[ldapext] OIDs in LDAP Internet-Drafts

["Jim Sermersheim" <jimse@novell.com>]

All,
 
While a specification progresses through its life cycle as an
Internet-Draft, Implementations of it may need to issue OIDs for schema
elements, extension names, etc.
 
Ideally, any time an implementation is updated to match a semantic
change in a newer version of the specification, it will revise the OID
it's using. This would have the effect of indicating support for the
semantics defined in the particular revision implemented.

I know some implementations use their own experimental OID arc for
implementations of pre-RFC specifications. I don't know what their
policy is in terms of updating OIDs as semantics of the specification
change.
 
It would be very useful if, instead of each implementation doing this,
it could be done in the I-D itself. Ideally, one would procure a
"proposed OID arc" from IANA. The I-D editor would then update OID
assignements in the specification, and rev them anytime a semantic
change would cause an interoperability problem. Alternately (more
simply) the editor could update them all everytime the I-D was revised.
To make it easy, they could even assign an arc below the IANA-assigned
arc which adopts the I-D revision number. i.e. if the IANA assigned arc
is 1.2.3.4, the OIDs in the I-D would be 1.2.3.4.0.x for the -00
revision, and 1.2.3.4.1.x for the -01 revision.

When the I-D is progressed to an RFC, IANA could do its usual
assignment / replacement.

The two benefits I see are that multiple interoperable implementations
may be produced while a specification is being progressed, and that the
experimental/temporary OIDs being used will match a specific incarnation
of the specification.

What think ye?

Jim

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