mapbox / mapbox/vector-tile-spec

Null values should be allowed

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3.0 Specification enhancement
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Description

2.1 specifies:

In order to support values of varying string, boolean, integer, and floating point types, the protobuf encoding of the value field consists of a set of optional fields. A value MUST contain exactly one of these optional fields.

The text "MUST contain exactly one" effectively prohibits null values. I think this was unintended, and the text should read "MUST contain either zero of these optional fields, in which case the value shall be interpreted as an untyped "null" value, or exactly one of them."

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Research direction

Start with section 2.1 of the vector tile specification and locate the sentence requiring exactly one optional field. Update the wording to allow zero fields for an untyped null value while retaining the exactly-one rule for typed values; the section should clearly define both valid cases.

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Assessment

Domain
documentation
Issue type
Documentation
Difficulty
1/5
Estimated time
Under an hour
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
45/100

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