RE: Issue 36: Clarify nature of conformance

How about:

"A SOAP 1.2 implementation that passes all of the tests specified in
this document may claim to conform to the SOAP 1.2 Test Suite (insert
version number).

Even though the purpose of the SOAP 1.2 Test Suite is to facilitate the
creation of interoperable implementations, conformance to the SOAP 1.2
Test Suite does not imply conformance to the SOAP 1.2 specification;
there are mandatory requirements of the specification that are not
tested by the suite (as a simple example, that every legal value
of a role name is accepted, and all illegal ones rejected). 

An implementation may be said to be SOAP 1.2 conformant if and only if
all messages it sends, and all processing it does, are correct with
respect to the normative requirements of  {ref
to framework and adjuncts}.  NOTE: this definition admits special
purpose implementations, such as those in dedicated controllers,
which may send and receive only a very limited suite of messages;
the requirement is that whatever is done be done correctly.

Likewise, for the reason noted above, conformance to the SOAP 1.2 
specification does not imply conformance to the SOAP 1.2 Test Suite. An
implementation may conform to the SOAP 1.2 specification even if it
does not support all capabilities tested by the SOAP 1.2 Test Suite."

Though longer, I think this makes the reasoning a bit clearer.  More 
importantly, it emphasizes
the fact that we are not specifying a SOAP processor, just a protocol. 
SOAP-enabled traffic
lights are OK.

------------------------------------------------------------------
Noah Mendelsohn                              Voice: 1-617-693-4036
IBM Corporation                                Fax: 1-617-693-8676
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Cambridge, MA 02142
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"Henrik Frystyk Nielsen" <henrikn@microsoft.com>
04/11/02 08:57 PM

 
        To:     <noah_mendelsohn@us.ibm.com>, "Hurley, Oisin" <oisin.hurley@iona.com>
        cc:     <xml-dist-app@w3c.org>
        Subject:        RE: Issue 36:  Clarify nature of conformance


I generally agree with the direction of this but think we have to
clarify that it is possible to build an interoperable SOAP 1.2
implementation that does not conform to the test suite simply because it
doesn't accept the messages described by the text suite (it may be
entirely dedicated to a few specific SOAP messages).

How 'bout:

"A SOAP 1.2 implementation that passes all of the tests specified in
this document may claim to conform to the SOAP 1.2 Test Suite (insert
version number).

Even though the purpose of the SOAP 1.2 Test Suite is to facilitate the
creation of interoperable implementations, conformance to the SOAP 1.2
Test Suite does not imply conformance to the SOAP 1.2 specification. An
implementation may be said to be SOAP 1.2 conformant if and only if it
completely and correctly implements the normative requirements of {ref
to framework and adjuncts}. Likewise, conformance to the SOAP 1.2
specification does not imply conformance to the SOAP 1.2 Test Suite. An
implementation may conform to the SOAP 1.2 specification even if it
doesn't conform with the SOAP 1.2 Test Suite."

Henrik

>I wonder whether the spirit of what we're trying to say is:
>
>"An implementation may be said to be SOAP 1.2 conformant if 
>and only if it 
>completely and correctly implements that normative 
>requirements of {ref to 
>framework and adjuncts.}  The W3C does not at this time 
>provide for any 
>comprehensive means of testing for such conformance.  The 
>tests in this 
>document are a necessary but not sufficient precondition for 
>demonstrating 
>conformance to SOAP 1.2.  Accordingly, a SOAP 1.2 implementation that 
>passes all of the tests specified in this document may claim 
>to conform to 
>the SOAP 1.2 Test Suite (insert version number)."

Received on Thursday, 11 April 2002 22:26:59 UTC