Re: Sequence of attributes in a SCRAM message

[Arnt Gulbrandsen <arnt@xxxxxxxx>]

Nicolas Williams writes:
> As for order within the SCRAM messages, I don't know the reason for 
> nor history of that, nor do I much care whether there's order in the 
> SCRAM messages. But I agree that having order _and_ attribute=value 
> adds unnecessary redundance

As far as I can tell, the order is necessary for the computer. The a=v 
stuff makes scram messages easier to read for people, and it's only 
about eight bytes.

> -- one could have order and no attribute=, or attribute=value and no 
> order, still have things work out.

Yeah, but it would be more strain on the brain. 
x=43241,43214,4321423,,4321432,432 is harder to decipher than 
x=43214,y=34123,=4324132,w=,e=421. Perhaps not THAT much harder, but I 
think it's worth eight bytes.

Might be good to add a parenthetical remark, perhaps "this ordering 
simplifies some implementation aspects, e.g. the hash calculation".

Arnt