History and definition of the term 'principal'?

John Denker jsd at av8n.com
Wed Apr 26 15:20:38 EDT 2006


Hadmut Danisch wrote:

> is anyone aware of a general and precise definition of the term 
> 'principal' (as a noun) in the context of security?

Its use in security does not AFAICT differ from its use in
other contexts, notably law and finance.

I don't see why it is necessary to look beyond an ordinary dictionary.
See definition 5 here:
   http://www.yourdictionary.com/ahd/p/p0563200.html

>   "We generalize this notion by defining the term _principal_ to mean
>   an individual or group of individuals to whom charges are made for
>   the expenditure of system resources. In particular a principal is
>   charged for resources consumed by computations running on his
>   behalf."

That is an application or a corollary of the dictionary definition.
Ditto for the other examples mentioned.

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