Weak Separation

An XFN context that does not always treat the XFN component separator as a naming system boundary supports weak separation. This arises when the component naming system associated with the context uses the same character as the XFN component separator as its atomic component separator. The context allows its atomic separator to appear unescaped and unquoted in its compound names when they occur in composite names. This means that an XFN component separator might not necessarily signify a naming system boundary.

Support for weak separation is a property of a context. A context that supports weak separation expects to receive its atomic names in separate components of the composite name structure. When a composite name is supplied to a context that supports weak separation, the context consumes the leading components of the name (and treats them as atomic components); any remaining components are resolved by subordinate naming systems. The number of components consumed is determined either syntactically or dynamically.

CDS names and X.500 names are examples of names that use the XFN component separator as their atomic name separator. X.500 supports weak separation using a syntactic method (by scanning for typed names) while CDS supports weak separation by determining the naming system boundary dynamically.

The following example shows a composite name with an X.500 component.

	.../c=us/o=wiz.com/orgunit/ppt

An XFN context that supports weak separation using only syntax-specific discovery of its naming system boundary might not always be federated with arbitrary subordinate naming systems. If the subordinate naming system has a naming syntax that is indistinguishable from that of the superior naming system, the superior naming system is not able to identify the naming system boundary.

Naming systems that use the same character as the XFN component separator as their atomic separator, and which cannot support weak separation because it cannot use a syntactic or dynamic method to determine the naming system boundary, must provide context implementations that support strong separation. This means that occurrences of atomic separators must be quoted or escaped when they appear in compound names within composite names.