Action Item #0128: Liason with XRI Data Interchange

["Hal Lockhart" <hlockhar@bea.com>]

The OASIS Extensible Resource Identifier (XRI) Specification defines a general scheme for constructing URIs which can be used to identify anything. The OASIS XRI Data Exchange (XDI) TC intends to apply the XRI scheme to the naming of common objects. The XDI TC began last fall and is intending to finalize Requirements and  Usecases by May 2004.

One of the objects to be named, of particular interest to SAML, corresponds to to the SAML Subject. Recent discussion with Drummond Reed, one of the co-chairs, suggests to me that XDI is just beginning to grapple with the issues of Issuer, Domain and Namespace, which the SSTC has spent considerable time on already. It strikes me that it would be highly desirable for the XDI specification to be aligned with SAML, at least to the extent of having corresponding concepts relating to Subject.

Other kinds of alignment might also be desirable, for example, it seems possible that other XDI constructs might be explicitly defined as SAML Attributes in the post-SAML 2.0 timeframe.

In any event, I recommend the SSTC seek volunteers to liasion between the XDI and SSTCs to share information and seek alignment between comparable entities being addressed by both. I believe this would help aid in the adoption of both.

Hal