Subject: snmpconf capMatch() - an issue related to capability tables

From: David Partain <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 11 Jun 2001 17:23:04 +0200

Hi,

In the discussion of the capabilities tables in Minneapolis,
one of the things that came up was the utility of capMatch()
given the coarse granularity of the capabilities tables.

Firstly, I think the purpose of the capability
tables and capMatch() should be understood.
The former is discussed in gory detail in
http://www.snmp.com/snmpconf/mailing-list/msg00814.html

Capabilities are system-wide, not tied to a particular element.
capMatch() is expressly about the correct running of scripts.
The thinking was that one would use capMatch to determine if
an _element_ supports a capability.

Well, we have a problem.  Capabilities aren't tied to elements.
As such, capMatch() can ONLY respond on a system-wide basis,
which doesn't appear to be useful in the context of a running
script.

Given this, I believe that capMatch() serves no useful purpose
and should be eliminated.

Cheers,

dlp