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MS Word Limitations for DFDL Spec Review
by Mike Beckerle 17 Sep '20

17 Sep '20

Two topics: * change tracking * hyperlinks So... Change Tracking: I have reached the limits of MS-Word with change tracking in this roughly 250 page DFDL spec document. I believe at this point I am going to have to give up on change tracking, I.e., providing drafts with accumulated changes since a prior major version marked with change bars. I have found that a PDF export from MS Word with tracked changes even with only "simple markup" is quite illegible, with heading numbers appearing not on the same line even as their heading, etc. I believe this is an interaction of renumbering of sections and change tracking. Either way, MS Word crashes often and I am worried about losing work or corrupting the document. I found already that in revision r22, a cross-reference to the section about recoverable errors was not putting in a cross reference to that section, but rather was repeating the entire contents of the section at each point of cross reference. I had to hand delete all of these as I encountered them when going through the reviewer comments page by page. I think at this point we're forced to greatly reduce use of MS-Word change tracking, and if a reader wants to study the changes between two revisions, they have to fire up MS-Word, and use it to compare two working draft versions of the document. So the version I am going to push up for consideration soon (which is probably r27 or r28) will have change tracking, and also I will create a version with all changes accepted. Further changes will happen in the one with all (current) changes accepted, creating a new, smaller set of changes, not an accumulated set of all changes since the prior official draft. In addition, for various large changes like section moves, I plan to accept them, and just add a comment bubble to remind reviewers to read the section, as having the whole change visible with strikethrough of the deleted and colored/underlined text for the insertions ruins the flow of the document. The only reliable viewer for the document, which can show the tracked changes in "simple markup" so that you see change bars on sides of pages only, is MS Word itself. Creating a PDF with "simple markup" doesn't work right. Hyperlinks: I have determined that MS-Word cross references are simply NOT converted into navigable hyperlinks when the document is output as an HTML document. This appears to be simply a MS-Word limitation. The same limitation exists in OpenOffice. A PDF gets navigable hyperlinks, but not an HTML output. Furthermore, I have determined that an MS-Word Index results in a printable index, but again there are no navigable links from the index to the referenced pages/locations. Based on this I am going to abandon, for now, creating a easily/readily used HTML version of the spec., and stick with just PDF. Mike Beckerle | OGF DFDL Workgroup Co-Chair | Owl Cyber Defense | www.owlcyberdefense.com Please note: Contributions to the DFDL Workgroup's email discussions are subject to the OGF Intellectual Property Policy <http://www.ogf.org/About/abt_policies.php>

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Latest OGF DFDL WG Call Minutes
by Steve Hanson 17 Sep '20

17 Sep '20

Please find minutes from the latest call at https://redmine.ogf.org/projects/dfdl-wg/news Steve Hanson IBM Hybrid Integration Architect, IBM DFDL, Co-Chair, OGF DFDL Working Group smh(a)uk.ibm.com tel:+44-1962-815848 mob:+44-7717-378890

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Agenda for OGF DFDL WG Call
by Steve Hanson 17 Sep '20

17 Sep '20

Please find agenda for next call on Redmine at https://redmine.ogf.org/dmsf_files/13619?download= Regards Steve Hanson IBM Hybrid Integration Architect, IBM DFDL Co-Chair, OGF DFDL Working Group smh(a)uk.ibm.com tel:+44-1962-815848 mob:+44-7717-378890

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Re: [DFDL-WG] DFDL pointer & offset proposal
by Bradd Kadlecik 16 Sep '20

16 Sep '20

Have updated for comments. (See attached file: DFDL_Indirection_v5.docx) Regards, Bradd Kadlecik z/TPF Development Phone: 1-845-433-1573 2455 South Rd E-mail: braddk(a)us.ibm.com Poughkeepsie, NY 12601-5400 United States From: Steve Hanson/UK/IBM To: Mike Beckerle <mbeckerle.dfdl(a)gmail.com> Cc: Bradd Kadlecik <braddk(a)us.ibm.com>, DFDL-WG <dfdl-wg(a)ogf.org> Date: 07/24/2020 01:08 PM Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Re: [DFDL-WG] DFDL pointer & offset proposal "Actually, the target of the indirection is just like an element or model-group, except without alignment regions. Ugly to have to repeat the whole grammar for that. ". Correct, and I haven't. My changes are for the indirection value, not the target. We have to handle 'indirectionUnusedValue' and reflect that initiator & terminator do not apply. Regards Steve Hanson IBM Hybrid Integration, Hursley, UK Architect, IBM DFDL Co-Chair, OGF DFDL Working Group smh(a)uk.ibm.com tel:+44-1962-815848 mob:+44-7717-378890 Note: I work Tuesday to Friday From: Mike Beckerle <mbeckerle.dfdl(a)gmail.com> To: Steve Hanson <smh(a)uk.ibm.com> Cc: Bradd Kadlecik <braddk(a)us.ibm.com>, DFDL-WG <dfdl-wg(a)ogf.org> Date: 24/07/2020 13:59 Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: [DFDL-WG] DFDL pointer & offset proposal Actually, the target of the indirection is just like an element or model-group, except without alignment regions. Ugly to have to repeat the whole grammar for that. Perhaps we can get away with just documenting that the alignment regions must be zero length when target of an indirection? I did not try to put this modified grammar into my commented copy of the proposal (attached). The "connection" to the indirect pointer or offset is not something that the grammar can express. Attached * my review (with new comments that start with "V4:"), * my first cut of a DFDL schema for TIFF v6.0, * a copy of the TIFF v6.0 spec. I wasn't actually able to pull off TIFF. Comments in the schema discuss why, which is due to TIFF being a linked list, and I'm not able to terminate the chain. There's maybe a trick using negative offsets, but I don't want to consider that yet, as those are entirely problematic. Mike Beckerle | OGF DFDL Workgroup Co-Chair | Owl Cyber Defense | www.owlcyberdefense.com Please note: Contributions to the DFDL Workgroup's email discussions are subject to the OGF Intellectual Property Policy On Fri, Jul 24, 2020 at 7:03 AM Steve Hanson <smh(a)uk.ibm.com> wrote: Bradd, Mike - as discussed on WG call please review my version of the grammar for next call. The key issue is how to link the target of the indirection into the main grammar, as it is dis-contiguous. Regards Steve Hanson IBM Hybrid Integration, Hursley, UK Architect, IBM DFDL Co-Chair, OGF DFDL Working Group smh(a)uk.ibm.com tel:+44-1962-815848 mob:+44-7717-378890 Note: I work Tuesday to Friday From: Bradd Kadlecik/Poughkeepsie/IBM To: Steve Hanson/UK/IBM Cc: DFDL-WG <dfdl-wg(a)ogf.org>, "dfdl-wg" <dfdl-wg-bounces(a)ogf.org>, Mike Beckerle <mbeckerle.dfdl(a)gmail.com> Date: 23/07/2020 14:52 Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Re: [DFDL-WG] DFDL pointer & offset proposal I incorporated some of your grammar changes but had a few modifications of my own we can discuss further in case I'm not understanding some of the subtleties. I think there may be a case for a nil value with indirection however as well. I've updated the document to include the changes as version 4. Regards, Bradd Kadlecik z/TPF Development Phone: 1-845-433-1573 2455 South Rd E-mail: braddk(a)us.ibm.com Poughkeepsie, NY 12601-5400 United States From: Steve Hanson/UK/IBM To: Bradd Kadlecik/Poughkeepsie/IBM@IBMUS Cc: DFDL-WG <dfdl-wg(a)ogf.org>, "dfdl-wg" <dfdl-wg-bounces(a)ogf.org>, Mike Beckerle <mbeckerle.dfdl(a)gmail.com> Date: 07/10/2020 08:11 AM Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Re: [DFDL-WG] DFDL pointer & offset proposal I think 'indirect' in property names should be 'indirection', so I will assume that in what follows. I am not happy with 'indirectionEmptyValue' or 'indirectionMissingValue'. Both 'empty' and 'missing' are concepts with well-defined meanings in DFDL. How about 'indirectionInactiveValue' or better 'indirectionUnusedValue'? My stab at an updated grammar below (changes in blue). There is no concept of an empty indirection value or a nil indirection value, so we don't need those clauses. I also think we can simplify the EnclosedElement construct (changes in red) Bradd I know you were struggling with how to link the target of the indirection into the main grammar, as it is dis-contiguous. I think we can achieve that by incorporating the target(s) into the Document as a whole. If we think that the concept of an indirection can only ever happen inside a complex type, then we could move IndirectionRep from SimpleElement/ComplexElement to EnclosedElement. I don't think it is worth getting more specific with IndirectElement. Specifically, it has no LeadingAlignment or TrailingAlignment, but to reflect that requires duplicating most of the rest of the grammar. You have not disallowed lengthKind 'prefixed' for the 'indirectionType', so that is included in the grammar. Productions --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Document = DocumentElement IndirectElement* DocumentElement = SimpleElement | ComplexElement SimpleElement = SimpleLiteralNilElementRep | SimpleEmptyElementRep | SimpleNormalRep | IndirectionRep SimpleEnclosedElement = SimpleElement | AbsentElementRep ComplexElement = ComplexLiteralNilElementRep | ComplexNormalRep | ComplexEmptyElementRep | IndirectionRep ComplexEnclosedElement = ComplexElement | AbsentElementRep EnclosedElement = SimpleElement | ComplexElement | AbsentElementRep IndirectElement = SimpleElement | ComplexElement --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AbsentElementRep = Absent --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IndirectionRep = IndirectionLeftFraming PrefixLength IndirectionContent IndirectionRightFraming IndirectionLeftFraming = LeadingAlignment IndirectionRightFraming = TrailingAlignment IndirectionContent = LeftPadding [ IndirectionValue | IndirectionUnusedValue ] RightPadOrFill IndirectionValue = SimpleValue --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SimpleEmptyElementRep = EmptyElementLeftFraming EmptyElementRightFraming ComplexEmptyElementRep = EmptyElementLeftFraming EmptyElementRightFraming EmptyElementLeftFraming = LeadingAlignment EmptyElementInitiator PrefixLength EmptyElementRightFraming = EmptyElementTerminator TrailingAlignment --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SimpleLiteralNilElementRep = NilElementLeftFraming [NilLiteralCharacters | NilElementLiteralContent] NilElementRightFraming ComplexLiteralNilElementRep = NilElementLeftFraming NilLiteralValue NilElementRightFraming NilElementLeftFraming = LeadingAlignment NilElementInitiator PrefixLength NilElementRightFraming = NilElementTerminator TrailingAlignment NilElementLiteralContent = LeftPadding NilLiteralValue RightPadOrFill --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SimpleNormalRep = LeftFraming PrefixLength SimpleContent RightFraming ComplexNormalRep = LeftFraming PrefixLength ComplexContent ElementUnused RightFraming LeftFraming = LeadingAlignment Initiator RightFraming = Terminator TrailingAlignment PrefixLength = SimpleContent | PrefixPrefixLength SimpleContent PrefixPrefixLength = SimpleContent SimpleContent = LeftPadding [ NilLogicalValue | SimpleValue ] RightPadOrFill ComplexContent = Sequence | Choice --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sequence = LeftFraming SequenceContent RightFraming SequenceContent = [ PrefixSeparator EnclosedContent [ Separator EnclosedContent ]* PostfixSeparator ] Choice = LeftFraming ChoiceContent RightFraming ChoiceContent = [ EnclosedContent ] ChoiceUnused EnclosedContent = [ EnclosedElement | Array | Sequence | Choice ] Array = [ EnclosedElement [ Separator EnclosedElement ]* [ Separator StopValue] ] StopValue = SimpleElement --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LeadingAlignment = LeadingSkip AlignmentFill TrailingAlignment = TrailingSkip RightPadOrFill = RightPadding | RightFill | RightPadding RightFill Regards Steve Hanson IBM Hybrid Integration, Hursley, UK Architect, IBM DFDL Co-Chair, OGF DFDL Working Group smh(a)uk.ibm.com tel:+44-1962-815848 mob:+44-7717-378890 Note: I work Tuesday to Friday From: Bradd Kadlecik/Poughkeepsie/IBM To: Steve Hanson/UK/IBM Cc: DFDL-WG <dfdl-wg(a)ogf.org>, "dfdl-wg" <dfdl-wg-bounces(a)ogf.org>, Mike Beckerle <mbeckerle.dfdl(a)gmail.com> Date: 09/07/2020 15:09 Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Re: [DFDL-WG] DFDL pointer & offset proposal I have updated the document proposal with proposed DFDL grammar changes: [attachment "DFDL_Indirection_v3.docx" deleted by Bradd Kadlecik/Poughkeepsie/IBM] Regards, Bradd Kadlecik z/TPF Development Phone: 1-845-433-1573 2455 South Rd E-mail: braddk(a)us.ibm.com Poughkeepsie, NY 12601-5400 United States Unless stated otherwise above: IBM United Kingdom Limited - Registered in England and Wales with number 741598. Registered office: PO Box 41, North Harbour, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO6 3AU Unless stated otherwise above: IBM United Kingdom Limited - Registered in England and Wales with number 741598. Registered office: PO Box 41, North Harbour, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO6 3AU [attachment "TIFF-v6.pdf" deleted by Bradd Kadlecik/Poughkeepsie/IBM] [attachment "DFDL_Indirection_v4_mjb_comments.docx" deleted by Bradd Kadlecik/Poughkeepsie/IBM] [attachment "tiff.dfdl.xsd" deleted by Bradd Kadlecik/Poughkeepsie/IBM]

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Latest OGF DFDL WG Call Minutes
by Steve Hanson 15 Sep '20

15 Sep '20

Please find minutes from the latest call at https://redmine.ogf.org/projects/dfdl-wg/news Steve Hanson IBM Hybrid Integration Architect, IBM DFDL, Co-Chair, OGF DFDL Working Group smh(a)uk.ibm.com tel:+44-1962-815848 mob:+44-7717-378890

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OGF DFDL Working Group Call
by Steve Hanson 02 Sep '20

02 Sep '20

Unless stated otherwise above: IBM United Kingdom Limited - Registered in England and Wales with number 741598. Registered office: PO Box 41, North Harbour, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO6 3AU

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Agenda for OGF DFDL WG Call
by Steve Hanson 02 Sep '20

02 Sep '20

Please find agenda for next call on Redmine at https://redmine.ogf.org/dmsf_files/13618?download= Regards Steve Hanson IBM Hybrid Integration Architect, IBM DFDL Co-Chair, OGF DFDL Working Group smh(a)uk.ibm.com tel:+44-1962-815848 mob:+44-7717-378890

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clarification needed? dfdl:textNumberCheckPolicy 'strict' - language suggests more strict than ICU libraries
by Mike Beckerle 02 Sep '20

02 Sep '20

Say we have this schema snippet: <xs:element name="SimpleDataFormat"> <xs:complexType> <xs:sequence> <xs:element name="NumStudents" type="xs:nonNegativeInteger" dfdl:textNumberCheckPolicy="strict" dfdl:textNumberPattern="#,###" dfdl:textStandardGroupingSeparator="," dfdl:textStandardDecimalSeparator="." /> </xs:sequence> </xs:complexType></xs:element> This successfully parses the data 1234 Even though textNumberCheckPolicy="strict" and the pattern contains a grouping separator, it still allows data that does not contain grouping separators. That said, we have generally tried to make DFDL's spec match the behavior of the ICU library for parsing numbers based on the textNumberPattern. This library has this to say about strict parsing of numbers: The following conditions cause a parse failure relative to [lax] mode (examples use the pattern "#,##0.#"): - The presence and position of special symbols, including currency, must match the pattern. '+123' fails (there is no plus sign in the pattern) - Leading or doubled grouping separators ',123' and '1,,234" fail - Groups of incorrect length when grouping is used '1,23' and '1234,567' fail, but '1234' passes - Grouping separators used in numbers followed by exponents '1,234E5' fails, but '1234E5' and '1,234E' pass ('E' is not an exponent when not followed by a number) So based on ICU's description of strict, this is the expected behavior. It doesn't say anything about missing grouping separators causing an error. Only that if they do exist then they must be in the right spot. The only thing the DFDL specification mentions regarding strict numbers is this: If 'strict' and dfdl:textNumberRep is 'standard' then the data must follow the pattern with the exceptions that digits 0-9, decimal separator and exponent separator are always recognised and parsed To me, that reads like the decimal separator should always be required in strict mode, so this feels like the ICU behavior and the behavior described in the DFDL specification do not match. And I believe the DFDL behavior was intended to match ICU behavior, so it's possible the DFDL specification needs to be updated. Mike Beckerle | OGF DFDL Workgroup Co-Chair | Owl Cyber Defense | www.owlcyberdefense.com Please note: Contributions to the DFDL Workgroup's email discussions are subject to the OGF Intellectual Property Policy <http://www.ogf.org/About/abt_policies.php>

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Cancelled: OGF DFDL Working Group Call
by Steve Hanson 18 Aug '20

18 Aug '20

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OGF DFDL WG Call 2020-08-06 cancelled
by Steve Hanson 06 Aug '20

06 Aug '20

Unable to make DFDL WG call today. Regards Steve Hanson Architect, IBM DFDL Co-Chair, OGF DFDL Working Group Hursley, UK smh(a)uk.ibm.com tel:+44-1962-815848

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