[DFDL-WG] Conflicting Info: binaryDecimalVirtualPoint

[Mike Beckerle]

The spec has conflicting info about the property binaryDecimalVirtualPoint

Section 22.1 shows this property only being examined once binaryNumberRep
is packed, bcd, or ibm4690Packed. (Note: doesn't even allow for zoned as
this is 'binaryDecimal....", and zoned is considered text)

Section 13.7.1.1 explicitly states this property can be used with
non-base-10 representations to scale the value.

While the functionality in 13.7.1.1 could be useful to people, I believe
the intent of this property was to support virtual decimal points, which
is, in my experience, a COBOL-oriented feature used with base-10
representations (zoned, text, or packed/bcd). In DFDL v1.0, zoned is
considered textual, so this property doesn't apply to zoned numbers. That
leaves only the packed/bcd representations.

I suggest these changes:
1)  language in 13.7.1.1 should be revised to avoid requiring this property
to apply to binaryNumberRep='binary' (aka twos-complement or unsigned
binary) integers.
2) The definition of the property should explicitly state it applied only
to base 10 binary (aka packed/bcd) representations.

Mike Beckerle | OGF DFDL Workgroup Co-Chair | Tresys Technology |
www.tresys.com
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