From: Jean-Marc Desperrier <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>

The short names and long names in OpenSSL have indeed been a source of
great confusion.  If I don't recall to look at it before the coming
weekend, please remind me.

Time to end the confusions...


jean-marc.desperrier> Hi,
jean-marc.desperrier> 
jean-marc.desperrier> I have found out in a project that the use of the short name UID 
in
jean-marc.desperrier> openssl, for the Unique Identifier OID defined in X520, 
definitively
jean-marc.desperrier> causes confusion and potentials problems.
jean-marc.desperrier> 
jean-marc.desperrier> There seem a very common use of this abreviation to designate 
instead
jean-marc.desperrier> the user id, defined in RFC1274.
jean-marc.desperrier> A little search on google with UID and rfc1274 shows that this 
what is
jean-marc.desperrier> used in LDAP products.
jean-marc.desperrier> 
jean-marc.desperrier> I have been directly confronted with a confusion caused by the 
fact
jean-marc.desperrier> someone who wanted to insert the RFC1274 uid, just found uid in 
the
jean-marc.desperrier> short name handled by openssl, and inserted a X520 unique 
Identifier
jean-marc.desperrier> instead of what was truly intended.
jean-marc.desperrier> 
jean-marc.desperrier> Unique Identifier is OID 2 5 4 45 and come from X520
jean-marc.desperrier> User Identifier is OID 0 9 2342 19200300 100 1 1 and comes from 
RFC1274.
jean-marc.desperrier> 
jean-marc.desperrier> 0 9 2342 19200300 100 1 34 in RFC1274 is also named unique 
Identifier,
jean-marc.desperrier> but seems little used.
jean-marc.desperrier> 
jean-marc.desperrier> In order to avoid this name clash, the choice has been made in 
the LDAP
jean-marc.desperrier> world that the x500 UID would be named x500UniqueIdentifier.
jean-marc.desperrier> See for example :
jean-marc.desperrier> http://www.openldap.org/lists/ietf-ldapext/199812/msg00007.html
jean-marc.desperrier> 
jean-marc.desperrier> So it would be best if openssl avoids the confusing uid 
abreviation and
jean-marc.desperrier> switches to something similar to x500UniqueIdentifier.
jean-marc.desperrier> 
jean-marc.desperrier> 
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