strongly matches

[Tom Scavo <trscavo@gmail.com>]

I'm trying to understand the notion of "strongly matches" in SAML
core.  The definitions are different in SAML 1.x and SAML 2.0, so I'll
separate my questions:

SAML 1.x

- What does it mean for one NameIdentifier to be "identical" to
another?  In particular, if one NameIdentifier has no Format attribute
while the other has a Format value of 'unspecified', are the two
NameIdentifiers "identical"?

- It appears that S1 may have more SubjectConfirmation elements than
S2, as long as every SubjectConfirmation element in S2 has an
"identical" counterpart in S1.  Correct?

- If the answer to the previous question is yes, then "strongly
matches" is clearly not symmetric.  Is it safe to say that if S1
strongly matches S2 and S2 strongly matches S1, then S1 and S2 are
"identical"?

SAML 2.0

- Same question about "identical" NameIDs.

- I do not understand the condition on SubjectConfirmation elements at
all.  Can somebody explain this to me?

Thanks,
Tom