Re: LAST CALL: draft-ietf-ldapext-ldap-c-api-04.txt

["Kurt D. Zeilenga" <Kurt@OpenLDAP.Org>]

The C LDAP API, in my opinion, does not provide sufficient error
information to warrant adoption as a standard and hence should
not be progressed as a standard track document.

The draft, itself, hints at the problem:

draft-ietf-ldap-c-api-04, 17:
	Note that the functions defined in this section all provide a
	method for determining success or failure but generally do not
	provide access to specific error codes.  Therefore, applications
	that require precise error information when encoding or decoding
	ASN.1 values SHOULD NOT use these functions."

The fact that the numerous routines throughout the draft also
suffer from similar problems, one could argue that the above
statement should be extended:

	Note that the functions defined by this document may not
	provide a method for determining success or failure nor
	provide a method for determining the nature of the failure.
	Therefore, applications that require precise error
	information SHOULD NOT use these functions.

I also believe it inappropriate for a standard track API to rely
upon "operating system error reporting" or other implementation
specific reporting mechanisms.

Kurt