I'm sorry, you're right, I wasn't clear enough. I meant that the issue
has been discussed in XML Schema mailing lists and the soapbuilders
mailing list.
The issue is, basically, this. XML is a "printed" representation, so if
you send schema-typed data, you have all the standard round-off and
truncation kinds of issues for floating-point numbers. For example,
what happens when your SOAP layer converts the XML text node
"2.99999999999999999" into a local floating-point number? The XML
Schema spec makes no requirements. And the problem is compounded when
you convert the local floating-point number back out to an XML text node
for output.
That concept, XML->native->XML, also known as the conversion from Schema
lexical space to value space and back, is known as round-tripping. And
if you search the archives (e.g., [1]), you'll see it's an issue.
I strongly suggest that SAML avoid arbitrary precision issues and
mandate millisec or microsec granularity, only.
> I can see no scenario in SAML where this is required or even desirable.
> I suggest we adopt as an explicit non-goal the ability to convert the
> contents of an assertion to a local format and back. If you need the
> orginal for some purpose such as audit, just keep a copy. Does the time
> precision issue still exist if this non-goal is accepted?
Yes, see above.
/r$
[1] http://groups.yahoo.com/group/soapbuilders/message/1793
--
Zolera Systems, http://www.zolera.com
Information Integrity, XML Security
