theupdateframework / theupdateframework/specification

Are targets lengths optional or not?

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Description

In Section 5.6.2 of the current spec, we say:

5.6.2. Otherwise, download the target (up to the number of bytes specified in the targets metadata), and verify that its hashes match the targets metadata. (We download up to this number of bytes, because in some cases, the exact number is unknown. This may happen, for example, if an external program is used to compute the root hash of a tree of targets files, and this program does not provide the total size of all of these files.)

But in Section 4.5 of the same spec, we say:

TARGETS is an object whose format is the following:

   { TARGETPATH : {
         "length" : LENGTH,
         "hashes" : HASHES,
         ("custom" : CUSTOM) }
     , ...
   }

So, are targets lengths optional or not?

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Research direction

Read Sections 4.5 and 5.6.2 in the linked tuf-spec.md revision and review the discussion for the competing interpretations. Determine whether target lengths are required or optional, then update the specification so both sections and their surrounding explanation agree.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
documentation
Issue type
Documentation
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
20/100

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