Topic 3: Foreign Usage Convention

*** *Foreign Usage Convention* ***

I like the idea of fully enabling the PWS file format as a 
multi-application and potential multi-purpose storage tool. If you like 
to follow me here, I'ld recommend to introduce certain regulations 
concerning multi-usage in order to prevent errors based on bad coordination.

A. Range of Field types
The most crucial point here is a convention on the usage of field types 
for applications. In the Java library KSE-PWSLIB (which I offer along 
with JPasswords) I recommend users to respect a reserved field range of 
0x00 up to 0x7F. My suggestion is to declare this range as under the 
"legislation" of the Password Safe project (including close friends) and 
allow the range above as "free use". - FYI, in JPWS I "claim" a range of 
0x40 to 0x4F for specific use. Possibly a document could be created 
where reserved field ranges (of major or closely related projects) would 
be stated.

B. Field Access Rules
For the "free use" field range additional rules, like e.g. data marking, 
could be recommended to prevent false data reading.

Cheers!
- Wolfgang Keller

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