RE: General formula

[Alan Lloyd <Alan.Lloyd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I still do not understand how anyone on this planet can predict this
without the real application. 

	snip.

> I never [yet ;-)] said that the equation I derived is "universal".
> But,
> that it is based on assumptions which are generally valid for PKIX
> certificates. In fact, I know no counter-examples.
> 
> And, one of the predictions of the equation I derived is that "the
> lifetime of a certificate is inversely proportional to the number of
> its attributes".
> 
	However, if the certificate has a validity period of 20 seconds
- then it wont last long anyway. And if the certificate attributes are
in fact all the paragraphs and pages of the bible that are digitally
captured - at a certain time and the validy is set to 20 years then this
certificate is a lot bigger and lasts a lot longer than the first case.

	What are these attributes representing? The authentication
points of the subject, the management of the certificate, the validation
policy environment for the certficate or some data that the Issuer is
providing integrity over. Its not a question of quantity - its a
question of application and use.


	regards alan

> Which means "good news" when compared with what was
> previously believed (though without proof) and which you first
> questioned on the list -- providing both a reason and an excuse
> for my posting with that equation. As I wrote last week,  my
> posting was  excerpted from a paper which I expect to be
> ready from review this week. I hope the paper will provide
> (at the expense of reading time) for a more comprehensive
> context.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Ed Gerck
>