> Some folks are trying to kill ASN.1. It is probably an awkward moment for that, when people are looking at binary encodings more because JSON is boring and do

> Some folks are trying to kill ASN.1. It is probably an awkward moment for that, when people are looking at binary encodings more because JSON is boring and doesn't stand out on a CV. It's got all the hallmarks of old tech that looks like it's survived on its merits, but it really isn't like that. I think it's rather more than this. ASN.1 is deeply embedded in daily life: 3G/4G/LTE/5G, V2X, and many other protocols are specified in ASN.1. The inertia has as much to do with backwards compatibility as anything else. If you need to read call data records, you have to parse BER; if you want to deal with vehicle to vehicle communications you have to parse OER. 3G protocols are generally PER. Crypto is DER. Are there alternatives that are better in some respects? Sure. Are they likely to supplant existing telecommunications standards? No. Should move away from ASN.1 for crypto purposes? Probably, though I'm not experienced enough to have a strong opinion. I'd be interested to see whether we could install a new standard in a suitable time frame, and indeed what form that would take. (In the two links you cited, I didn't see anything, but I'm actually really interested!) I think ASN.1 is probably here to stay for a long time, and not merely as a resume polishing agent.