Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 (Tek) 9/28/84 based on 9/17/84; site iddic.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!bellcore!decvax!tektronix!orca!iddic!dhs From: dhs@iddic.UUCP (David H. Straayer) Newsgroups: net.graphics Subject: Re: Language bindings for GKS and VDI (VDM?) Message-ID: <1950@iddic.UUCP> Date: Fri, 8-Mar-85 12:54:36 EST Article-I.D.: iddic.1950 Posted: Fri Mar 8 12:54:36 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 19-Mar-85 04:40:58 EST References: <423@cadovax.UUCP> Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR Lines: 102 > I'm trying to find out what the least painless method of > obtaining information on GKS language bindings for 'C', > Pascal, and (gasp) Basic or at least what state they are now > in, if not the specific bindings themselves. GKS appears to > have gone through so many different hands, it seems as if no > one standards committee is carrying the ball. And I have no > idea what it is like to deal with any of the commitees, or > where I can get in touch with who I'd need to contact to get > copies of the standards. > In addition, I'm also trying to get whatever information I > can on VDI, which I heard rumored is being re-named VDM. I > do get the definite impression that it is not cast in > concrete yet, which may mean all I could obtain is > preliminary specs. Anything would help at this stage > though. Fair questions. Your implied frustration is justified. I've been working on these proposals for seven years and am also frustrated. I cling to the hope that it will be worth the work, wait, and frustration. GKS has indeed gone through many hands. It is now a fully-approved standard in England, Germany, and perhaps other countries, but not the U.S. yet. X3, the computer standards committee, has now received GKS, including its Fortran binding, for review and approval. The Technical Committee, X3H3 is now all done with it. ISO GKS has gone to Swiss central secretariat for publication, and should be printed and published shortly. The C binding, ADA binding, Pascal binding, and PL/I bindings are all projects of ANSC X3H34. This committee is the focus within the U.S. for binding GKS (also PHIGS and VDI) to languages. The committee is chaired by: Ms. Madeleine Sparks SDC 4810 Bradford Blvd NW Huntsville, AL 35805 (205) 837-7610 Ext 247 I give her address and phone number because the most appropriate way to gain access to standards under development is to work on their development. If your organization needs access to these draft documents, this is the only way you can get them and really understand how "solid" they are, in order to make informed judgements about when you should begin designing products that use them. A note of warning: if you decide to participate, please come with realistic expectations about your potential influence, and a committment to getting the standard done in a timely fashion! It is far easier to block progress in a consensus process than it is to expedite it. When a standard is (finally) published as an ANSI standard, it may be purchased from the ANSI sales department, 1430 Broadway, N.Y., NY 10018. GKS should be available from ANSI sometime this summer. Until then, copies of drafts in progress may be obtained from CBEMA, X3 Secretariat, 331 First St. NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 2001. Caution: before you call or write X3 secretariat, fine out exactly which document you want by its "Document Register" document. For example, GKS is X3H3/83-25R3, and the C binding is X3H34/83-12R1. Without these numbers, the secretariat staff won't know how to find the document you want. You can get the document numbers by calling the chair of the committee responsible for the document. Beware: drafts can be subject to a LOT of change. The only sure way to avoid that problem is to wait until the standard is published. The next best approach is to actually work on the development The BASIC binding is not a X3H34 project. It is being done by X3J2 as a chapter in the forthcoming ANSI BASIC standard. This, as you may anticipate, results in some political friction and divergence from the letter of the GKS standard. With respect to VDI, this is still in the draft stage. It may be renamed CGI, because of pressure from DIN, the German national standards body, within ISO. (Naming a standard VDI within Germany would be like naming a standard IBM within the US). The committee working on VDI and the companion VDM (VDI is Virtual Device Interface, VDM is Virtual Device Metafile) standard is ANSC X3H33, chair is: Ms. Margaret Journey Precision Visuals, Inc. 6260 Lookout Road Boulder, CO 80301 (303) 530-9000 A final note: if you want to follow the graphics standards development progress, probably the best ongoing source of info for non-participants is "Computer Graphics Today", the publication of National Computer Graphics Association. It has a regular column by Dr. Peter Bono, chair of X3H3. Subscriptions cost $12/year, CG Today, PO Box 6546, Holmes, PA 19043. David H. Straayer Tektronix, Inc. POB 1000 MS 63-166 Wilsonville OR 97070 {most any major node}!tektronix!iddic!dhs