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{"title":"Section 8. Another major document","authors":"MaryAnn Lawler","doi":"10.1145/274348.274356","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/274348.274356","url":null,"abstract":"tions to the SMI proposal. In this letter, the Chairperson of JTC1, MaryAnn Lawler, puts to rest the series of complaints that Sun—as a private company—should not become a PAS submitter. Note that the letter offers no definitive statement concerning the submission of technology by a private company, it merely states that the argument is not one to which SMI can respond and calls upon the National Bodies to pose the question in their respective National Body forums for discussion by JTC1. Secretariat ISO/IEC JTC1 American National Standards Institute 11 West 42nd Street NY, NY 10036 Telephone: 212 642 4932 Facsimile: 212 398 0023","PeriodicalId":270594,"journal":{"name":"ACM Stand.","volume":"19 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1997-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132611008","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Section 3. The PAS process","authors":"C. Cargill","doi":"10.1145/274348.274351","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/274348.274351","url":null,"abstract":"International Standards. These documents describe the roles of the PAS originator and the PAS itself and are intended to increase formal standardization process activities. As noted earlier , because of the drop in membership and active projects, members of the JTC1 felt left out of mainstream IT standardization: JTC1 formal standards lagged behind the growth of the Internet, the rising importance of the IETF, and the appearance of the Web (and W3C to standardize it). The PAS process was an attempt to remedy that situation. his document contains eight sections and two annexes. The main text is less than 3,000 words long, and represents the best effort of JTC1 participants and rule writers to chart a course in an unfamiliar sea. Although I cannot claim with complete certainty that members of consortia were asked about the PAS process before it was initiated, I feel that this was an effort initiated by JTC1 in partial isolation. The document is interesting for what it says and what it omits. I review the content and implications of each section as individual statements as well as part of the document as a whole. Much of what follows is an examination of phrases used by the document makers as well as a review of these statements as a nonstandardization participant might interpret them. Again, the context and the content, not just the content, is what is important in this document. Because the document is copyrighted by ISO, I have not reproduced it here. However, it is available for viewing at the url: www.iso.ch.","PeriodicalId":270594,"journal":{"name":"ACM Stand.","volume":"114 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1997-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128168624","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Section 12. The analyst's view: what the world heard","authors":"Maureen O'Gara","doi":"10.1145/274348.274360","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/274348.274360","url":null,"abstract":"m These articles were excerpted from ClieNT Server News, the “piquant weekly newsletter (by subscription only) on Microsoft, Windows NT and related phenomena”—one of three such newsletters published by Maureen O’Gara to aid policy and decision makers (from product managers to CEOs). The author knows the industry and its participants, having covered the worldwide “open systems industry” (from UNIX to POSIX to OSI to the Internet) for the past ten years. These articles reflect the positions she took on the PAS submission, and advice she provided to her subscribers, during the debate. MARCH 24–28, 1997 Sun’s Java Standardization Scheme n an unprecedented move, Sun Microsystems will try to standardize Java by submitting it directly to ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, for fast tracking. Standards experts say the scheme, which they attribute to an English consultant, circumvents all outside comment on the would-be standard and seeks to keep Java tightly within Sun’s control by bypassing the normal ISO process. Traditionally, a prospective standard would go first to a bona fide standards group such as X/Open or the European Computer Manufacturers Association (ECMA) for public airing and then to ISO. Never before, the experts say, has an individual company sought the prerogatives ISO previously only accorded consortia to become a Recognized Publicly Available Specification (PAS) submitter. The move, which is believed to reflect Sun’s fear that Microsoft will somehow kidnap Java if its standardization is handled conventionally, could cost Sun some of its vaunted reputation as an open company that adheres to open processes. Standards people, most of them partial to Sun, some of them even at Sun, are concerned that Sun might set a precedent whereby other companies like Microsoft, for instance, will also bypass the normal vetting procedure and seek to get their technologies rubberstamped as standards. Of course it remains to be seen whether ISO countenances Sun as a PAS submitter and allows it to control the requirements process. However, ISO, despite the threat of embarrassment, might find Java’s lure irresistible—it is after all a big fish to catch simply on the basis of the billions of dollars that are being poured into it. It will be July before we know whether Sun is recognized as a PAS submitter. Sun’s PAS application goes from here to the ISOInternational Electrotechnical Commission’s Joint Technology Committee1 (JTC1). From JTC1, it is distributed to the JTC1’s Technical Advisory Groups (TAGs) in 30 countries for a yes-or-no vote on whether to accept Sun as a PAS. There would then be a second yes-or-no vote on whether to accept the Java technology, as handed down by Sun, as a standard. The process could become contentious at the national level. Sun will be sidestepping the normal procedure that would see Java become a national Section 12. The Analyst’s View: What the World Heard","PeriodicalId":270594,"journal":{"name":"ACM Stand.","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1997-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126204426","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Section 1. Prelude","authors":"C. Cargill","doi":"10.1145/274348.274349","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/274348.274349","url":null,"abstract":"m As with many things that have a significant impact on technology and standardization, the SMI PAS submission needs to be examined in light of the state of the industry at the time the submission was made. This background is absolutely necessary for ensuring that the motives of the participants are correctly understood and interpreted. Failure to do so allows one to paint the participants as either heroes or villains, which is rarely the case. The intent of the participants in this case was to act as rational business people; however, once they became part of the process the situation became really confusing. ome necessary background for understanding what happened in the PAS submission process includes the “open standards” or “open systems” movement of the 1980s and early 1900s that affected much of the industry, especially Sun, a late participant in the process. The growth of the consortia was a major shock to JTC1 and to the various national bodies involved in IT standardization, who saw their members and activities—including the introduction of new work—drop dramatically. The appearance of the WinTel market activity in the early and mid-1990s (both desktop activity and the growth of Microsoft’s NT as an operating system) as well as the tremendous growth of the World Wide Web and the appearance of the Corporate Intranet also had a great influence on the market and the standardization arena. Neither of these activities were sympathetic to the formal standardization process. The WinTel participants (Microsoft and Intel) both steadfastly refused to join JTC1, and the Internet used the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and World Wide Web Consortium to further the newest area of technology change and excitement. This article examines standardization as SMI’s Java was initiated.","PeriodicalId":270594,"journal":{"name":"ACM Stand.","volume":"16 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1997-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124315341","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Section 13. Conclusion and analysis","authors":"C. Cargill","doi":"10.1145/274348.274361","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/274348.274361","url":null,"abstract":"The comment attributed to Winston Churchill: “This is not the end, nor even the beginning of the end. But it does mark the end of the beginning” is, I believe, an appropriate epitaph for SMI’s effort to become a PAS submitter. SMI must now submit their Java specification to ISO/IEC JTC1 for consideration as a PAS, and ask for its approval. The key to success lies in whether or not the National Bodies — especially the United States — are convinced that SMI has made a real effort to open the specification to ensure that all have been heard both in the current specification and in the follow-on activities. But this is a topic for a future issue, because speculation over SMI’s future actions may rage endlessly. However, for the moment, things are quiet and there is time for reflection. he results of the National Body vote emphasized the victory of process over passion. In the final vote, the loud remonstrances of the United States and China fell on deaf ears. This is significant. In the past, a negative vote by the US was frequently enough to defeat a proposal; US influence on other countries was substantial. In this case, however, the negative vote by US and China did not convince the other nations to put the standardization of Java at risk. But now the question becomes: What happened? The vote affected three separate areas: SMI, the participants in the process, and the process itself. I’d like to examine each of these separately. SMI, depending on who you speak to, either won a war or achieved a Pyrrhic victory. Those who believe the former feel that SMI and its “open Java process” was vindicated by the international community. On the other hand, opponents of the proposal can point to the fact that the next vote requires a two-thirds majority in favor of the technical specification, and that there is already a good deal of controversy regarding the specification. It is clear that SMI “won” the first battle — the question now is: Where will the remainder of the war be fought? SMI’s PAS application was not intended to “win” a standards war, but to add “openness” to the JAVA portfolio. The only reason a company adds a product attribute is in response to user demand. It may very well be that ISO acceptance of the PAS proposal is all the “openness” that Sun needs. I believe that all the participants in the process— from individuals to companies to organizations—lost. The individuals did not cover themselves with glory; their comments demonstrate that they were willing to sacrifice principles for short-term gain. The sharpness of the debate reflects a “win-lose” mentality that denies the idea of consensus, and over the long term, corrodes standardization ideals. Standardization is about agreement and reaching a viable solution that everyone can embrace. The PAS debate is in sharp contrast to these ideals. The individuals involved, from managers to directors to vice presidents, all displayed complete intolerance for the views of other parties. In many cas","PeriodicalId":270594,"journal":{"name":"ACM Stand.","volume":"20 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1997-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125933073","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Section 11. International standards at the crossroads","authors":"G. Willingmyre","doi":"10.1145/274348.274359","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/274348.274359","url":null,"abstract":"Ⅵ Critical issues in the rapidly changing global marketplace confront the formal international standards system. George Allen, coach for the Washington Redskins football team, when asked about short and long term approaches to building a winning team, often responded , \" the future is now. \" The international standardization community must adopt the same sense of urgency lest the fate of the dinosaurs befall the current international system. Weakness in the traditional system that leads to competitive threats must be addressed. In so doing, however, the hallmark strengths of international standards must not be sacrificed. To compromise fundamentals would be to sell, for the sake of expediency, the soul of a system that has been beneficial to global trade and worldwide safety, health, and the environment. he Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) defines a standard as a \" document approved by a recognized body that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines, or characteristics for products or related processes and production methods with which compliance is not mandatory. \" The TBT defines an international body or system as one \" whose membership is open to the relevant bodies of at least all members (of the World Trade Organization (WTO)). \" Thus, an international standard is one approved by an international body. International standards for our purposes are those accredited by the following entities: International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Elec-trotechnical Commission (IEC), International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Codex Alimentarius (Codex) and a handful of others. They share a common characteristic in that their membership is open to the relevant bodies of WTO member countries, which may be national standards organizations or central governments. The concept of one member per country is key. International standards enjoy a favored status in the global marketplace. The TBT institutionalizes international standards as effective tools in reducing non-tariff barriers to trade. The TBT states, \" Where technical regulations are required and relevant international standards exist or their completion is imminent. Members shall use them, or the relevant parts of them, as a basis for their technical regulations, except when such international standards or relevant parts would be an ineffective or inappropriate means for the fulfillment of the legitimate objectives pursued. \" Similarly, the Agreement on Government Procurement states, \" Technical specifications prescribed by procuring entities shall, where appropriate. .. be based on international standards, where such exist. \" These are not abstract, academic …","PeriodicalId":270594,"journal":{"name":"ACM Stand.","volume":"55 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1997-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114680493","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Section 6. The world responds","authors":"C. Cargill","doi":"10.1145/274348.274354","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/274348.274354","url":null,"abstract":"countries that are part of ISO/IEC JTC had the chance to respond to SMI's request. All of the comments from the following 25 countries are provided as well as several required SMI responses. I did not feel that it was particularly valuable to include all of SMI's comments, since in many cases, it was a canned answer, as you'll discover. What is of interest is the focus on trademark issues (which originally surfaced in the Microsoft letter in Section 5) and the dissatisfaction that several countries felt towards the PAS process itself. However, an appreciation of the dilemma in which the national bodies found themselves becomes apparent—they want the Java Technology to standardize, but they are uncomfortable with the methodology and, most of all, with the fact that Sun is the owner of the technology. While Australia strongly supports the international standardization of Java technology, we submit a vote of disapproval with comments, as provided below. However, Australia would be willing to alter its vote if it can be shown that these issues are satisfactorily addressed. Australia requests further information from SMI on its response to the mandatory requirements of Annex B of JTC1 N3582 listed below. While SMI [has] agreed to work with ISO/IEC concerning working agreements, samples of similar agreements with other groups should be provided. Sun: Sun is committed to working with JTC1. Other Member Body comments imply many procedural arrangements that need to be worked out; but once everything is agreed, Sun is committed to carrying out our responsibilities and working with all interested parties. Australia: SMI has stated 'committed to evolving the Java TM platform' ... 'at a pace consistent with market conditions' (JTC1 N4615 Clause 3.1.2). This would suggest that revision would be undertaken at a time suitable to SMI's own market without commitment to the JTC1 required 5-year revision cycle.","PeriodicalId":270594,"journal":{"name":"ACM Stand.","volume":"2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1997-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116939216","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Web-based conformance testing for VRML","authors":"L. Rosenthal, M. Skall, M. Brady, C. Montanez-Rivera","doi":"10.1145/266231.266237","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/266231.266237","url":null,"abstract":"m Testing the Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) for conformance can determine whether an implementation satisfies the requirements and specifications of the standard. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is developing a VRML Test Suite (VTS) to systematically address some of the problems posed by the nature of testing 3D-graphics. The VTS is being developed in parallel with the standard and in cooperation with the VRML community. This approach, combined with using the World Wide Web as part of the VTS design and delivery mechanism, enables us to provide timely tests for promoting quality development and accelerating implementation and use. This article covers the test development strategy and design issues in developing the VTS. he Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML, pronounced “vermal”) is the file format standard for 3D-multimedia and shared virtual worlds on the Internet. The VRML standard, like all standards, is not an end in itself but a means to an end. The goal is to obtain implementations of the standard that correctly perform the functionality specified in the standard. Conformance tests measure whether an implementation satisfies the requirements and specifications of the standard. As our reliance on electronic information grows, it is imperative that the information is received and that it is correct. Without compliant implementations, products from different vendors may not interoperate, thwarting the successful exchange of information. Conformance testing is a way to solve this problem, and is necessary to achieve interoperability. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is developing a VRML test suite (VTS) to systematically address the problems posed by the nature of testing 3D-graphics. Standards for graphics and the World Wide Web present a special challenge for conformance testing. A testing methodology must tackle VRML’s ability to represent and properly render or capture multimedia-based content, network accessible links to reusable contents and to static or dynamic scenes. The VTS focuses on testing VRML browsers (i.e., ensuring that a VRML file is interpreted and rendered correctly). The VTS incorporates a new paradigm for developing conformance tests as well as several innovative design features, including parallel development of the tests and the standard; cooperation, rather than separation, from vendors; incorporation of the Web as an integral part of the design and as a vehicle for delivering the system; test cases made available as soon as they are built; and the integration of the test requirements and the ISO standard into the online test suite. The test development strategy and design issues in developing and delivering the VTS are covered in this article.","PeriodicalId":270594,"journal":{"name":"ACM Stand.","volume":"10 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1997-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131621632","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Trust and traceability in electronic commerce","authors":"D. D. Steinauer, S. Wakid, S. Rasberry","doi":"10.1145/266231.266239","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/266231.266239","url":null,"abstract":"Ⅵ Electronic commerce (EC) will modify some of the traditional models for the conduct of business. However, it is important that many of the long-standing elements of commerce be replicated in the electronic world. Commerce, electronic or otherwise, requires several elements: trading partners, goods and services, units of exchange (money), transaction infrastructures, and delivery and distribution mechanisms. These elements have been developed over centuries of legal, governmental, technological, and commercial practices and have resulted in a business infrastructure that people understand and trust. We explore two important elements of that infrastructure, trust and traceability, in the context of the evolving EC infrastructure. We look at a number of trust enhancers, i.e., technology or other processes that can help increase the level of confidence that people have in electronic commerce. We also examine the concept of traceability, an important trust enhancer, in detail. Finally, we discuss some specific technologies that can increase the overall level of trust in electronic commerce. ommercial practice and common law, developed over several thousand years, provide the context into which electronic commerce must fit, if it is to succeed. Early commerce, one step above the simplest trading of two articles between two people, was conducted face-to-face, possibly in front of a witness for the more complex transactions. The advent of reliable mail service in the eighteenth century, the telegraph in the nineteenth century, and the spread of telephones in the twentieth allowed commerce to be conducted on a remote basis. Computer-based commerce via networks such as the Internet is simply one more step in that evolution. Prior to the era of remote transactions, money was basically precious metal. The Pound Sterling was exactly that. Because transporting large amounts of precious metal in the service of remote trading was both labor intensive and hazardous, improvements to the banking system were needed to permit keeping of accounts and issuing letters of credit, drafts, checks, and vouchers of various kinds. Money, over the last century, has become disconnected from any underlying metal, and is essentially based on trust in the stability of the issuing country. In recent times financial accounts have been kept almost exclusively on computer based systems. Despite pressures for rapid development of electronic methods of conducting traditional business activities , the underlying structures, relationships, conventions , and methods of traditional methods will remain the dominant way of doing business. Electronic methods must be developed to coexist …","PeriodicalId":270594,"journal":{"name":"ACM Stand.","volume":"94 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1997-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133504808","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An introduction to “standards, conformity, assessment, and trade”","authors":"L. Wills, John Godfrey","doi":"10.1145/266231.266234","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/266231.266234","url":null,"abstract":"m In 1993, the National Academy of Sciences was asked by the U.S. Congress to perform an in-depth study of the relationships among standards, conformity assessment, and international trade, with an emphasis on U.S. economic competitiveness. The authors participated as part of, respectively, the Academy’s study committee and staff. The study led to the publication of Standards, Conformity Assessment, and Trade: Into the 21st Century (National Academy Press, 1995). he Academy study helped to bring about a sea change in the way the federal government interacts with national and international voluntary consensus standards systems. The Academy’s conclusions and principal recommendations (reprinted in the next section) were accepted by the Congress and made into law in the National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act (NTTAA) of 1995 (P.L. 104–113). The law contains several key provisions affecting federal use of standards and participation in the voluntary standards system:","PeriodicalId":270594,"journal":{"name":"ACM Stand.","volume":"518 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1997-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123116911","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}