Re: changes and standards documents

[Buddha Buck <bmbuck@acsu.buffalo.edu>]

> To sum up a bit as I see it: RMS's arguments about technical
> documentation are sound, imo.  Do the same arguments apply to
> standards?  If not, what is the difference between technical
> documentation and a standard.

I don't think they do, because in a fundamental way, while standards 
are technical _documents_, I think they are more like personal opinion 
than program documentation (which is mainly what I see RMS's arguments 
applying to).

Program documentation describes how something DOES works.  It is 
important to be able to change it, if it becomes necessary to change 
the behavior of the program (or if the documentation and the program 
just don't match).  If a manual is unclear on an issue, you can consult 
the program itself (an impartial, objective criteria) to see what the 
"proper meaning" is.

Standards documents describe how something SHOULD work.  It does not 
necessarily have any basis in reality.  It doesn't have to.  RFC821 
doesn't say "Mail program X does Y", it says "If all mail programs on 
the internet do Y, we will have reliable mail service".  That it took 
years before any mail program actually fully complied with the standard 
is immaterial to the position adopted by the author of RFC821 
(Johnathan Postel).  If a standard is unclear on an issue, there is 
nothing to consult except the opinions of yourself and others 
(including the author, if you can).  Even another "compliant" program's 
behavior is just a reflection of that author's interpretation of the 
standard.

Program documentation may have bugs relating to technical content:  
What it says program X does may not reflect the reality, but it should. 
 Standards documents cannot have bugs relating to technical content, 
since it doesn't reflect a reality, only a "goal".

Both can of course have bugs relating to presentation (including 
typographical or formatting errors).

> 
> 
> Guy
> 
> 
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-- 
     Buddha Buck                      bmbuck@acsu.buffalo.edu
"Just as the strength of the Internet is chaos, so the strength of our
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