On Mon, Mar 04, 2002 at 02:48:46PM +0100, Richard Levitte - VMS Whacker wrote:
> From: John Viega <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> 
> viega> I think it's a good idea to make algorithms easy to cut out.
> 
> I disagree.  We currently have a rather big compatibility mess with
> libdes for the simple reason that libdes exists both as it's own
> library and as part of SSLeay/OpenSSL.  Unfortunately, certain things,
> like the definition of DES_LONG, differ between libdes and
> SSLeay/OpenSSL on some platforms.  Not good.

Is this because they are maintained separately?

> I'm not sure why you need to yank out source when it's just as easy to
> link with libcrypto and make sure you only use the specific
> algorithms.  In such a case, one should avoid using things like
> EVP_get_cipherbyname() since that requires that all compiled
> algorithms be linked in.

I was thinking more of environments where dynamic linking doesn't
exist, or everything you need has to be stored in a limited amount of
space like a floppy or some sort of solid-state memory device.  This
is somewhat common.

Off the top of my head, I don't see why a well-organized library
couldn't have well-compartmentalized algorithms that can be easily
ripped out, yet are all accessible through a generic interface such as
EVP.  That is, I don't see any disadvantage to such an approach,
especially if there's no fear of people breaking out little parts and
maintaining them separately.

John
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