Update presentation from USENIX standards BOF

[Moderator, John S. Quarterman]

From: Dominic Dunlop <uunet!sphinx.co.uk!domo>

A Birds-of-a-feather (BOF) session on the subject of standards was held on
the 13th June, prior to the opening of the Usenix conference in Baltimore. 
The BOF was hosted by John Quarterman and myself.  The following is not a
report on the BOF, but an amended version of the materials that I
presented to set the scene and bring people up to date.

Those who attended the BOF will see few substantive changes.  The main
amendment is the correction of the omission of a ballot date for IEEE
1003.8 on transparent file access.

Dominic Dunlop
EUUG/USENIX reporter on activities of ISO POSIX working group
domo at sphinx.co.uk

 
 1.	Information Technology Standardization
		A lightning tour
		Dominic Dunlop

 2.	Standards: Boring and Confusing

		(Extract from European UNIX systems User Group Newsletter
		stating that reporter at spring conference in Brussels
		had to go and lie down after attending half-day session
		on standards.)

 3.	World IT Standardization Map

		(Picture -- not susceptible to reproduction in a text
		file -- showing relationship between International
		Organisation for Standardization (ISO), International
		Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and other world
		standards bodies.  Together, IEC and ISO have formed
		Joint Technical Committee 1 (JTC1) to deal with matters
		concerning information technology standards.)

 4.	European IT Standardization Map

		(Another picture showing how complex matters are in
		Europe.  I suspect there is similar complex structure in
		the USA and on the Pacific rim, and would like to hear
		from anybody who can provide information on bodies
		concerned with standardization in those areas.)

 5.	UK IT Standardization Map

		(Third picture showing that there is complex structure
		even within the United Kingdom.)

 6.	A Simplified View of International Standardization

	(This was an organization chart in the presentation.  Use your
	imagination...)

		World Standards Body: has membership consisting of...

			National Standards Body: which recognises  
				Accredited Body: as expert on one subject
				Accredited Body: (on another subject...)

			National Standards Body (and so on...)
				Accredited Body
				Accredited Body...

 7.	World Information Technology Standardization
	
	(Another org. chart)

		ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1: consists of

			Advisory Group: coordinating

			Subcommittee 1: Vocabulary

			SC2: Character sets: with several working groups
				Working Group 1: Advisory group
				WG4: Fundamental terms (and so on...)

			SC6: Telecommunications (and so on, up to...)

			SC21: OSI 

			SC22: Languages: 
				Working Group 2: Pascal (and so on...)
				WG 15: POSIX

	Note that some SCs do not exist (eg SC3), neither do some WGs
	(eg SC22 WG1).

 8.	World POSIX Standardization

	(A third org. chart, with just one box at each of four levels)

		ISO/IEC JTC1 SC22 WG15 (POSIX) takes base materials from

			US ISO/IEC member Body (ANSI) adopts standard by

				ANSI Accredited Body (IEEE) writes 1003.x

					(/usr/group Internationalization
					Working Group gives some input)

	(/usr/group included here as its work specifically addresses
	areas of IEEE/ANSI Std. 1003.1, 1988 which require attention
	before it can be acceptable as an international standard.)

 9.	Working Group 15 Membership:

	(Last org. chart -- abbreviations are names of ISO member bodies,
	that is, national standards organizations)

		Austria (ON)
	      *	Canada (SCC)
	      *	Denmark (DS)
	      *	France (AFNOR)
		Germany (DIN)
	      *	Japan (JISC)
		Netherlands (NNI)
	      *	United Kingdom (BSI) (invited experts to May 89 meeting:
		      *	EUUG/USENIX
		      *	X/Open)

	      *	USA (ANSI -- working group chair) (invited expert from
		      *	UNIX International)

	* Represented at May 1989 meeting of JTC1/SC22/WG15

10.	ISO POSIX Status following May 89 meeting of WG15:

		IEEE/ANSI 1003.1 1988 is basis for ISO Std. 9945.1

		IEEE P1003.2 draft 9 (if ready by September, otherwise
		draft 8) to be basis for ISO Std. 9945.2

		Further standards as IEEE work in additional areas nears
		completion

11.	IEEE Ballot Completion Target Dates

	1003.0	Open System Environment				None
	1003.1	Portable Operating System			Complete
	1003.2	Shell and Tools					Q1, 90
	1003.3	Test Methods					Q1, 90
	1003.4	Real Time Extensions				Q4, 90
	1003.5	Ada  Bindings					Q4, 90
	1003.6	Security Extensions				Q4, 90
	1003.7	System Administration				Q3, 91
	1003.8	Distribution Services (Transparent File Access)	Q2, 90
	1003.9	FORTRAN Bindings				Q3, 90
	1003.10	Supercomputing Application Environment Profile	None
	1003.11	Transaction Procession AEP			None
	1201.1	X Window Toolkit Application Programming	Q2, 91
	1201.2	X Window Recommended Practice			Q2, 91

12.	Additional IEEE Ballot End Targets

	1003.1	Operating System (clean up)			Q4, 89
	1003.1	Operating System (supplement)			Q3, 90
	1003.2	Shell and Tools (User Programming Environment)	Q2, 91
	1003.8	Distribution Services (X.400 messaging)		Q1, 91
	1003.8	Distribution Services (FTAM)			None*
	1003.8	Distribution Services (Point to Point)		Q3, 91
	1003.8	Distribution Services (Remote Procedure Call)	None+

	*	Work commences in 1990
	+	Work commences in 1991
-- 
Dominic Dunlop
The Standard Answer Ltd., using Sphinx' facilities (for which much thanks)
domo at sphinx.co.uk

Volume-Number: Volume 16, Number 56