" and "complicated". A fine
watch with many
moving parts could be intricate as being a well engineered
solution to a
specific problem, while a Rube Goldberg timepiece could be
complicated and
not well engineered. The difference being the fact that unnecessary
elements are elided from an intricate solution unless there
is a specific
articulated reason to leave them in.
ASN.1 (along with other general purpose encoders such as XML) carry a
heavy burden of machinery that is present whether it is
needed or used or
not.
[snip]