Session Date/Time: 16 Oct 2024 14:00

CBOR

Summary

The CBOR Working Group held an interim meeting to review the status of active drafts and plan the agenda for the upcoming IETF 121 meeting in Dublin. Key discussions revolved around progress on EDN Literal (focusing on editorial clarity), the advancement of More Control to IESG, and a significant terminology update for CBOR Deterministic Encoding (CDE) to clarify the concept of Application-Level Deterministic Representation (ALDR). The group also addressed a known issue in CDDL Modules regarding "socket" imports and planned for implementation updates for Packed. For future interims, the WG decided to maintain its bi-weekly call frequency with earlier cancellation decisions.

Key Discussion Points

Update Grammar: The draft is currently in RSC Editor state and progressing.
EDN Literal:
- Editorial changes were discussed by Carsten and Pete to improve clarity for implementers, following comments from the working group last call regarding ABNF usage.
- Carsten plans to submit a Pull Request (PR) with these changes by the upcoming draft deadline before IETF 121.
- Pete will engage with implementers for further feedback, which might inform additional editorial or technical adjustments.
- Confidence was expressed in getting the document ready before the Dublin deadline.
E: Progress on this document remains dependent on the resolution and progression of EDN Literal.
More Control:
- The working group last call concluded some time ago.
- The shepherding review, conducted by AJ, has been completed and the document has been handed off to the IESG for publication.
Packed:
- Implementer experimentation is ongoing, with interest in exploring applications, particularly in embedded contexts and string formatting.
- Potential for hackathon activities to further explore implementations was noted.
CDDL Modules:
- The core functionality is complete and usable, except for a specific issue related to importing modules that add to "sockets." This can lead to unnecessary definitions being pulled in.
- Carsten has a preliminary solution in mind and plans to write it up and implement it, acknowledging a delay due to other draft work.
- A suggestion was made to add an "implementation status" section to the document, and the existing "additional resources" field in the Datatracker was highlighted for advertising implementations.
CDE (CBOR Deterministic Encoding):
- Numerous open issues have been addressed, including issue #14.
- A significant update (PR #21, also reflected in draft-ietf-cbor-cddl-76) proposes deleting the term "application profile" and introducing "Application-Level Deterministic Representation" (ALDR). This aims to reduce confusion, as most deterministic rules apply to specific CBOR protocols rather than broad "application profiles."
- The change was positively received, with Lawrence indicating it "seems like a good direction" and promising further comments.
IETF 121 (Dublin) Agenda Planning:
- EDN Literal and CDE are prioritized for discussion, given their active status and recent changes/feedback.
- CDDL Modules will also be discussed, focusing on explaining the "socket import" problem and the proposed solution.
- A quick report on Packed implementations, potentially from hackathon activities, is also planned.
Interim Call Frequency:
- The current bi-weekly schedule has led to frequent cancellations due to participant availability.
- After discussion, the WG decided to maintain the bi-weekly frequency. Rohan noted that it provides a good time window for participants across regions and that attendance might not significantly improve with less frequent calls.
- The chair committed to making cancellation decisions further in advance to improve planning.

Decisions and Action Items

EDN Literal: Carsten to submit a PR with editorial changes before the Dublin draft deadline. Pete to gather implementer feedback on the draft.
CDDL Modules: Carsten to write up and implement the proposed solution for the "socket import" problem. Authors are invited to update the document with an "implementation status" section and reflect import * syntax.
CDE: Lawrence to provide additional comments on PR #21 in time for the Dublin draft deadline.
Dublin IETF 121 Agenda: The WG will prioritize discussions on EDN Literal, CDE, CDDL Modules, and Packed implementation reports.
Interim Calls: The bi-weekly schedule will be maintained, with the chair making cancellation decisions earlier to assist participant planning.

Next Steps

Authors of EDN Literal, CDDL Modules, and CDE drafts to complete their respective action items.
Participants interested in Packed to coordinate for potential hackathon activities and prepare implementation reports for Dublin.
The chair will implement earlier notification for interim call cancellations.
Prepare for detailed discussions on key drafts at IETF 121 in Dublin.