Subject: Precedence of Error Result Codes

From: "Kurt D. Zeilenga" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 08 Mar 2002 19:22:42 -0800

I think we need to avoid prescribing the precedence of result codes.
The primary reason for this is that LDAP has a number of LDAP
specific result codes which don't fit well into the precedence
levels established in X.511.  Also, "if the server detects multiple
errors simultaneously, the server SHOULD report the error with the
highest precedence" doesn't mean much because multiple error
conditions are rarely "simultaneously" detected.  Also, SHOULD
here is unnecessary.  A client cannot expect that a server detect
errors conditions in any particular order, hence there is no
reason to RECOMMEND an order.

I recommend s/and Precedence// in section title, s/precedence of//
in pp 1 of A.3 and replacement of pp 2 with:
 
  Server implementations SHALL NOT continue processing an operation
  after it has determined that an error is to be reported.  If the
  server detects multiple errors simultaneously, the server should
  report the most serious error.  The server should return the result
  code which is best indicates the nature of the error being reported.

Also, a section header should be inserted between this and the
result codes.