Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!ut-sally!std-unix From: std-unix@ut-sally.UUCP (Moderator, John Quarterman) Newsgroups: mod.std.unix Subject: Access to UNIX-Related Standards Message-ID: <6150@ut-sally.UUCP> Date: Tue, 28-Oct-86 14:08:02 EST Article-I.D.: ut-sally.6150 Posted: Tue Oct 28 14:08:02 1986 Date-Received: Tue, 28-Oct-86 21:29:51 EST Organization: IEEE P1003 Portable Operating System for Computer Environments Committee Lines: 306 Approved: jsq@sally.utexas.edu This is the latest in a series of similar mod.std.unix articles. Access information is given in this article for the following standards: IEEE 1003.1 (POSIX), 1003.2 (shell/tools), 1003.3 (verification) /usr/group working groups on networking, graphics, database, internationalization, performance measurements, realtime, and security X3H3.6 (display committee) X3J11 (C language) /usr/group Standard System V Interface Definition X/OPEN PORTABILITY GUIDE The IEEE P1003 Portable Operating System for Computer Environments Committee is sometimes known colloquially as the UNIX Standards Committee. They have recently produced the 1003.1 "POSIX" Trial Use Standard. According to its Foreword: The purpose of this document is to define a standard operating system interface and environment based on the UNIX Operating System documentation to support application portability at the source level. This is intended for systems implementors and applications software developers. Published copies are available at $19.95, with bulk purchasing discounts available. Call the IEEE Computer Society in Los Angeles 714-821-8380 and ask for Book #967. Or contact: IEEE Service Center 445 Hoes Ln. Piscataway, NJ 08854 and ask for "IEEE 1003.1 Trial Use Standard" - stock number SH10546. The Trial Use Standard will be available for comments for a period such as a year. The current target for a Full Use Standard is Fall 1987. IEEE has initiated the process to have the 1003.1 effort brought into the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) arena. Machine readable copies of the Trial Use Standard are not and will not be available. A machine-readable "representation" of a draft between the Trial Use and Full Use Standards may be available when it is ready (probably in 1987). There is a paper mailing list by which interested parties may get copies of drafts of the standard. To get on it, or to submit comments directly to the committee, mail to: James Isaak Chairperson, IEEE/CS P1003 Charles River Data Systems 983 Concord St. Framingham, MA 01701 decvax!frog!jim Sufficiently interested parties may join the working group. The next scheduled meetings of the P1003.1 working group are December 8-12 Atlantic City, NJ Bally's Hotel & Casino (Same time/location as X3J11 C Standards Committee meeting) Host: Concurrent Computer Corporation (previously Perkin Elmer) April 22-24 Toronto Host: IBM (Canadian UNIX Conference) June 9-12 Phoenix (USENIX Conference) No Host yet Aug/Sept 31-4 East Coast Probably Washington DC area No Host yet OR Sept 14-18 Boston (Same Time/loc as X3J11) (Sept 7th is Labor day, and that week is ISO TC97 SC22 meeting in Wash DC) There is also a balloting group (which intersects with the working group). This is more difficult. Contact the committee chair for details. I will repost them in this newsgroup if there is sufficient interest. Related working groups are group subject co-chairs 1003.2 shell and tools Hal Jespersen (Amdahl), Don Cragun (Sun) 1003.3 verification Roger Martin (NBS), Carol Raye (AT&T) Inquiries regarding 1003.2 and 1003.3 should go to the same address as for 1003.1. Here are some details from Hal Jespersen regarding P1003.2: The IEEE P1003.2 "Shell and Utilities" Working Group is developing a proposed standard to complement the 1003.1 POSIX standard. It will consist of a shell command language (currently planned to be based on the Bourne Shell), groups of utility programs, or commands, programmatic interfaces to the shell (system(), popen()) and related facilities (regular expressions, file name expansion, etc.) defined environments (variables, file hierarchies, etc) that applications may rely upon which will allow application programs to be developed out of existing pieces, in the UNIX tradition. The scope of the standard emphasizes commands and features that are more typically used by shell scripts or C language programs than those that are oriented to the terminal user with windows, mice, visual shells, and so forth. The group is currently seeking proposals for groupings of commands that may be offered by implementors. As groups are identified, command descriptions will be solicited. There is no requirement that the commands be in System V or BSD today, but they should realistically be commands that are commonly found in most existing implementations. Meetings are normally held in conjunction with the 1003.1 group and have a large membership overlap. The next meeting is 12/8/86, and possibly the morning of the 9th, in Atlantic City. Future meetings will generally be held on the day or two preceding 1003.1. There are two Institutional Representatives to P1003: John Quarterman from USENIX and Heinz Lycklama from /usr/group. As the one from USENIX, one of my functions is to get comments from the USENIX membership and the general public to the committee. One of the ways I try to do that is by moderating this newsgroup (currently known as mod.std.unix, eventually as comp.std.unix). An article related to this one just appeared in the September/October 1986 ;login: (The USENIX Association Newsletter). I'm also currently on the USENIX Board of Directors. The May/June 1986 issue of CommUNIXations (the /usr/group newsletter) contains a report by Heinz Lycklama on the /usr/group Technical Committee working groups which met in February 1986 on the areas of Networking, Internationalization, Graphics, Realtime, Database, Performance, and the proposed new group on Security. Here is contact information for /usr/group working groups as taken from the CommUNIXations article mentioned above. If you are interested in starting another working group, contact Heinz Lycklama at the address below. /usr/group Working Group on Networking: Dave Buck D.L. Buck & Associates, Inc. 6920 Santa Teresa Bldg, #108 San Jose, CA 95119 (408)972-2825 /usr/group Working Group on Internationalization: Brian Boyle Karen Barnes Novon Research Group Hewlett-Packard Co. 537 Panorama Dr. 19447 Pruneridge Ave. San Francisco, CA 94131 M/S 47U2 (415)641-9800 Cupertino, CA 95014 (408) 725-8111, ext 2438 /usr/group Working Group on Graphics: Heinz Lycklama Interactive Systems Corp. 2401 Colorado Ave., 3rd Fl. Santa Monica, CA 90404 (213)453-8649 /usr/group Working Group on Realtime: Bill Corwin Ben Patel Intel Corp. EDS Corp. 5200 Elam Young Pkwy P.O. Box 5121 Hillsboro, OR 97123 23077 Greenfield (503)640-7588 Southfield, MI 48075 (313)443-3460 /usr/group Working Group on Database: Val Skalabrin Unify Corp. 1111 Howe Ave. Sacramento, CA 95825 (916)920-9092 /usr/group Working Group on Performance Measurements: Ram Celluri Dave Hinant AT&T Computer Systems SCI Systems, Inc. Room E15B Ste 325, Pamlico Bldg 4513 Western Ave. Research Triangle Pk, NC 27709 Lisle, IL 60532 (919)549-8334 (312)810-6223 /usr/group Working Group on Security: Steve Sutton Computer Systems Div. Gould Inc. 1101 East University Urbana, IL 61801 (217)384-8500 The X3H3.6 display management committee has recently formed to develop a model to support current and future window management systems, yet is not based directly on any existing system. The chair solicits help and participation: Georges Grinstein wanginst!ulowell!grinstein The Abstract of the 1003.1 Trial Use Standard adds: This interface is a complement to the C Programming Language in the C Information Bulletin prepared by Technical Committee X3J11 of the Accredited Standards Committee X3, Information Processing Systems, further specifying an environment for portable application software. X3J11 is sometimes known as the C Standards Committee. Their liaison to P1003 is Don Kretsch AT&T 190 River Road Summit, NJ 07901 A contact for information regarding publications and working groups is Thomas Plum Vice Chair, X3J11 Committee Plum Hall Inc. 1 Spruce Avenue Cardiff, New Jersey 08232 There is frequent discussion of X3J11 in the USENET newsgroup mod.std.c, which see. (That newsgroup will eventually be known as comp.std.c.) The /usr/group Standard is the principle ancestor of P1003.1: /usr/group Standards Committee 4655 Old Ironsides Drive, Suite 200 Santa Clara, California 95050 The price is still $15.00. The System V Interface Definition (The Purple Book). This is the AT&T standard and is one of the most frequently-used references of the IEEE 1003 committee. System V Interface Definition, Issue 2 Select Codes 320-011 (Volume 1) and 320-012 (Volume 2) or Select Code 307-127 (both volumes). AT&T Customer Information Center 2833 North Franklin Road Indianapolis, IN 46219 1-800-432-6600, operator 77. The price is about 37 U.S. dollars for each volume or $52 for the pair. Major credit cards are accepted for telephone orders: mail orders should include a check or money order. Previous SVID owners should have received a discount coupon to upgrade to Release 2 for only $37. Volume 1 is essentially equivalent to the whole previous SVID; Volume 2 is mostly commands and a few add-ons (e.g. curses). A third volume is expected in the last quarter of 1986 to cover new items in System V Release 3, such as streams and networking. There may be an upgrade discount similar to the previous one. A draft copy is reputed to be available now to source licensees. The X/OPEN PORTABILITY GUIDE (The Green Book) is another reference frequently used by IEEE 1003. X/OPEN is "A Group of European Computer Manufacturers" who have produced a document intended to promote the writing of portable facilities. (They now have member computer manufacturers from outside Europe.) Their flyer remarks (in five languages), "Now we all speak the same language in Europe." The book is published by Elsevier Science Publishers Book Order Department PO Box 211 1000 AE Amsterdam The Netherlands or, for those in the U.S.A. or Canada: Elsevier Science Publishers Co Inc. PO Box 1663 Grand Central Station New York, NY 10163 The price is Dfl 275,00 or USD 75.00. According to the order form, "This price includes the costs of one update which will be mailed automatically upon publication." They take a large number of credit cards and other forms of payment. Corrections and additions to this article are solicited. Oh, yes: "UNIX is a Registered Trademark of AT&T." And POSIX is a trademark of IEEE. Volume-Number: Volume 8, Number 6