Unapproved Meeting Minutes BSI IST/5/-/15 (Posix) Panel Date: 8-September-1995 Location: X/Open Company Ltd Apex Plaza Forbury Road Reading RG1 1AX Berks. Those Present: Dave Cannon (Chairman) University of Exeter Martin Kirk X/Open David Rogers OpenVision David Brownbridge Praxis Critical Systems Papers before the meeting: P286 WG15 N576: CCTA letter - POSIX What is the Future? CCTA P287 IST/5/-/15 Agenda, 8-September-1995 P288 IST/5/-/15 Minutes, 19-May-1995 P289 UK Report to ISO WG15, Orlando, 23-27-October P290 JTC1 N3599: NP: Guide for POSIX National Profiles and Locales P291 IST/5/-/15 (Posix) Panel Report to IST/5 DC Papers available at the meeting: P292 EWOS EG-OSE Minutes, 27-29 June 1995 EWOS P293 European POSIX Testing Services: CTS5 POSIX.2 JL Authors: DC David Cannon CCTA Central Comms & Telecoms Agency EWOS European Workshop on Open Systems JL Jon Leigh 0. Apologies Rob Smith NHS Peter Owens CCTA Neil Keskar CSC Computer Sciences Jon Leigh NCC Derek Jones Knowledge Software 1. Adoption of Agenda: P287 Approved as presented. 2. Approval of Minutes: P288 Approved as presented. DB noted that Praxis are now known as 'Praxis Critical Systems'. 3. Matters Arising, including Action items: P286 19-May: Convener to look at providing panel materials on the University of Exeter 'Web server. (Done: 21-July-95) http://www.ex.ac.uk/~DCannon/IST-5-15home.html Panel members are encouraged to use this URL, if they have 'Web access, and advise the administrator via email (links in the 'Web pages) of any errors or omissions that they find. 19-May: The extended discussion on the direction of POSIX, including Applications conformance, served to underline a continuing issue, rather than an action: what is the appropriate way for WG15 to take user input and benefit the industry? How can the process of assimilating user needs and encapsulating them in useful standards be accelerated? Derek Jones, in an email prior to the meeting, indicated that users generally got what they asked for: if they didn't ask for applications conformance, they wouldn't get it. The tools were there, and POSIX makes some provision for requiring Applications conformance. 19-May: Members to read P284 and respond to the email list on any concerns that they have on the use of IS 10646 in POSIX. P284 RIN N146: Use of IS 10646 in Posix Interfaces WG15/RIN MK volunteered to find an X/Open person able to comment on problems of 10646 in POSIX: the panel was referred to 'Universal Multiple-Octet Coded Character Set: Coexistence and Migration' doc E401, published by X/Open. Action: MK to determine possibility of making (a relevant portion of) the X/Open document E401 available to the panel and to WG15 at its October meeting. 19-May: Convener to post the [WG15] resolutions to the email list. (Done: 20-May-95) 19-May: GL would like feedback on the preferred characteristics section. GL to email the UK list with a set of questions on the areas of the profile which he is most concerned about. A copy of the latest version of the Profile is available from the Panel 'Web pages. Comments on any aspect, INCLUDING the preferred characteristics section, are encouraged! Action: Convener to enquire of BSI on collation ordering standards appropriate to the UK profile. (Open action, 19-May) An enquiry was made, but no response has yet been received; Convener to ask again! 4. Progress of ISO/IEC JTC1/SC22/WG15: P290 . Consideration of ISO ballots: The following set of documents was made available to the Panel via the Convener at the IST/5 meeting on the 29-August. All PANEL MEMBERS ARE INVITED to ask for copies of any of the following drafts if they have an interest in reviewing and commenting on them. Note the relatively short deadlines for responses on those scheduled for ballot! JTC1 N3599: NP: The guide for POSIX National Profiles and National Locales [P290] Vote closes 15-November. After a short discussion covering the history of this proposed work item and the relative merits of its two main parts, the Panel recommended a YES vote. The project is of use and interest to the POSIX community: the technical content and quality of the drafts so far seen by the Panel (eg P254 (WG15 N461) Guide for POSIX National Profile & Locale) will be the subject of further review and comment as the work item progresses. SC22 N1896: POSIX-2 (Shell & Utilities) Amd 2 (=P1003.2b) PDAM registration and Ballot. Vote closes 17-November. Action: Convener to copy N1896 to MK, who expressed an interest in reviewing the draft. SC22 N1897: POSIX System Administration - Part 2: Software Admin CD registration and Ballot. Vote closes 17-November. UK recommends a YES vote, the UK has active membership on the IEEE WG which is developing the document. Action: Convener to copy N1897 to DR, who expressed an interest. JTC1 N3617: ISO/IEC DTR 14252, Guide to the POSIX Open System Environment. (=P1003.0 D18) Three month DTR (Type 3) letter ballot Ballot closes 20-November Action: Convener to copy JTC1 N3617 to DR. . Actions: SC22 N1843: POSIX - Part 1 System API (C Language) Amd WD for review and comment. Action: Convener to copy N1843 to MK. SC22 N1898: POSIX Guidelines for Test Methods for Conformance to PASC standards: Revision of 13210 (=P2003 D6.0) WD for review and comment. Action: Convener to copy N1898 to Jon Leigh. (Done: 11-Sep-95) SC22 N1923: POSIX Test Methods for Shell & Utilities (9945-2:1993) WD for review and comment [NB: 1500+ pages: This draft has yet to be received from the SC22 secretariat - the first 88 pages are available now]. Action: Convener to copy N1923 to Jon Leigh, who expressed an interest in the draft via email. . Status Report of SC22/WG15: P289 There has been no WG15 meeting since the last Panel meeting. There is no activity to report. . Actions: P289 (Proposed UK report to WG15, Orlando) was discussed. The points querying further input (on P1003.2b Shell and Utilities - Extensions: Draft 10 and P2003R Test Methods for Measuring Conformance to POSIX Standards) will be completed by the delegation to WG15 based on any comments from the panel members reviewing the documents - see above. . Resolutions: No discussion. 5. Progress of IEEE PASC Posix WGs David Rogers reported: 1003.1e and 1003.2c (Security amendments to 1003.1 and 1003.2) now have a ballot slot at the beginning of '96. P1003.22 is at Draft 6 and goes to ballot recirculation at the end of October. Most WGs are suffering from reduction of manpower. PASC groups have now been consolidated to just six, which cover all the drafts in progress. There has only been one IEEE PASC group meeting since the new regime came into effect, so gauging the effects is premature. DR is involved in a crypto study group, looking at the GSS API. This security API supports authentication. There is an issue regarding attracting sufficient members to support the potential WG. Submission of a PAR is in question until support is committed. The main driving force for the work is from NIST and the US Internal Revenue. DR volunteered to send any further information he had available to the Panel email list. Martin Kirk: 1387.2 is now an IEEE standard. User Admin is in ballot resolution, for recirculation in October, and is expected to pass. Print is stalled at the moment, due to manpower and process problems. A PAR is to be presented on device driver interfaces, based on an existing specification. This is likely to generate some real interest in PASC! . Consideration of IEEE ballots: P1003.21 (Real Time Distributed Services) has just issued a draft of its proposed standard for IEEE mock ballot. (Copies available on request!) A ballot group is being formed. . Status Report of IEEE PASC: . Security aspects: (DF) No report. 6. Rapporteur Groups: . Report of Conformance RG ( ) . Report of Internationalisation RG (GL) . Report of Profile Coordination RG (PO) There have been no meetings of WG15 or of its Rapporteur groups since the last Panel meeting. 7. Liaison with other Standards Committees and Panels: . IST/5 Report: (DC) P291 P291, the panel report to IST/5, 29-August, was tabled. The UK delegation to WG15 was confirmed as Martin Kirk (PUKE) and David Cannon. . IST/5/-/14 Liaison: (DJ) No report. 8. Any Other Business Schedule of future meetings, 1995: 23-27 October ISO JTC-1/SC22/WG15 Florida, USA 24 November IST/5/-/15 X/Open offices Dates were selected for POSIX Panel meetings through 1996 as: 23 February IST/5/-/15 NFA 17 May IST/5/-/15 NFA 6 September IST/5/-/15 NFA 29 November IST/5/-/15 NFA