I have this question about OID. And wondering what are they actually used for.
If we take a specification called RANAP which is an ASN.1 specification used for mobile system (i.e 3G).
They have a OID of :
itu-t(0) identified-organization(4) etsi(0) mobileDomain(0) umts-Access(20) modules(3) ranap(0) version1(1)
But I have always wondered what's the practical use of it.
It's to try to assure uniqueness. The OID in question is associated with this particular version of this module, and no other. Therefore, if you require a particular version of a module, you would specify, by means of this OID, that only this version is acceptable.
By way of example, let's say we have 20 modules that together make up the ASN.1 specification of RANAP. Let's also say that these 20 modules are meant to work together and that we wish to avoid accidentally using a version2 module here or there. We would try to do this by identifying each module and referring to it not only by name (since any version would likely bear the same module name), but by name and OID.
I say above "try to assure" since one can't really be certain. Someone could have taken version1, changed it, left it with the same OID, and handed it out to his friends. Nonetheless, it's meant to minimize the chance of accidentally grabbing the wrong one.
Ok I see the point.
Then the people making the ranap specifications maybe should start increment the version.
Since that newer changes.
Yes. Since the OIDs are there, it would seem that the initial designer understood the concept, but the revisers do not.
Where are the ASN.1 Police when you need them?
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