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diff --git a/lib/asn1/doc/src/asn1_spec.xmlsrc b/lib/asn1/doc/src/asn1_spec.xmlsrc
index 9001aca65c..5bee9f0075 100644
--- a/lib/asn1/doc/src/asn1_spec.xmlsrc
+++ b/lib/asn1/doc/src/asn1_spec.xmlsrc
@@ -29,94 +29,105 @@
<file>asn1_spec.xml</file>
</header>
<marker id="SpecializedDecodes"></marker>
- <p>When performance is of highest priority and one is interested in
- a limited part of the ASN.1 encoded message, before one decide what
- to do with the rest of it, one may want to decode only this small
- part. The situation may be a server that has to decide to which
- addressee it will send a message. The addressee may be interested in
- the entire message, but the server may be a bottleneck that one want
- to spare any unnecessary load. Instead of making two <em>complete decodes</em> (the normal case of decode), one in the server and one
- in the addressee, it is only necessary to make one <em>specialized decode</em>(in the server) and another complete decode(in the
- addressee). The following specialized decodes <em>exclusive decode</em> and <em>selected decode</em> support to solve this and
- similar problems.
- </p>
+ <p>When performance is of highest priority and you are interested in
+ a limited part of the ASN.1 encoded message before deciding what
+ to do with the rest of it, an option is to decode only this small
+ part. The situation can be a server that has to decide the
+ addressee of a message. The addressee can be interested in
+ the entire message, but the server can be a bottleneck that you want
+ to spare any unnecessary load.</p>
+ <p> Instead of making two <em>complete decodes</em> (the normal case of
+ decode), one in the server and one in the addressee, it is only
+ necessary to make one <em>specialized decode</em>(in the server)
+ and another complete decode(in the addressee). This section
+ describes the following two specialized decodes, which support
+ to solve this and similar problems:</p>
+ <list type="bulleted">
+ <item><em>Exclusive decode</em></item>
+ <item><em>Selected decode</em></item>
+ </list>
<p>So far this functionality is only provided when using the
- optimized BER_BIN version, that is when compiling with the
- options <c>ber_bin</c> and <c>optimize</c>. It does also work
- using the <c>nif</c> option. We have no intent to make this
- available on the default BER version, but maybe in the PER_BIN
- version (<c>per_bin</c>).
+ optimized <c>BER_BIN</c> version, that is, when compiling with
+ options <c>ber_bin</c> and <c>optimize</c>. It also works
+ with option<c>nif</c>. We do not intent to make this functionality
+ available in the default <c>BER</c> version, but possibly in the
+ <c>PER_BIN</c> version (<c>per_bin</c>).
</p>
<section>
<title>Exclusive Decode</title>
<p>The basic idea with exclusive
- decode is that you specify which parts of the message you want to
+ decode is to specify which parts of the message you want to
exclude from being decoded. These parts remain encoded and are
- returned in the value structure as binaries. They may be decoded
+ returned in the value structure as binaries. They can be decoded
in turn by passing them to a certain <c>decode_part/2</c>
- function. The performance gain is high when the message is large
- and you can do an exclusive decode and later on one or several
- decodes of the parts or a second complete decode instead of two or
+ function. The performance gain is high for large messages.
+ You can do an exclusive decode and later one or more
+ decodes of the parts, or a second complete decode instead of two or
more complete decodes.
</p>
<section>
- <title>How To Make It Work</title>
- <p>In order to make exclusive decode work you have to do the
- following:
+ <title>Procedure</title>
+ <p>To perform an exclusive decode:
</p>
<list type="bulleted">
- <item>First,decide the name of the function for the exclusive
- decode.</item>
- <item>Second, write instructions that must consist of the name
- of the exclusive decode function, the name of the ASN.1
- specification and a notation that tells which parts of the
- message structure will be excluded from decode. These
- instructions shall be included in a configuration
- file. </item>
- <item>Third, compile with the additional option
- <c>asn1config</c>. The compiler searches for a configuration
- file with the same name as the ASN.1 spec but with the
- extension .asn1config. This configuration file is not the same
- as used for compilation of a set of files. See section
- <seealso marker="#UndecodedPart">Writing an Exclusive Decode Instruction.</seealso></item>
+ <item><em>Step 1:</em> Decide the name of the function for the
+ exclusive decode.</item>
+ <item><p><em>Step 2:</em> Include the following instructions in
+ a configuration file:</p>
+ <list type="bulleted">
+ <item>The name of the exclusive decode function</item>
+ <item>The name of the ASN.1 specification</item>
+ <item>A notation that tells which parts of the message
+ structure to be excluded from decode</item>
+ </list></item>
+ <item><em>Step 3</em> Compile with the additional option
+ <c>asn1config</c>. The compiler searches for a configuration
+ file with the same name as the ASN.1 specification but with
+ extension <c>.asn1config</c>. This configuration file is not
+ the same as used for compilation of a set of files. See Section
+ <seealso marker="#UndecodedPart">Writing an Exclusive Decode
+ Instruction.</seealso></item>
</list>
</section>
<section>
<title>User Interface</title>
- <p>The run-time user interface for exclusive decode consists of
- two different functions. First, the function for an exclusive
- decode, whose name the user decides in the configuration
- file. Second, the compiler generates a <c>decode_part/2</c>
- function when exclusive decode is chosen. This function decodes
- the parts that were left undecoded during the exclusive
- decode. Both functions are described below.
- </p>
- <p>If the exclusive decode function has for example got the name
+ <p>The runtime user interface for exclusive decode consists of
+ the following two functions:</p>
+ <list type="bulleted">
+ <item>A function for an exclusive decode, whose name the user
+ decides in the configuration file</item>
+ <item>The compiler generates a <c>decode_part/2</c>
+ function when exclusive decode is chosen. This function decodes
+ the parts that were left undecoded during the exclusive
+ decode.</item>
+ </list>
+ <p>Both functions are described in the following.</p>
+ <p>If the exclusive decode function has, for example, the name
<c>decode_exclusive</c> and an ASN.1 encoded message
- <c>Bin</c> shall be exclusive decoded, the call is:</p>
+ <c>Bin</c> is to be exclusive decoded, the call is as follows:</p>
<pre>
{ok,Excl_Message} = 'MyModule':decode_exclusive(Bin) </pre>
<marker id="UndecodedPart"></marker>
- <p>The result <c>Excl_Message</c> has the same structure as an
- complete decode would have, except for the parts of the top-type
- that were not decoded. The undecoded parts will be on their place
- in the structure on the format <c>{Type_Key,Undecoded_Value}</c>.
+ <p>The result <c>Excl_Message</c> has the same structure as a
+ complete decode would have, except for the parts of the top type
+ that were not decoded. The undecoded parts are on their places
+ in the structure on format <c>{Type_Key,Undecoded_Value}</c>.
</p>
- <p>Each undecoded part that shall be decoded must be fed into the <c>decode_part/2</c> function,like:</p>
+ <p>Each undecoded part that is to be decoded must be fed into
+ function <c>decode_part/2</c> as follows:</p>
<pre>
-{ok,Part_Message} = 'MyModule':decode_part(Type_Key,Undecoded_Value) </pre>
+{ok,Part_Message} = 'MyModule':decode_part(Type_Key,Undecoded_Value)</pre>
</section>
<section>
<marker id="Exclusive Instruction"></marker>
<title>Writing an Exclusive Decode Instruction</title>
- <p>This instruction is written in the configuration file on the
- format:</p>
+ <p>This instruction is written in the configuration file
+ in the following format:</p>
<pre>
-
Exclusive_Decode_Instruction = {exclusive_decode,{Module_Name,Decode_Instructions}}.
Module_Name = atom()
@@ -137,70 +148,76 @@ Element = {Name,parts} |
Top_Type = atom()
-Name = atom()
- </pre>
- <p>Observe that the instruction must be a valid Erlang term ended
- by a dot.
+Name = atom()</pre>
+ <p>The instruction must be a valid Erlang term ended by a dot.
</p>
- <p>In the <c>Type_List</c> the "path" from the top type to each
- undecoded sub-components is described. The top type of the path is
+ <p>In <c>Type_List</c> the "path" from the top type to each
+ undecoded subcomponents is described. The top type of the path is
an atom, the name of it. The action on each component/type that
- follows will be described by one of <c>{Name,parts}, {Name,undecoded}, {Name,Element_List}</c></p>
- <p>The use and effect of the actions are:
+ follows is described by one of
+ <c>{Name,parts}, {Name,undecoded}, {Name,Element_List}</c>.</p>
+ <p>The use and effect of the actions are as follows:
</p>
<list type="bulleted">
- <item><c>{Name,undecoded}</c> Tells that the element will be
- left undecoded during the exclusive decode. The type of Name may
- be any ASN.1 type. The value of element Name will be returned as a
- tuple,as mentioned <seealso marker="#UndecodedPart">above</seealso>, in the value structure of the top type.</item>
- <item><c>{Name,parts}</c> The type of Name may be one of
- SEQUENCE OF or SET OF. The action implies that the different
- components of Name will be left undecoded. The value of Name
- will be returned as a tuple, as <seealso marker="#UndecodedPart">above </seealso>, where the second element is a list of
- binaries. That is because the representation of a SEQUENCE OF/
- SET OF in Erlang is a list of its internal type. Any of the
- elements of this list or the entire list can be decoded by the
- <c>decode_part</c> function.</item>
- <item><c>{Name,Element_List}</c>This action is used when one or
- more of the sub-types of Name will be exclusive decoded.</item>
+ <item><c>{Name,undecoded}</c> - Tells that the element is left
+ undecoded during the exclusive decode. The type of <c>Name</c>
+ can be any ASN.1 type. The value of element <c>Name</c> is
+ returned as a tuple (as mentioned in the previous section) in
+ the value structure of the top type.</item>
+ <item><c>{Name,parts}</c> - The type of <c>Name</c> can be one of
+ <c>SEQUENCE OF</c> or <c>SET OF</c>. The action implies that
+ the different components of <c>Name</c> are left undecoded. The
+ value of <c>Name</c> is returned as a tuple (as mentioned in
+ the previous section) where the second element is a list of
+ binaries. This is because the representation of a <c>SEQUENCE OF</c>
+ or a <c>SET OF</c> in Erlang is a list of its internal type. Any
+ of the elements in this list or the entire list can be decoded by
+ function <c>decode_part</c>.</item>
+ <item><c>{Name,Element_List}</c> - This action is used when one or
+ more of the subtypes of <c>Name</c> is exclusive decoded.</item>
</list>
- <p>Name in the actions above may be a component name of a
- SEQUENCE or a SET or a name of an alternative in a CHOICE.
+ <p><c>Name</c> in these actions can be a component name of a
+ <c>SEQUENCE OF</c> or a <c>SET OF</c>, or a name of an alternative
+ in a <c>CHOICE</c>.
</p>
</section>
<section>
<title>Example</title>
- <p>In the examples below we use the definitions from the following ASN.1 spec:</p>
+ <p>In this examples, the definitions from the following ASN.1
+ specification are used:</p>
<marker id="Asn1spec"></marker>
<codeinclude file="Seq.asn" tag="" type="none"></codeinclude>
- <p>If <c>Button</c> is a top type and we want to exclude
- component <c>number</c> from decode the Type_List in the
- instruction in the configuration file will be
- <c>['Button',[{number,undecoded}]]</c>. If we call the decode
- function <c>decode_Button_exclusive</c> the Decode_Instruction
- will be
+ <p>If <c>Button</c> is a top type and it is needed to exclude
+ component <c>number</c> from decode, <c>Type_List</c> in the
+ instruction in the configuration file is
+ <c>['Button',[{number,undecoded}]]</c>. If you call the decode
+ function <c>decode_Button_exclusive</c>, <c>Decode_Instruction</c> is
<c>{decode_Button_exclusive,['Button',[{number,undecoded}]]}</c>.
</p>
- <p>We also have another top type <c>Window</c> whose sub
- component actions in type <c>Status</c> and the parts of component
- <c>buttonList</c> shall be left undecoded. For this type we name
- the function <c>decode__Window_exclusive</c>. The whole
- Exclusive_Decode_Instruction configuration is as follows: </p>
+ <p>Another top type is <c>Window</c> whose subcomponent
+ actions in type <c>Status</c> and the parts of component
+ <c>buttonList</c> are to be left undecoded. For this type, the
+ function is named <c>decode__Window_exclusive</c>. The complete
+ <c>Exclusive_Decode_Instruction</c> configuration is as follows:</p>
<codeinclude file="Seq.asn1config" tag="" type="none"></codeinclude>
+ <p>The following figure shows the bytes of a <c>Window:status</c>
+ message. The components <c>buttonList</c> and <c>actions</c> are
+ excluded from decode. Only <c>state</c> and <c>enabled</c> are decoded
+ when <c>decode__Window_exclusive</c> is called.</p>
<p></p>
<image file="exclusive_Win_But.gif">
- <icaption>Figure symbolizes the bytes of a Window:status message. The components buttonList and actions are excluded from decode. Only state and enabled are decoded when decode__Window_exclusive is called. </icaption>
+ <icaption>Bytes of a Window:status Message</icaption>
</image>
<p></p>
- <p>Compiling GUI.asn including the configuration file is done like:</p>
+ <p>Compiling <c>GUI.asn</c> including the configuration file is done
+ as follows:</p>
<pre>
unix> erlc -bber_bin +optimize +asn1config GUI.asn
-erlang> asn1ct:compile('GUI',[ber_bin,optimize,asn1config]). </pre>
- <p>The module can be used like:</p>
+erlang> asn1ct:compile('GUI',[ber_bin,optimize,asn1config]).</pre>
+ <p>The module can be used as follows:</p>
<pre>
-
1> Button_Msg = {'Button',123,true}.
{'Button',123,true}
2> {ok,Button_Bytes} = 'GUI':encode('Button',Button_Msg).
@@ -289,35 +306,39 @@ BoolOpt,{Type_Key_Choice,Val_Choice}}}}=
11> 'GUI':decode_part(Type_Key_SeqOf,hd(Val_SEQOF)).
{ok,{'Button',3,true}}
12> 'GUI':decode_part(Type_Key_Choice,Val_Choice).
-{ok,{possibleActions,[{'Action',16,{'Button',17,true}}]}}
- </pre>
+{ok,{possibleActions,[{'Action',16,{'Button',17,true}}]}}</pre>
</section>
</section>
<section>
<title>Selective Decode</title>
- <p>This specialized decode decodes one single subtype of a
- constructed value. It is the fastest method to extract one sub
- value. The typical use of this decode is when one want to
- inspect, for instance a version number,to be able to decide what
+ <p>This specialized decode decodes a subtype of a
+ constructed value and is the fastest method to extract a
+ subvalue. This decode is typically used when you want to
+ inspect, for example, a version number, to be able to decide what
to do with the entire value. The result is returned as
<c>{ok,Value}</c> or <c>{error,Reason}</c>.
</p>
<section>
- <title>How To Make It Work</title>
- <p>The following steps are necessary:
+ <title>Procedure</title>
+ <p>To perform a selective decode:
</p>
<list type="bulleted">
- <item>Write instructions in the configuration
- file. Including the name of a user function, the name of the ASN.1
- specification and a notation that tells which part of the type
- will be decoded. </item>
- <item>Compile with the additional option
- <c>asn1config</c>. The compiler searches for a configuration file
- with the same name as the ASN.1 spec but with the extension
- .asn1config. In the same file you can provide configuration specs
- for exclusive decode as well. The generated Erlang module has the
+ <item><p><em>Step 1:</em> Include the following instructions in
+ the configuration file:</p>
+ <list type="bulleted">
+ <item>The name of the user function</item>
+ <item>The name of the ASN.1 specification</item>
+ <item>A notation that tells which part of the type to be
+ decoded</item>
+ </list></item>
+ <item><em>Step 2:</em> Compile with the additional option
+ <c>asn1config</c>. The compiler searches for a configuration file
+ with the same name as the ASN.1 specification, but with extension
+ <c>.asn1config</c>. In the same file you can also provide
+ configuration specifications for exclusive decode.
+ The generated Erlang module has the
usual functionality for encode/decode preserved and the
specialized decode functionality added. </item>
</list>
@@ -326,21 +347,20 @@ BoolOpt,{Type_Key_Choice,Val_Choice}}}}=
<section>
<title>User Interface</title>
<p>The only new user interface function is the one provided by the
- user in the configuration file. You can invoke that function by
+ user in the configuration file. The function is started by
the <c>ModuleName:FunctionName</c> notation.
</p>
- <p>So, if you have the following spec
+ <p>For example, if the configuration file includes the specification
<c>{selective_decode,{'ModuleName',[{selected_decode_Window,TypeList}]}}</c>
- in the con-fig file, you do the selective decode by
+ do the selective decode by
<c>{ok,Result}='ModuleName':selected_decode_Window(EncodedBinary).</c></p>
</section>
<section>
<marker id="Selective Instruction"></marker>
<title>Writing a Selective Decode Instruction</title>
- <p>It is possible to describe one or many selective decode
- functions in a configuration file, you have to use the following
- notation:</p>
+ <p>One or more selective decode functions can be described in a
+ configuration file. Use the following notation:</p>
<pre>
Selective_Decode_Instruction = {selective_decode,{Module_Name,Decode_Instructions}}.
@@ -358,37 +378,43 @@ Element_List = Name|List_Selector
Name = atom()
-List_Selector = [integer()] </pre>
- <p>Observe that the instruction must be a valid Erlang term ended
- by a dot.
- </p>
- <p>The <c>Module_Name</c> is the same as the name of the ASN.1
- spec, but without the extension. A <c>Decode_Instruction</c> is
- a tuple with your chosen function name and the components from
- the top type that leads to the single type you want to
- decode. Notice that you have to choose a name of your function
- that will not be the same as any of the generated functions. The
- first element of the <c>Type_List</c> is the top type of the
- encoded message. In the <c>Element_List</c> it is followed by
- each of the component names that leads to selected type. Each of
- the names in the <c>Element_List</c> must be constructed types
- except the last name, which can be any type.
+List_Selector = [integer()]</pre>
+ <p>The instruction must be a valid Erlang term ended by a dot.
</p>
- <p>The List_Selector makes it possible to choose one of the
- encoded components in a SEQUENCE OF/ SET OF. It is also possible
- to go further in that component and pick a sub type of that to
- decode. So in the <c>Type_List</c>: <c>['Window',status,buttonList,[1],number]</c> the
- component <c>buttonList</c> has to be a SEQUENCE OF or SET OF type. In
- this example component <c>number</c> of the first of the encoded
- elements in the SEQUENCE OF <c>buttonList</c> is selected. This apply on
- the ASN.1 spec <seealso marker="#Asn1spec">above</seealso>.
+ <list type="bulleted">
+ <item><c>Module_Name</c> is the same as the name of the ASN.1
+ specification, but without the extension.</item>
+ <item><c>Decode_Instruction</c> is a tuple with your chosen
+ function name and the components from the top type that leads
+ to the single type you want to decode. Ensure to choose a name
+ of your function that is not the same as any of the generated
+ functions.</item>
+ <item> The first element of <c>Type_List</c> is the top type of the
+ encoded message. In <c>Element_List</c>, it is followed by
+ each of the component names that leads to selected type.</item>
+ <item>Each name in <c>Element_List</c> must be a constructed type
+ except the last name, which can be any type.</item>
+ <item><c>List_Selector</c> makes it possible to choose one of the
+ encoded components in a a <c>SEQUENCE OF</c> or a <c>SET OF</c>.
+ It is also possible to go further in that component and pick a
+ subtype of that to decode. So, in the <c>Type_List</c>:
+ <c>['Window',status,buttonList,[1],number]</c>, component
+ <c>buttonList</c> must be of type <c>SEQUENCE OF</c> or
+ <c>SET OF</c>.</item>
+ </list>
+ <p>In the example, component <c>number</c> of the first of the encoded
+ elements in the <c>SEQUENCE OF</c> <c>buttonList</c> is selected.
+ This applies on the ASN.1 specification in Section
+ <seealso marker="#Asn1spec">Writing an Exclusive Decode
+ Instruction</seealso>.
</p>
</section>
<section>
<title>Another Example</title>
- <p>In this example we use the same ASN.1 spec as <seealso marker="#Asn1spec">above</seealso>. A valid selective decode
- instruction is:</p>
+ <p>In this example, the same ASN.1 specification as in Section
+ <seealso marker="#Asn1spec">Writing an Exclusive Decode Instruction</seealso>
+ is used. The following is a valid selective decode instruction:</p>
<pre>
{selective_decode,
{'GUI',
@@ -404,16 +430,17 @@ List_Selector = [integer()] </pre>
actions,
possibleActions,
[1],
- handle,number]}]}}.
- </pre>
- <p>The first <c>Decode_Instruction</c>,
+ handle,number]}]}}.</pre>
+ <p>The first instruction,
<c>{selected_decode_Window1,['Window',status,buttonList,[1],number]}</c>
- is commented in the previous section. The instruction
- <c>{selected_decode_Action,['Action',handle,number]}</c> picks
- the component <c>number</c> in the <c>handle</c> component of the type
- <c>Action</c>. If we have the value <c>ValAction = {'Action',17,{'Button',4711,false}}</c> the internal value 4711
- should be picked by <c>selected_decode_Action</c>. In an Erlang
- terminal it looks like:</p>
+ is described in the previous section.</p>
+ <p> The second instruction,
+ <c>{selected_decode_Action,['Action',handle,number]}</c>, takes
+ component <c>number</c> in the <c>handle</c> component of type
+ <c>Action</c>. If the value is
+ <c>ValAction = {'Action',17,{'Button',4711,false}}</c>, the internal
+ value 4711 is to be picked by <c>selected_decode_Action</c>. In an
+ Erlang terminal it looks as follows:</p>
<pre>
ValAction = {'Action',17,{'Button',4711,false}}.
{'Action',17,{'Button',4711,false}}
@@ -423,44 +450,41 @@ ValAction = {'Action',17,{'Button',4711,false}}.
&lt;&lt;48,18,2,1,17,160,13,172,11,171,9,48,7,128,2,18,103,129,1,0&gt;&gt;
9> 'GUI':selected_decode_Action(BinBytes).
{ok,4711}
-10> </pre>
+10></pre>
<p>The third instruction,
<c>['Window',status,actions,possibleActions,[1],handle,number]</c>,
- which is a little more complicated,</p>
+ works as follows:</p>
<list type="bulleted">
- <item>starts with type <em>Window</em>. </item>
- <item>Picks component <em>status</em> of <c>Window</c> that is
- of type <c>Status</c>.</item>
- <item>Then takes component <em>actions</em> of type
+ <item><em>Step 1:</em> Starts with type <c>Window</c>.</item>
+ <item><em>Step 2:</em> Takes component <c>status</c> of <c>Window</c>
+ that is of type <c>Status</c>.</item>
+ <item><em>Step 3:</em> Takes <em>actions</em> of type
<c>Status</c>.</item>
- <item>Then <em>possibleActions</em> of the internal defined
- CHOICE type.</item>
- <item>Thereafter it goes into the first component of the
- SEQUENCE OF by <em>[1]</em>. That component is of type
- <c>Action</c>.</item>
- <item>The instruction next picks component
- <em>handle</em>.</item>
- <item>And finally component <em>number</em> of the type
+ <item><em>Step 4:</em> Takes <c>possibleActions</c> of the internally
+ defined <c>CHOICE</c> type.</item>
+ <item><em>Step 5:</em> Goes into the first component of
+ <c>SEQUENCE OF</c> by <c>[1]</c>. That component is of type
+ <c>Action</c>.</item>
+ <item><em>Step 6:</em> Takes component <c>handle</c>.</item>
+ <item><em>Step 7:</em> Takes component <c>number</c> of type
<c>Button</c>.</item>
</list>
- <p>The following figures shows which components are in the
- TypeList
- <c>['Window',status,actions,possibleActions,[1],handle,number]</c>. And
- which part of a message that will be decoded by
- selected_decode_Window2.
- </p>
+ <p>The following figure shows which components are in <c>TypeList</c>
+ <c>['Window',status,actions,possibleActions,[1],handle,number]</c>:</p>
<p></p>
<image file="selective_TypeList.gif">
- <icaption>The elements specified in the config file for selective decode of a sub-value in a Window message</icaption>
+ <icaption>Elements Specified in Configuration File for Selective Decode of a Subvalue in a Window Message</icaption>
</image>
+ <p>In the following figure, only the marked element is decoded by
+ <c>selected_decode_Window2</c>:</p>
<p></p>
<image file="selective_Window2.gif">
- <icaption>Figure symbolizes the bytes of a Window:status message. Only the marked element is decoded when selected_decode_Window2 is called. </icaption>
+ <icaption>Bytes of a Window:status Message</icaption>
</image>
- <p>With the following example you can examine that both
+ <p>With the following example, you can examine that both
<c>selected_decode_Window2</c> and
- <c>selected_decode_Window1</c> decodes the intended sub-value
- of the value <c>Val</c></p>
+ <c>selected_decode_Window1</c> decodes the intended subvalue
+ of value <c>Val</c>:</p>
<pre>
1> Val = {'Window',{status,{'Status',12,
[{'Button',13,true},
@@ -478,8 +502,8 @@ ValAction = {'Action',17,{'Button',4711,false}}.
4> 'GUI':selected_decode_Window1(Bin).
{ok,13}
5> 'GUI':selected_decode_Window2(Bin).
-{ok,18} </pre>
- <p>Observe that the value feed into the selective decode
+{ok,18}</pre>
+ <p>Notice that the value fed into the selective decode
functions must be a binary.
</p>
</section>
@@ -489,19 +513,19 @@ ValAction = {'Action',17,{'Button',4711,false}}.
<title>Performance</title>
<p>To give an indication on the possible performance gain using
the specialized decodes, some measures have been performed. The
- relative figures in the outcome between selective, exclusive and
- complete decode (the normal case) depends on the structure of
- the type, the size of the message and on what level the
+ relative figures in the outcome between selective, exclusive, and
+ complete decode (the normal case) depend on the structure of
+ the type, the size of the message, and on what level the
selective and exclusive decodes are specified.
</p>
<section>
- <title>ASN.1 Specifications, Messages and Configuration</title>
- <p>The specs <seealso marker="#Asn1spec">GUI</seealso> and
+ <title>ASN.1 Specifications, Messages, and Configuration</title>
+ <p>The specifications <seealso marker="#Asn1spec">GUI</seealso> and
<url href="http://www.itu.int/ITU-T/asn1/database/itu-t/h/h248/2002/MEDIA-GATEWAY-CONTROL.html">MEDIA-GATEWAY-CONTROL</url>
- was used in the test.
+ were used in the test.
</p>
- <p>For the GUI spec the configuration looked like:</p>
+ <p>For the <c>GUI</c> specification the configuration was as follows:</p>
<pre>
{selective_decode,
{'GUI',
@@ -523,9 +547,8 @@ ValAction = {'Action',17,{'Button',4711,false}}.
['Window',
[{status,
[{buttonList,parts},
- {actions,undecoded}]}]]}]}}.
- </pre>
- <p>The MEDIA-GATEWAY-CONTROL configuration was:</p>
+ {actions,undecoded}]}]]}]}}.</pre>
+ <p>The <c>MEDIA-GATEWAY-CONTROL</c> configuration was as follows:</p>
<pre>
{exclusive_decode,
{'MEDIA-GATEWAY-CONTROL',
@@ -538,9 +561,8 @@ ValAction = {'Action',17,{'Button',4711,false}}.
{selective_decode,
{'MEDIA-GATEWAY-CONTROL',
[{decode_MegacoMessage_selective,
- ['MegacoMessage',mess,version]}]}}.
- </pre>
- <p>The corresponding values were:</p>
+ ['MegacoMessage',mess,version]}]}}.</pre>
+ <p>The corresponding values were as follows:</p>
<pre>
{'Window',{status,{'Status',12,
[{'Button',13,true},
@@ -649,177 +671,178 @@ ValAction = {'Action',17,{'Button',4711,false}}.
{'StatisticsParameter',[0,11,0,3],[[52,53,49,48,48]]},
{'StatisticsParameter',[0,12,0,6],[[48,46,50]]},
{'StatisticsParameter',[0,12,0,7],[[50,48]]},
- {'StatisticsParameter',[0,12,0,8],[[52,48]]}]}]}}}]}]}}}]}}}
- </pre>
- <p>The size of the encoded values was 458 bytes for GUI and 464
- bytes for MEDIA-GATEWAY-CONTROL.
+ {'StatisticsParameter',[0,12,0,8],[[52,48]]}]}]}}}]}]}}}]}}}</pre>
+ <p>The size of the encoded values was 458 bytes for <c>GUI</c> and 464
+ bytes for <c>MEDIA-GATEWAY-CONTROL</c>.
</p>
</section>
<section>
<title>Results</title>
- <p>The ASN.1 specs in the test are compiled with the options
- <c>ber_bin, optimize, driver</c> and <c>asn1config</c>. If the
- <c>driver</c> option had been omitted there should have been
+ <p>The ASN.1 specifications in the test were compiled with options
+ <c>ber_bin, optimize, driver</c> and <c>asn1config</c>. Omitting
+ option <c>driver</c> gives
higher values for <c>decode</c> and <c>decode_part</c>. These tests have
- not been re-run using nifs, but are expected to perform about 5% better
+ not been rerun using NIFs, but are expected to perform about 5% better
than the linked-in driver.
</p>
<p>The test program runs 10000 decodes on the value, resulting
- in a printout with the elapsed time in microseconds for the
+ in an output with the elapsed time in microseconds for the
total number of decodes.
</p>
<table>
<row>
<cell align="left" valign="top"><em>Function</em></cell>
- <cell align="left" valign="top"><em>Time</em>(microseconds)</cell>
- <cell align="left" valign="top"><em>Kind of Decode</em></cell>
- <cell align="left" valign="top"><em>ASN.1 spec</em></cell>
- <cell align="left" valign="top"><em>% of time vs. complete decode</em></cell>
+ <cell align="left" valign="top"><em>Time</em> (microseconds)</cell>
+ <cell align="left" valign="top"><em>Decode Type</em></cell>
+ <cell align="left" valign="top"><em>ASN.1 Specification</em></cell>
+ <cell align="left" valign="top"><em>% of Time versus Complete Decode</em></cell>
</row>
<row>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>decode_MegacoMessage_selective/1</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>374045</c></cell>
- <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>selective</c></cell>
+ <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>Selective</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>MEDIA-GATEWAY-CONTROL</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><em>8.3</em></cell>
</row>
<row>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>decode_MegacoMessage_exclusive/1</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>621107</c></cell>
- <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>exclusive</c></cell>
+ <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>Exclusive</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>MEDIA-GATEWAY-CONTROL</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><em>13.8</em></cell>
</row>
<row>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>decode/2</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>4507457</c></cell>
- <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>complete</c></cell>
+ <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>Complete</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>MEDIA-GATEWAY-CONTROL</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><em>100</em></cell>
</row>
<row>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>selected_decode_Window1/1</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>449585</c></cell>
- <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>selective</c></cell>
+ <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>Selective</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>GUI</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><em>7.6</em></cell>
</row>
<row>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>selected_decode_Window2/1</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>890666</c></cell>
- <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>selective</c></cell>
+ <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>Selective</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>GUI</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><em>15.1</em></cell>
</row>
<row>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>decode_Window_status_exclusive/1</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>1251878</c></cell>
- <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>exclusive</c></cell>
+ <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>Exclusive</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>GUI</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><em>21.3</em></cell>
</row>
<row>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>decode/2</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>5889197</c></cell>
- <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>complete</c></cell>
+ <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>Complete</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>GUI</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><em>100</em></cell>
</row>
- <tcaption>Results of complete, exclusive and selective decode</tcaption>
+ <tcaption>Results of Complete, Exclusive, and Selective Decode</tcaption>
</table>
- <p>Another interesting question is what the relation is between
+ <p>It is also of interest to know the relation is between
a complete decode, an exclusive decode followed by
- <c>decode_part</c> of the excluded parts and a selective decode
- followed by a complete decode. Some situations may be compared to
- this simulation, e.g. inspect a sub-value and later on look at
+ <c>decode_part</c> of the excluded parts, and a selective decode
+ followed by a complete decode. Some situations can be compared to
+ this simulation, for example, inspect a subvalue and later inspect
the entire value. The following table shows figures from this
- test. The number of loops and time unit is the same as in the
+ test. The number of loops and the time unit are the same as in the
previous test.
</p>
<table>
<row>
<cell align="left" valign="top"><em>Actions</em></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="top"><em>Function</em>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</cell>
- <cell align="left" valign="top"><em>Time</em>(microseconds)</cell>
- <cell align="left" valign="top"><em>ASN.1 spec</em></cell>
- <cell align="left" valign="top"><em>% of time vs. complete decode</em></cell>
+ <cell align="left" valign="top"><em>Time</em> (microseconds)</cell>
+ <cell align="left" valign="top"><em>ASN.1 Specification</em></cell>
+ <cell align="left" valign="top"><em>% of Time vs. Complete Decode</em></cell>
</row>
<row>
- <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>complete</c></cell>
+ <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>Complete</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>decode/2</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>4507457</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>MEDIA-GATEWAY-CONTROL</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><em>100</em></cell>
</row>
<row>
- <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>selective and complete</c></cell>
+ <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>Selective and Complete</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>decode_&shy;MegacoMessage_&shy;selective/1</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>4881502</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>MEDIA-GATEWAY-CONTROL</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><em>108.3</em></cell>
</row>
<row>
- <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>exclusive and decode_part</c></cell>
+ <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>Exclusive and decode_part</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>decode_&shy;MegacoMessage_&shy;exclusive/1</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>5481034</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>MEDIA-GATEWAY-CONTROL</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><em>112.3</em></cell>
</row>
<row>
- <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>complete</c></cell>
+ <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>Complete</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>decode/2</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>5889197</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>GUI</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><em>100</em></cell>
</row>
<row>
- <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>selective and complete</c></cell>
+ <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>Selective and Complete</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>selected_&shy;decode_&shy;Window1/1</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>6337636</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>GUI</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><em>107.6</em></cell>
</row>
<row>
- <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>selective and complete</c></cell>
+ <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>Selective and Complete</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>selected_&shy;decode_&shy;Window2/1</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>6795319</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>GUI</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><em>115.4</em></cell>
</row>
<row>
- <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>exclusive and decode_part</c></cell>
+ <cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>Exclusive and decode_part</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>decode_&shy;Window_&shy;status_&shy;exclusive/1</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>6249200</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><c>GUI</c></cell>
<cell align="left" valign="middle"><em>106.1</em></cell>
</row>
- <tcaption>Results of complete, exclusive + decode_part and selective + complete decodes</tcaption>
+ <tcaption>Results of Complete, Exclusive + decode_part, and Selective + complete decodes</tcaption>
</table>
<p>Other ASN.1 types and values can differ much from these
- figures. Therefore it is important that you, in every case where
+ figures. It is therefore important that you, in every case where
you intend to use either of these decodes, perform some tests
- that shows if you will benefit your purpose.
+ that show if you will benefit your purpose.
</p>
</section>
<section>
- <title>Comments</title>
- <p>Generally speaking the gain of selective and exclusive decode
- in advance of complete decode is greater the bigger value and the
- less deep in the structure you have to decode. One should also
- prefer selective decode instead of exclusive decode if you are
- interested in just one single sub-value.</p>
- <p>Another observation is that the exclusive decode followed by
- decode_part decodes is very attractive if the parts will be sent
- to different servers for decoding or if one in some cases not is
- interested in all parts.</p>
- <p>The fastest selective decode are when the decoded type is a
+ <title>Final Remarks</title>
+ <list type="bulleted">
+ <item>The gain of using selective and exclusive decode instead of a
+ complete decode is greater the bigger the value and the
+ less deep in the structure you have to decode.</item>
+ <item>Use selective decode instead of exclusive decode if you are
+ interested in only a single subvalue.</item>
+ <item>Exclusive decode followed by
+ <c>decode_part</c> decodes is attractive if the parts are sent
+ to different servers for decoding, or if you in some cases are not
+ interested in all parts.</item>
+ <item>The fastest selective decode is when the decoded type is a
primitive type and not so deep in the structure of the top
- type. The <c>selected_decode_Window2</c> decodes a big constructed
- value, which explains why this operation is relatively slow.</p>
- <p>It may vary from case to case which combination of
- selective/complete decode or exclusive/part decode is the fastest.</p>
+ type. <c>selected_decode_Window2</c> decodes a high constructed
+ value, which explains why this operation is relatively slow.</item>
+ <item>It can vary from case to case which combination of
+ selective/complete decode or exclusive/part decode is the fastest.</item>
+ </list>
</section>
</section>
</chapter>