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Re: Alternative Proposal for Two-Stage IETF Standardization

2010-11-11 02:24:56
Dave:

This is a significant improvement from my perspective.  We need a
mechanism to implement it.  The mechanism does not need to be heavy
weight, and it might be as simple as some statements in a Last Call,
allowing the community to support or challenge them.

Russ


Folks,

On 11/11/2010 12:25 PM, Dave CROCKER wrote:
To establish the base: It is not possible to achieve widespread use on
the
Internet without having multiple components interacting. That's called
interoperability.

However, the interoperability might be among components that are clones
of a
single code base.

So our language needs to be enhanced to cover multiple implementations.
And as
long as the language hood is up, we might as well put in a turbo-booster
that
asserts the higher octane 'interoperability' word.


A hallway conversation with Russ added an item that simply had not
occurred to me:

    There might be multiple implementations that rely on on undocumented
modifications of the spec.  This means that an additional, interoperable
implementation cannot be made purely from the specification.

Again, I believe the requirement for the document is "merely" to get the
wording
right.  I do not believe any of us differ on the actual meaning we are
trying to
achieve.  That is, I have not seen anything that indicates we have
disparity
about the intended requirement.

Test language: (*)

      (Full) Internet Standard:

      The Internet community achieves rough consensus -- on using
      the multiple, independent implementations of a specification

and

      3.3.  [Full] Internet Standard (IS)

      This is the existing final standards status, based on attainment of
      significant community acceptance, as demonstrated by use of
multiple,
      independent implementations that conform to the specification.

d/

ps.  I just realized that the original language that Russ cited said "on
using
the running code of a specification".  "Of a specification" explicitly
means
that the stuff that is running is the spec and, therefore, can't really
mean
that it's using hallway agreements.  (However I think it's dandy to make
the
Section 3.3 language bullet-proofed against creative misunderstanding.)

(*) This is just from me; it hasn't been vetted with my co-authors.

--

   Dave Crocker
   Brandenburg InternetWorking
   bbiw.net



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