[Woodi]

> Can the veterans of the 90s SSL Wars explain the issues with ASN1/DER/BER? Looking it up today, it seems like a pretty smart and extensive serialization system, and I have to wonder why new systems like Google Protobufs chose to reinvent the wheel.

Not a SSL or 90s veteran etc but:

- ASN.1 is how OSI was try to jump on object orientation bandwagon - inheritance via text files declarations + types OIDs registration requirement via single entity somewhere on Earth...

- ASN.1 is part of OSI - scientifically-correct attempt of networking standarisation

- ASN.1 is part of OSI which was miraculously dropped exactly when Cold War ended and replaced by much simpler TCP/IP and friends. modulo security parts - that still need to use INSANE formats for passing numbers and strings...

- ASN.1 implementations are guaranteed to be bugged for decades, imo and observations