Re: LDAP C API: LDAP_OPT_DESC

[Mark Smith <mcs@netscape.com>]

"Kurt D. Zeilenga" wrote:
> 
> At 11:44 PM 6/18/99 +0200, Hallvard B Furuseth wrote:
> >Kurt D. Zeilenga writes:
> >> It might be wise to be generalize or remove LDAP_OPT_DESC.  (I should
> >> note that some APIs have already introduced a generic "socket" type).
> 
> If the generalization is not useful, then I suggest LDAP_OPT_DESC
> be removed from the specification.
> 
> >> To generalize LDAP_OPT_DESC, I would suggest adding:
> >>      typedef impl_socket_t ber_socket_t;
> >>
> >>    Implementations MUST replace impl_socket_t with an appropriate
> >>    type.  Implementations returning I/O descriptors SHOULD replace
> >>    impl_socket_t with a suitable type for I/O descriptors.
> >
> >You'll have to say something about what the program can _do_ with these
> >"non-UNIX" descriptors.
> 
>         Use of the returned ber_socket_t is implementation specific.
>         It may not be an operating system I/O handle.

Hallvard makes a good point that we don't say what you can do with the
value returned by LDAP_OPT_DESC.  For that reason, I propose that we
either strike LDAP_OPT_DESC from the spec. for now or say that support
for LDAP_OPT_DESC is optional and if it is supported it should return an
operation system TCP/IP I/O socket.

-- 
Mark Smith
Directory Architect / Sun-Netscape Alliance
My words are my own, not my employer's.  Got LDAP?