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Path: utzoo!utcsri!greg
From: greg@utcsri.UUCP (Gregory Smith)
Newsgroups: comp.arch,comp.misc,comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: IEEE standard IBM PC ?
Message-ID: <4373@utcsri.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 16-Mar-87 12:40:19 EST
Article-I.D.: utcsri.4373
Posted: Mon Mar 16 12:40:19 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 17-Mar-87 00:47:16 EST
Reply-To: greg@utcsri.UUCP (Gregory Smith)
Organization: CSRI, University of Toronto
Lines: 26
Summary: P996, P1134 standards for IBM PC

According to an article "Will IBM's PC soon be an IEEE standard?" in
the Feb 1987 issue of "The Institute", two IEEE working groups are
attempting to develop standards for the PC system bus, and the BIOS.

Usually when a group is formed to develop a standard based on
an existing product or group of products, the manufacturer plays
some role in the proceedings. IBM however has no comments on the
activities of these groups.

The P996 project is an attempt to define and publish a technical
specification for the 8- and 16-bit system buses used in the PC's,
and to define a 32-bit extension of the bus. There are three study
groups within P996: one is codifying existing 8- and 16-bit buses
for IBM PC's and compatibles; one is proposing a 32-bit extension for
the bus; and the third is collecting electrical data for buses in
existing PC's and compatibles.

The P1134 group has been formed to develop a standard for a PC BIOS to
run under the 80286 or 80386. Rather than standardizing the BIOS code
itself, they want to "create a common approach to writing this basic
input/output control code".

-- 
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Greg Smith     University of Toronto      UUCP: ..utzoo!utcsri!greg
Have vAX, will hack...