From the beginning of this project, there have been two key ideas that have helped focus our attention and refine our design. First, there is simply no reasonable way for us to write a security package that will perform every task that we felt was necessary to create a truly satisfactory security package. Second, if we waited, no one else was going to write something like COPS for us. Thus, we forged ahead with the design and construction of a solid, basic security package that could be easily expanded. We have tried to stress certain important principles in the design of the system, so that the expansion and evolution of COPS will continue to provide a workable tool.
COPS was written to be rewritten. Every part of the package is designed to be replaced easily; every program has room for improvement. The framework has room for many more checks. It seems remarkable that a system as simple as this finds so many flaws in a typical installation! Nonetheless, we have thought of a number of possible extensions and additions to the system; these are described in the following sections.