The two rules \ruleref{inv-open} and \ruleref{inv-open-timeless} above may look a little surprising, in the sense that it is not clear on first sight how they would be applied.
The rules are the first \emph{accessors} that show up in this document.
One way to think about such assertions is as follows:
Given some accessor, if during our verification we have the assertion $\prop$ and the mask $\mask_1$ available, we can use the accessor to \emph{access}$\propB$ and obtain the witness $\var$.
We call this \emph{opening} the accessor, and it changes the mask to $\mask_2$.
Additionally, opening the accessor provides us with $\All\varB. \propB' \vsW[\mask_2][\mask_1]\propC$, a \emph{linear view shift} (\ie a view shift that can only be used once).
This linear view shift tells us that in order to \emph{close} the accessor again and go back to mask $\mask_1$, we have to pick some $\varB$ and establish the corresponding $\propB'$.
After closing, we will obtain $\propC$.
Using \ruleref{vs-trans} and \ruleref{Ht-atomic} (or the correspond proof rules for view updates and weakest preconditions), we can show that it is possible to open an accessor around any view shift and any \emph{atomic} expression.
Furthermore, in the special case that $\mask_1=\mask_2$, the accessor can be opened around \emph{any} expression.
For this reason, we also call such accessors \emph{non-atomic}.
The reasons accessors are useful is that they let us talk about ``opening X'' (\eg ``opening invariants'') without having to care what X is opened around.
Furthermore, as we construct more sophisticated and more interesting things that can be opened (\eg invariants that can be ``cancelled'', or STSs), accessors become a useful interface that allows us to mix and match different abstractions in arbitrary ways.
\ralf{This would be much more convincing if we had forward references here to sections describing canellable invariants and STSs.}
