ASN.1 Versus Other Data Structure Definition Schemes
Since it is commonly used for defining messages for communication protocols, ASN.1, with its associated encoding rules, results in a binary encoding.
Other communication protocols, such as Internet protocols HTTP and SMTP, define messages using text tags and values, sometimes based on the Augmented Backus-Naur form (ABNF) notation. The definition also defines the encoding, which is in text.
There has been much debate over the two approaches, and both have their merits; the ASN.1 approach is believed to be more efficient, and with Packed Encoding Rules, certainly provides a more compact encoding. The textual approach is claimed to be easier to implement (through creation and parsing of text strings) and easier to debug, as one can simply read an encoded message. In the case of the Megaco protocol, consensus between the two points of view was not reached and so two encodings, one based on ASN.1 and one on ABNF, were defined.
The ASN.1 XML Encoding Rules (XER) attempts to bridge the gap by providing a textual encoding of data structures defined using ASN.1 notation. Generic String Encoding Rules were also defined for the sole purpose of presenting and inputting data to/from a user.
Read more about this topic: Abstract Syntax Notation One
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