Re: [Cbor] Packed CBOR review

Carsten Bormann <cabo@tzi.org> Wed, 16 June 2021 13:08 UTC

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From: Carsten Bormann <cabo@tzi.org>
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Subject: Re: [Cbor] Packed CBOR review
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On 2021-06-16, at 11:21, Brendan Moran <Brendan.Moran@arm.com> wrote:
> 
> I would also propose adding another element to the table: an identifier for a pre-shared reference table:

I’m wondering what the allocation mechanics for such an identifier would be.

Let me go through a few cases and explain how I would handle it.

* IANA

Pro: can be very compact.  
Con (pro as well): high threshold, limited set.

Solution: allocate a tag for the identifier, either wrapping a tag 51 or replacing it (in particular if not all tables need to be advanced).

Task: We probably should define how to define such a tag.

* Context

Pro: can be embedded nicely.
Con: Wherever the context comes from (e.g., referencing standard) needs to make sure the reference is unambiguous.

Task: Not sure what we can do here, except maybe giving an example.

* URI

Pro: Free for all.
Con: Hard to control.

There will need to be some security and assurance of non-mutability on the data that URI describes.
Preferred URI scheme would be ni:, but see next.

Task: Define URI import tag; shape of data structure that should be used (almost, but not entirely, like tag 51).

* Hash

Pro: No-brainer
Con: Can’t find the dictionary unless I already know it.
Hashes are large (at least when secure).

Task:
Define Hash import tag, shape of data structure that is being hashed (see above).


Apparently, in all cases it would be good to have a single data structure shape pre-defined for pre-populating the tables (“dictionary”).

Grüße, Carsten