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Re: OID! what for?

On 24 Mar 2002, Adam Williams wrote:

>>>>or only if i plan on sharing my directory with someone else?
>>>WHat you don't intend to do today you'll have to do tomorrow.
>>Will it be harder tomorrow?  Does LDAP store the OID in the records, or
>>just in the schema?  (That is, is it easy to go back and change it if
>>needed?)
> 
> The OID is the true attribute name.  The "names" defined in the schemas
> are just aliases.  Define more than one name for anattributetype and
> search on any one of them....

Define more than one attribute with the same OID and openLDAP refuses to
start.  I tried that already.  And, looking in the id2entry.dbb file,
the attributes are not stored there as the OID.  My question comes in
because there are a bunch of database files that are not legible to me.
However, I can clearly see that the "true" name is the first name I
specify for the attribute name, and the OID is a translation value.  My
question is, is that translation value stored somewhere besides the
schema files themselves?

>>>>what's the drawbacks of NOT registering OIDs?
>>>You DSA becomes non-interoperable with any other DSA.  Why bother when an 
>>>OID is free.
>>Because IANA doesn't want to give them out to individuals, only
>>companies (according to email I got from them in response to my
>>request.)
>
> This is true, and rather frustrating, as their is no developer or
> individual branch.  However software projects, and any type of group,
> can get one.  They don't do a "legally incorporated?" check, at least
> not last I knew.  

I think it could be useful if someone made one.  OpenLDAP does have an
OID; advertising a developer/individual branch under there could get
more publicity.  (However, I think that this would be better done as a
neighbor to IANA.)


Ok, next question: Suppose I know that Company A's OID x.x.xx.xx.x.23 is
used for the same purpose as the attribute that I want to make will be
used for.  Is there any problems 'squating' on their OID?  If not, then
is there any way to identify these?  (However, my main concern is the
first question, as I know a Company A which has about 75% of the
attributes I have in mind.  That's at least enough to get me started.)

Ed