Chunk allocation + Registration Authority

Good morning/evening,

In preparation for our call on Monday and per my homework [1], below
are data points and thoughts on how to handle the Registration
Authority (RA) mentioned in the PNG REC [2].

Couple of data points/assumptions:

- the RA defined at [2] is defunct
- creating and maintaining RAs (as defined by ISO) require significant
bureaucratic overhead and lead time
- the next edition of PNG should continue to be published in
collaboration with ISO
- new chunks will be added in the future
- implementers should be encouraged to inform others of the private
chunks they define
- there will be two PNG RECs: a Core REC [2] and an Extensions REC [3]

I suggest the following approach:

- remove all mentions of the RA from the Core REC
- create a WG Note that lists all private chunks included in neither
the Core nor the Extensions RECs. New private chunks are added to the
list by simple revision of the WG Note. Each chunk has a link to the
defining specification/entity.
- encourage the community to submit their private chunks to the WG for
additional to the WG Note
- informatively reference the WG Note from the Core and Extensions
RECs, e.g. "additional private chunks are listed at <link>"
- all not-yet allocated public chunks are "reserved by W3C", i.e. they
must be defined in the Core or Extension REC
- add new chunks to the Core and Extensions REC on a case-by-case
basis and through revisions of the RECs. These chunks will typically
be public chunks, but exceptionally can be private chunks.

Looking forward to the discussion.

Best,

-- Pierre

[1] https://github.com/w3c/PNG-spec/issues/49
[2] https://www.w3.org/TR/PNG/
[3] https://w3c.github.io/PNG-spec/extensions

Received on Saturday, 22 January 2022 16:33:25 UTC