Is to

Question

Is it which usage of "is to", please?"Access transparency deals with hiding differences in data representation and the way that resources can be accessed by users. At a basic level, we wish to hide differences in machine architectures, but more important is that we reach agreement on how data is to be represented by different machines and operating systems."

GPY · Accepted Answer

This is an example of the verb pattern "be to + infinitive", which is a way of talking about what will happen in the future, especially when something is planned or arranged or destined to happen.

See also https://blog.abaenglish.com/advanced-grammar-to-be-to/

CalifJim · Answer

anonymous~~Is it which usage of "is to", please?~~
Which usage of "is to" is this, please?

I didn't know there was more than one usage of "is to".

"is to" is usually translatable as "is supposed to", "is going to", or some such paraphrase. "will" is also a good translation.

In this case, however, I sense that "should" is just as good a paraphrase as "will".

... how data [is to / is supposed to / will / should] be represented ...

CJ

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