To: sc22wg15@dkuug.dk Subject: Liaison statement from SGFS to WG15 on National Profiles Date: Thu, 14 Jul 94 14:40:59 N From: Willem Wakker The following liaison statement was approved by SGFS at the last Plenary, and will be forwarded to WG15. ======================================================================== SGFS N1180 Title: Liaison statement to SC22/WG15 on National Locale issues Source: Meeting of ISO/IEC JTC1/SGFS, 13-17 June, 1994, Cannes, France 1. SGFS has reviewed Resolution 94/269 from ISO/IEC JTC1/SC22/WG15 and the accompanying document WG15 N470 (in SGFS N1129) on the subject of POSIX National Profiles. These are profiles that combine international POSIX specifications with specifications of national locales, which may be published as national or regional standards. 2. Three issues have been identified: - how compatibility can be maintained between the National Profiles for different countries or regions; - whether the POSIX National Profiles should be published as ISPs, and if so how they should be processed; - the criteria to be satisfied for publication. 3. On the first issue, SGFS suggests that such incompatibilities could be avoided by developing one specification for the common part of all the "national profiles", and then adding the specification of the national locales in the individual "national profiles". Thus each "national profile" would make reference to the common specification, and add such other references as necessary to complete the national or regional element of the specification. The common part could be processed as an ISP. 4. On the second issue, SGFS understands that SC22/WG15 regards it as important that such profiles can be published as ISPs so that they can be made accessible and visible to interested parties world-wide, and that this is currently precluded since the SGFS process does not allow reference from ISPs to national or regional standards. 5. SGFS notes that some confusion has been caused by the fact that the words "national profile" suggest something intended for publication as a national standard rather than internationally. SGFS suggests that a different term might remove this confusion, for example "POSIX Profile incorporating a National Locale". 6. SGFS accepts the arguments of SC22/WG15 that POSIX National Profiles should be processed as ISPs, and supports that objective. Specifically, SGFS accepts that, at least in this case, there is a need for a means for making normative references to specifications in standards from National Bodies of ISO/IEC. 7. SGFS has brought these issues to the attention of JTC 1/WG-DFS.