Subject: CAP 10: ABNF for latency-param and action-param

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2003 14:56:40 -0500

I applaud Dougs efforts to edit the draft solo but I would like to propose 
that the ABNF relating to all latency-param and action-param instances be 
slightly amended to be clearer from an ABNF POV (and to aid in better 
defining 'properly' formed commands from the ABNF frame).  Currently all 
ABNFs that involve latency-param and action-param are like this one:

deleteparam  = *(

             ; the following are optional,
             ; but MUST NOT occur more than once
             ;
              id-param
             / localize-param
             / latency-param
             / option-param "MARK"

             ; The following MUST occur exactly once and only
             ; when the latency-param has been supplied and
             ; MUST NOT be supplied if the latency-param is
             ; not supplied.
             ;
             / action-param

             ; the following is optional,
             ; and MAY occur more than once
             ;
             / other-params
            )

Strictly speaking the ABNF does not actually link action-param to 
latency-param; the prose in the comment does.  I would ask that we change 
the ABNF to be:

deleteparam  = *(

             ; the following are optional,
             ; but MUST NOT occur more than once
             ;
              id-param
             / localize-param
             / ( latency-param [action-param] )
             / option-param "MARK"

             ; the following is optional,
             ; and MAY occur more than once
             ;
             / other-params
            )

It does impart an orrder to the occurance of LATENCY=... and ACTION=... 
but since the latter MUST occur only if the former does this is not 
necessarily a bad thing.  It also serves to directly link action-param to 
latency-param which is good for doing command validity checking...  The 
bounding parens are just for visual keying, they are not necessary really. 

Thoughts?

Bruce
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Bruce Kahn                                INet: 
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