BEEP-specific protocol binding terminology (was: RE: [bindings] w.r.t."two types of binding")

[Jeff Hodges <jhodges@oblix.com>]

Now that we've decided how we're using the terms "protocol bindings" and
"profiles" in the SAML perspective, it's time for a little mind-bender...

If one takes a close look at BEEP (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3080.txt), one'll
notice that RFC3080 uses the *unadorned* term "profile" as a label for a
collection of definitions of syntax and semantics that specify a particular
"channel behavior".  

At a high conceptual level, one "binds", or layers, another protocol over BEEP
(let's us FOOP, aka "Foo Protocol") just like one'd do with any other substrate
protocol..


           +----------------------------+
           | (some protocol, e.g. FOOP) |
           +----------------------------+ <-- the "protocol binding" for
           |  BEEP                      |     FOOP-over-BEEP
           +----------------------------+
           |  TCP                       |
           +----------------------------+
           |  IP                        |
           +----------------------------+


However, from the perspective of the specifier of the FOOP-over-BEEP protocol
binding, one needs to write a "profile" for a BEEP "channel" wherein the FOOP
messages will be transferred. It looks something like this..


 +------------------------------------------------+
 | FOOP                                           |
 |                                                |
 |  (FOOP's "BEEP channel profile")---+           |
 |                                    |           |
 |                                    V           |
 +-------------------------------+................+ <-- the "protocol binding" 
 |  BEEP  (channel mgmt channel) | (FOOP channel) |     for FOOP-over-BEEP
 +------------------------------------------------+
 |  TCP                                           |
 +------------------------------------------------+
 |  IP                                            |
 +------------------------------------------------+


So, the way to talk about this from the perspective of the specifier of the
FOOP-over-BEEP protocol binding is like this..

  The FOOP-over-BEEP protocol binding is defined by the "BEEP channel 
  profile for FOOP".


By using "BEEP channel profile" rather than the unadorned term "profile", I'm
hoping we can avoid confusion with other usages of the term "profile", such as
"a profile of SAML", which mean decidedly different things. 

JeffH