[cap-talk] Wikipedia: Object-capability model

[Valerio Bellizzomi]

On 05/01/2007, at 4.25, Ka-Ping Yee wrote:

>I think it's high time Wikipedia had an article entitled
>"Object-capability model".  Here's what i think should go in the
>main definition of the term:
>
>    - Objects access or designate other objects through unforgeable
>      references (pointers).
>
>    - Computation is performed by sending messages along these
>      references to other objects.
>
>    - One comes to have a reference to an object via (a) creation,
>      (b) endowment, or (c) introduction.
>
>Is that enough for a precise definition?

I'd say also that capabilities are communicable tokens,
(and perhaps that they bear object descriptor + access designator?)

>
>(The rest of the article, which i hope you will all help me write,
>can cite systems and papers and compare the specific meaning of
>"object-capability" to the usage of "capability" in security theory
>and the usage of "capability" in practice.)

Since I asked for a capabilities terminology dictionary, in the article I
would define some terms along with the model.

>
>
>-- ?!ng