Subject: Re: authmeth - user & client usage

From: "Roger Harrison" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 07:28:10 -0600

I'll review my usage of the terms "client" and "user" and try to
consistently user the term client to mean an executing LDAP client
application and the term user to mean a human being interacting with a
client application.
 
Roger

>>> "Kurt D. Zeilenga" <[email-masked]> 12/6/2001 2:26:37 PM >>>
At 01:02 PM 2001-12-06, Steve Sonntag wrote:
>>
>>
>>>>> "Kurt D. Zeilenga" < [email-masked] > 06-Dec-01 1:43:10 PM
>>>
>>Here are my personal thoughts on this.
>>
>>It may be useful to distinguish between the user (a human or
>>application entity) and the client (director user agent).
>>
>>It would be inappropriate to distinguish components of the client,
>>in particular which portions are part of APIs shared between
>>multiple clients and portions specific to the particular client.
>>
>>Kurt
>
>Agreed, I had no intent of identifying or separating client
>components,

Good, but...

>but instead wanted only to identify what is the responsibility of the
>application/user
>versus the LDAP client protocol agent.

these terms ("application/user" and "client protocol agent") I
find confusing as "application" implies an "implementation" not
an entity acting as a human.

---

From: "Kurt D. Zeilenga" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 08 Oct 2003 19:21:04 -0700

>an entity acting as a human.

Actually, it's confusing to use "application" to refer to an
"implementation" and, even more so, just to client implementations.

Here is, I think, a good example of an appropriate use of the
term application (in the context of LDAP specifications):
    PKI is an application of the directory which places
    specific requirements upon clients and servers implementations.

Kurt