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1 + ## Prompt:
2 + help me understand what "orthogonally" means in below context
3 +
4 + But there's a corner case that can be somewhat confusing here, and it's one that I managed to crash into multiple times when I was implementing some code that works with this. Keys can be "possessed" by a process, and have permissions that are granted to the possessor orthogonally to any permissions granted to the user or group that owns the key.
5 +
6 + ## Response:
7 + Let me break this down in the context of system permissions and keys.
8 +
9 + When something is done "orthogonally" in technical contexts, it means it operates independently or perpendicular to another aspect - like two systems or sets of rules that work completely separately from each other without affecting each other.
10 +
11 + In this specific case about key permissions:
12 +
13 + 1. There's one set of permissions based on who owns the key (user/group ownership)
14 + 2. There's a separate set of permissions given to whoever currently possesses/holds the key
15 + 3. These two sets of permissions operate completely independently of each other
16 +
17 + To use an analogy: Think of a house key. There's:
18 +
19 + * The legal owner of the house (ownership permissions)
20 + * The current person holding the key (possession permissions)
21 +
22 + These are "orthogonal" because:
23 +
24 + * The owner's rights to the house exist regardless of who has the key
25 + * The key-holder's ability to enter exists regardless of who owns the house
26 + * One set of rights doesn't affect or interfere with the other
27 +
28 + So in the code context, when they say permissions are granted "orthogonally," they mean the possessor's permissions exist and function completely independently from the owner's permissions - they're separate systems that don't influence each other.
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