Ted,
ASN.1 is primarily a syntax and a concrete encoding for
transmission of data, not necessarily for storage. The intent, in
general, is to transform data from a local representation into ASN.1
for transmission, then back into a local form at the other end. In
than light, I'm not sure your comment about the overhead of storing
data in ASN.1 format is a generally fair criticism, although I agree
that one might choose to retain data in the ASN.1 encoded format as
a processing efficiency measure in some instances.
Steve