RE: [saml-dev] Which version to use?

["Scott Cantor" <cantor.2@osu.edu>]

> Could you please elaborate what makes Liberty not an option if both 
> specifications are the same except for schema namespaces ?

They're not exactly the same, just functionally equivalent. SAMLv2 is the
successor to ID-FF 1.2 in terms of Liberty progression. It has features
ID-FF 1.2 doesn't, because it's a merge of existing work into a new spec.

> The thing is that I am not able to understand the existence of two
> parallel standards and that too when two standard organizations have 
> 90% common companies formulating the specifications.

They're not parallel, SAMLv2 is the standardization via OASIS of the
functional work done in ID-FF plus additional issues raised by SAML
deployments. One follows from the other.

> For me (unless I am very wrong) I see the vendors implementing two
> parallel specs i.e. Liberty-ID-FF-1.2 & SAML 2.0. And for sure will 
> arise an issue of interoperabilty between 2 of them in near future.

There is no direct wire interoperability, any more than there is between
ID-FF 1.1 and 1.2, or SAML 1.1 and SAMLv2. Interop is a product-level issue.
I'm sure many vendors will implement both, but that's their business. The
direction of evolution is still one-way, at least in the SAML community.

-- Scott