I’m repeating this form another post, just because it’s an opinion of mine that symmetrically addresses both questions:
I think the questions on adding metadata like colorspace conversions, vs the keeping integer/halfs/floats paves the way to an integrated philosophy, whose main driver, in my opinion, is which applications should CLF be designed to work natively with
- If low-computability devices (LUTboxes, monitors, etc.) are in-scope as well, to be able to read and use a CLF, then integers and half-floats should be kept, whereas references to colorspace transforms and higher-level color operators (possibly with the exclusion of CDLs) should be removed.
- If CLF should be elective format to only “devices” with some computational power, conversely, higher-level operators should be factored-in, while integers/halfs may be let go without a tear, as those higher-power applications may be demanded to do the back-end conversions (in an as-much-as-possible controlled/pre-determined way).