Subject: [nfsv4] re: Owner Group attr strings

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2004 11:47:23 -0500 (EST)

[Spencer wrote]
> I don't see any value for a server to return internal string
> identifiers for owner/group.
> The client will likely not have any reasonable means of mapping them to
> its own APIs
> for use by the application or end user.  Therefore, the server should
> not return
> the attributes and let the client default to some user/group understood
> by the
> local environment as "not useful".

Although I understand the argument, I'd argue for Saadia's position.
(Can I use "argue" more times to emphasize the "argument":-)
Basically, I'd like to leave it up to the client to decide whether or
not it has any use for something like a number in a string or not.
(A non-POSIX style client might just always display Owner verbatim and
 the user/sysadmin might understand the "internal string" that gets
 displayed?)

I do agree that it's not a big issue, since POSIX style clients will
probably map any such string to <invalid uid> anyhow.

rick

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From: Nicolas Williams <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2004 11:42:35 -0600

> not it has any use for something like a number in a string or not.

A number is useless since we've no idea what _namespace_ it's from.

A string is useful because the protocol requires that it be qualified
with a domain name so that neither the client nor the server will get
confused as to the meaning of one or another identity.

>  the user/sysadmin might understand the "internal string" that gets

I'm not aware of any major OS platform which deals in "external"
identifier forms, rather than internal identifier ones, in its APIs.
And if there were any such a server that uses stringified numbers on the
wire as IDs would merely confuse the _user_ instead of the client.  The
end result would be the same: not useful.

> probably map any such string to <invalid uid> anyhow.

If it's useless then don't do it.

Nico
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