Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!nrl-cmf!cmcl2!yale!decvax!ucbvax!SPAM.ISTC.SRI.COM!kozel
From: kozel@SPAM.ISTC.SRI.COM (Edward R. Kozel)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: Re:  protocol verification
Message-ID: <8802091905.AA01201@zippy>
Date: 9 Feb 88 19:05:21 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 9

Art,
	I could not agree more with you.  Validation of a protocol
based on the formal specification is certainly fundamental but does
not ensure either proper operation or interoperability.  As another
observation, I know of one officially validated DDN X.25 
implementation which broke when put into actual operation, yet it
passed the DCA protocol tests.  "Bake offs", while perhaps colloquial,
serve a very useful and important function.

Ed Kozel