On Thu, Jul 02, 2020 at 05:58:19PM +0000, Lutz Donnerhacke via db-wg wrote:

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I'd suggest to remove the crippled parser from the records in the first step. Even if someone tries to use the data-set, it's not even possible to bring in correct data. How do you expect an adoption under this condition?

So, my primary question: Where is the source code and how to contribute? Secondary question: Can we first declare the fields as free from text fields, before removing them?

What is the benefit of declaring such fields 'free form'?

RFC 2622 requires to accept attributes which are not defined in the dictionary during paring. Of course, then the parser has no ability to validate the arguments or the allowed operators. It should issue a warning or ignore the attribute. Unfortunately the current parser in the RIPE DB has a different understanding of RPSL: it does not even allow attributes defined in the RFC (i.e. next-hop, protocols). So it's not possible to fill the aut-num with valid RPSL, or even adding new attributes. As long as the parser is broken, the field might be not validated (or issue a warning instead of an error). And the parser should be fixed. That's why I'm asking for the location of the source code.