Re: [openc2-actuator] Help with 'optional' wording

Duncan,

I agree that this could get confusing and we should come up with some standard way to discuss this distinction.

In the first example "start_time" it seems to me that implementing the command in the actuator was optional, however once the implementation has occurred the command is no longer optional. It either exists or it does not exist as an enumerated possibility.

In the second example "delay" it is assumed that, omitting the command will yield a delay=0 default.

Modifying defaults, to me, seem as more a candidate for the word "optional" as they are ever present. Whereas optional as it relates to implementation is only relevant during the initial implementation discussion phase, once decided it is no longer optional.

How is this for a suggestion: I would say "implementation optional arguments" as oppose to "command optional arguments"

I tried........

V/R

On Mon, Jun 11, 2018 at 2:00 PM, <duncan@sfractal.com> wrote:

I am working on a custom actuator profile (cap) and could use some assistance in wording.
We use the work 'optional' in two different contexts.
One use of 'optional' is whether a particular command component is required to be implemented by the receiver and another use is whether a particular command component is required to be sent on the wire by the producer.
An example of the former would be an actuator that did not implement the optional argument 'start_time' (ie it just executed the command when received and did not have the ability to delay the command to start at a future time).
An example of the latter would be an actuator that did implement 'delay command until a future time' but had a default start_time='now' so it is ok to leave the start_time off the command.

Do we have a convention on how to word stuff like this? I'm trying to say the cap removes the options from the slpf profile but it doesn't - it only removes the first kind (ie it does implement start_time) but the kind are still optional (ie you don't have to put start_time on the wire).

Duncan Sparrell
sFractal Consulting LLC
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