[UR-WG] Comment on duration format for WallDuration andCpuDuration

[Rosario Michael Piro]

Bart Heupers wrote:
> Hello Donal
> 
> For the DEISA and general Grid accounting systems you just want to add
> amounts from different accounting systems. 
> 
> Of course I am in control over what I produce, but I have to interpret
> and use what others produce, and I don't want other systems to give the
> possibility to add uncertainty where it is not needed. 
> 

Exactly what I have to worry about in the OMII-Europe project on 
interoperability. I will HAVE to accept ambiguos values if they can be 
legally specified within an UR, I just don't know how I can handle them, 
but I have to, otherwise I'll throw overboard all standardization 
efforts if some third party sends me a perfectly correct UR (according 
to the specs) that contains a time period of let's say 
P11M13D2HTsomething ... I cannot refuse to handle this record if I want 
to be compliant to the UR spec (and I need to be), but I can just guess 
what the producer might have meant. I will not get around ambiguity if 
the UR spec allows such values.

Note: I do not say that I want these values to be restricted, but we 
need to be aware that it's not enough to say that someone can internally 
use unambiguous versions. It is not enough, unfortunately.

Cheers,

Rosario.