BSI IST/5/-/15 (Posix)

			 Posix Panel Activity Report
			      12 December 1995


	IST/5/-/15 has met twice since the last IST/5 meeting, on the 8
	September and the 24 November.	WG15 has met once, between the
	23-27 October, in Orlando, USA.  A report of the WG15 meeting is
	attached.


	1. ISO Business, Recommended Votes, etc:

	The following votes were due in the past four weeks;  members
	were invited to add comments prior to the deadlines by email:

	JTC1 N3599:  NP: The guide for POSIX National Profiles and
	National Locales
	Vote closed 15-November.

	    The Panel recommended a YES vote at its September
	    meeting.


	SC22 N1896: POSIX-2 (Shell & Utilities) Amd 2 (=P1003.2b)
	PDAM registration and Ballot.
	Vote closed 17-November.

	    This vote was issued in error by SC22.  The document
	    will be the subject of a CD registration ballot in the
	    near future.  No vote is required at present, the ballot
	    has been withdrawn.


	SC22 N1897: POSIX System Administration - Part 2: Software Admin
	CD registration and Ballot.
	Vote closed 17-November.

	    The Panel recommended a YES vote: the UK has active
	    membership on the IEEE WG which is developing the
	    document.


	JTC1 N3617: ISO/IEC DTR 14252, Guide to the POSIX Open
	System Environment. (=P1003.0 D18)
	Three month DTR (Type 3) letter ballot
	Ballot closed 20-November

	    The Panel recommended a YES vote: the UK had active
	    participation in the development of the draft in the
	    IEEE group.


	2. Panel Attendance:

	The main concern arising from the last IST/5/-/15 meeting is the
	fall in attendance:  the November meeting attracted two members
	in addition to the chair.  The recent article in the DISC/BSI
	newsletter raised no new interest, and trawls in various Usenet
	newsgroups before that only a few transient enquiries.

	At past Panel meetings some interest has been expressed in POSIX
	applications conformance, and it seems that a few vendors and
	user organisations have also realised that there may be
	potential in taking this path.	IST/5/-/15 hopes to invite a
	speaker from one of those organisations to outline their plans
	to the next Panel meeting in February, as bait to entice higher
	attendance.  If this fails the Panel is considering reducing its
	meetings to just two a year, and relying on email etc to perform
	much of its work.

	IST/5 is asked to comment on the above and on any other alternatives
	that may be suggested.


	3. Future Meetings:

	    1996:
	(*)	14-19 January	IEEE Posix groups	Albuquerque, Nm
		23 February	IST/5/-/15		NFA
		6 March 	IST/5			BSI, London
		14-19 April	IEEE Posix groups	Jackson Hole, Wy
		17 May		IST/5/-/15		NFA
		20-24 May	ISO JTC-1/SC22/WG15	Copenhagen, Denmark
		4 June		IST/5			BSI, London
		14-19 July	IEEE Posix groups	Nashua, Nh
		6 September	IST/5/-/15		NFA
		10 September	IST/5			BSI, London
		23-27 September ISO JTC1/SC22		Chiswick, UK
	(*)	20-25 October	IEEE Posix groups	Munich, Germany
		28-31 October	ISO JTC-1/SC22/WG15	Munich, Germany
		29 November	IST/5/-/15		NFA
		10 December	IST/5			BSI, London

	(*	- NB: revised date)


	David Cannon
	12-December-1995