On Apr 22, 2010, at 9:58 AM, Michael Str=F6der wrote:
Kurt Zeilenga wrote:
=20 On Apr 22, 2010, at 1:34 AM, michael@stroeder.com wrote: =20
Kurt Zeilenga wrote:
obsoletes !=3D OBSOLETE, so no. That is, the meaning of the term 'obsolete' is quite different in these two contexts. =20 The latter context the term is defined as follows: The OBSOLETE =
field, if
present, indicates the element is not active.
=20 I agree that OBSOLETE should not be set in this case. =20
For user application attribute types, whether the type is active or =
not is,
I think, best left to the schema administrator.
=20 Who is the schema administrator?
=20 Generally speaking, the OpenLDAP admin administrates which schema =
elements
to load into the schema and whether each such element is active and inactive.
=20 What does "active and inactive" mean exactly? Does that include =
changing the
OBSOLETE keyword in schema files? I hope not...
The purpose of the OBSOLETE (inactive) flag is to support transition = away from a particular schema element. Basically, if one no longer = wants to use the attribute type 'x' in their directory, they should 1) = mark x as inactive in the subschema, 2) then remove all uses of x, 3) = then remove x from the subschema.
The directory prevents all non-removal updates to inactive elements, = allowing 2 to be well performed.
=20
While in some cases a schema admin might design schema elements, I =
consider
schema admin and schema element designer to be two separate roles.
=20 Agreed. =20
I'm nitpicking here because on the OpenLDAP lists we all keep telling OpenLDAP admins not to mess with the =
standard schema
at all.
=20 We often advise admins to load various schema elements into their =
schemas.
=20 The role for loading the shipped schema files is not the question =
here.
=20
When at I say "don't mess with standard schema elements", what I mean =
is
don't change aspects of schema specifications which are consider per =
the
technical specifications to be immutable on published in a technical specification (or otherwise broadly published).
=20 Does "immutable" include OBSOLETE? I hope so...
OBSOLETE is one of the mutable properties of a schema element (because = otherwise it couldn't support local movements away from arbitrary schema = elements).
-- Kurt
=20 Ciao, Michael.