"attesting entity" vs "confirming entity" (months late and manydollars short...)

[Jeff Hodges <Jeff.Hodges@neustar.biz>]

appologies for this being so late.

I've been confused by the "confirming entity" term. I've always had an
uneasy feeling that it's ambiguous. To me, a confirming entity could be either
(a) an entity that's providing evidence that I can use to confirm some
assertion it's making, or (b) I'm playing a confirming entity role when I
verify/assess the validity of assertions made by another party.

The Oxford Dictionary's definitions for "attest" and "confirm" are below.

Given those definitions, I believe we can (and should) describe what we're
presently referring to as a "confirming entity" as an "attesting entity"; given
that in the act of presenting an assertion, it is making "an attestation" that
the relying party should consider it, "the attestor", to be the subject. Note
that "attest" has these related nouns, but "confirm" doesn't have such related
noun terms (both "attest" and "confirm" are themselves verbs).

Having "attesting entity" so defined, we could use the term "confirming entity"
to refer to the entity that validates & verifies an
assertion+subjectconfirmation -- but I believe that that role is already
addressed by the term "relying party".

so I suggest we simply do the following..

   s/confirming entity/attesting entity/g

..on these two specs (which are the only two in which these terms occur)..

   sstc-saml-2.0-profiles-cd-03		1 occurance
   sstc-saml-2.0-core-cd-03		5 uccurances


thoughts?

JeffH
---------------------------------------------

attest /'tst/
verb.
1 [WITH OBJ. ] provide or serve as clear evidence of: his status is attested by
his becoming an alderman | [NO OBJ. ] his numerous drawings of babies attest to
his fascination with them.

  * [NO OBJ. ] declare that something exists or is the case: I can attest to
his tremendous energy | [WITH CLAUSE] the deceased's solicitor attested that he
had been about to institute divorce proceedings.

  * witness or certify formally.


2 [NO OBJ. ] historical enrol as ready for military service.

  * [WITH OBJ. ] recruit (someone) for military service by putting them on oath
to serve if called upon.


DERIVATIVES
attestation noun
attestor noun


ORIGIN
early 16th cent. : from French attester, from Latin attestari, from ad- 'to' +
testari 'to witness' (from testis 'a witness')





confirm
verb [WITH OBJ. ]
1 establish the truth or correctness of (something previously believed or
suspected to be the case): if these fears are confirmed, the outlook for the
economy will be dire | [WITH CLAUSE] the report confirms that a diet rich in
vitamin C can help to prevent cataracts.

[REPORTING VERB] state with assurance that a report or fact is true: [WITH
CLAUSE] he confirmed that the general was in the hands of the rebels | [WITH
DIRECT SPEECH] 'It is indeed proper coffee,' I confirmed.

(confirm someone in) reinforce someone in (an opinion or feeling): he fuelled
his misogyny by cultivating women who confirmed him in this view.

make (a provisional arrangement or appointment) definite: Mr Baker's assistant
telephoned to confirm his appointment with the chairman.

make (a decision or an agreement) formally valid: the organization has
confirmed the appointment of Mr Collins as managing director.

declare (someone) formally to be appointed to a particular post: he was
confirmed as the new EC peace envoy.
2 administer the religious rite of confirmation to: he had been baptized and
confirmed.

DERIVATIVES
confirmative adjective
confirmatory adjective.


ORIGIN
Middle English: from Old French confermer, from Latin confirmare, from con-
'together' + firmare 'strengthen' (from firmus 'firm').