[Bug 25618] Extensibility: Offer spec-blessed ways to extend the algorithms and curves, rather than monkey-patching the spec

https://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=25618

--- Comment #25 from Mark Watson <watsonm@netflix.com> ---
Re-reading the above, we should now be careful with the term "extension
points". I think this term has been widely assumed to refer to the idea that
future as-yet-unwritten specification can add to a base specification without
modification of the base specification.

However, what I'm hearing is that there is a desire to avoid such "forward
references" and in this context the term "extension point" refers to the idea
that other specifications *referenced from the base specification* can add to
the base specification. This is a new requirement: in fact comment#0 says "A
successful resolution of this bug will be ensuring that one can, in a way that
*does not alter the Web Crypto spec*, define an entirely new spec that adds
additional algorithm(s)." We have such a proposal in the Editor's Draft, but
apparently no consensus.

So, unless some opinions change, we will need to update the base specification
anyway for any and all extensions, even if only to include a new reference.

There are a few options for making this viable, process-wise:

(1) Improve the W3C process for such minor updates to specifications
(2) Modularize, so that the "base specification" is little more than references
and common data types, and thus much lighter-weight to update
(3) Modularize in a different way, so that the "root" for WebCrpyto contains
only references and is in fact a web page, not a specification, and so can be
very easily updated (by the WebCrypto WG).
(4) Hand everything over to WHATWG

At this stage, I am reluctant to embark in (2) or (3) and I don't support (4).
I suggest we publish now as a monolithic specification and work on modularizing
for the next version. This could happen very quickly - we essentially republish
WebCrpyto v1 in modular form, with extension points, whilst we in parallel and
on a different timescale start work on the modules that form WebCrypto v2.

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Received on Wednesday, 8 October 2014 15:01:46 UTC