From spencerj@dg-rtp.dg.com Thu Jun 1 07:09:18 1995 Received: from dg-rtp.dg.com (dg-rtp.rtp.dg.com) by dkuug.dk with SMTP id AA17833 (5.65c8/IDA-1.4.4j for ); Thu, 1 Jun 1995 17:09:18 +0200 Received: from splinter.rtp.dg.com by dg-rtp.dg.com (5.4R2.01/dg-rtp-v02) id AA10566; Thu, 1 Jun 1995 11:08:05 -0400 Received: by splinter (5.4R4.00/rtp-s04) id AA18617; Thu, 1 Jun 1995 11:09:20 -0400 From: spencerj@dg-rtp.dg.com (Jon Spencer) Message-Id: <9506011509.AA18617@splinter> Subject: Re: (wg15tag 974) (SC22WG15.534) CPWG Motion Re: JTC1 Document Formatting Requirements To: dave@revcan.ca (David Blackwood) Date: Thu, 1 Jun 95 11:09:18 EDT Cc: csa-cpl@math.uwaterloo.ca, gwarren@vnet.ibm.com, sc22wg15@dkuug.dk In-Reply-To: <199506010321.AA02236@dkuug.dk>; from "David Blackwood" at May 31, 95 11:18 pm X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.3 PL11] X-Charset: ASCII X-Char-Esc: 29 You may be interested to note that the 1003.1e and 1003.2c drafts (security) are being converted to HTML and Word 6.0a to support this move to SGML. AFter this process is completed (in the next two weeks), the tools and styles will be made available to the community, and 9945-1 and 9945-2 will be converted. If this is supported and successful, we can be well along the path to SGML within a year. Currently, Word only supports HTML 2, but we rally need HTML 3 as a minimum. I am in communication with Microsoft to see if they will update their tools to support HTML 3, and eventually full SGML. At this point, it seems that they may be headed along this path. > > The following motion was recently passed by the Canadian POSIX Working > Group and is being forwarded to you for your information and action as > requested in the motion. > > Motion: The Canadian POSIX Working Group strongly objects to the > approach taken in the matter of the new JTC1 Electronic Document > Formatting requirements (ISO/IEC JTC1 N 3413, ISO/IEC JTC1/SC22 N > 1808, ISO/IEC JTC1 N 3284 revised, etc.) because it not only ignores > the existence of the POSIX family of standards but also of other ISO > standards such as SGML which could more easily and more appropriately > have been specified for this requirement. The insistence on the use of > the proprietary Microsoft MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Word for > Windows (or Novell WordPerfect for Windows), and Microsoft RTF is > considered to be unreasonable, unjustified, and a personal affront to > those who have worked on developing vendor independent standards. CPWG > asks the CSA/CPL, WG15 and the Canadian representatives to SC22 and > JTC1 to protest this decision most strongly and requests that a > timetable be established for conversion to SGML and the distribution of > a recommended Document Type Definition. A failure by JTC1 to rescind > this decision and to respect existing ISO standards would likely result > in the withdrawal from the standards process of several of the Canadian > technical experts as well as the organizations that they represent. It > is also worth noting that Microsoft has been neither a participant nor > a contributor to the open systems standards process in Canada, yet this > decision will make them a major beneficiary of these efforts. > > David Blackwood > Chairman, Canadian POSIX Working Group > Canadian Head of Delegation to ISO/IEC JTC1/SC22/WG15 > -- > David J. Blackwood > Systems Integration Manager Room 1139, 400 Cumberland Street > Inter-Office Communications Section Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0L8 > Office Communications Division Voice: 613 957-9305 Fax: 613 952-1095 > Revenue Canada Internet: dave@revcan.ca > -- Jon F. Spencer spencerj@rtp.dg.com (uunet!rtp.dg.com!spencerj) Data General Corp. Phone : (919)248-6246 62 T.W. Alexander Dr, MS #119 FAX : (919)248-6108 or 6352 or 5942 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 Office RTP 116/3 Reality is an illusion - perception is what counts. There is no amount of success that can compensate for failure at home.