Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!philmtl!pedersen
From: pedersen@philmtl.philips.ca (Paul Pedersen)
Newsgroups: comp.std.internat
Subject: Standards and Implementation (was Re: ISO 639)
Summary: ISO is only a forum
Message-ID: <1015@philmtl.philips.ca>
Date: 12 Feb 90 16:28:11 GMT
Organization: Philips Electronics Ltd. -  St. Laurent  P.Q., Canada
Lines: 33

In article <1990Feb8.164921.22689@utzoo.uucp> henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) writes:
>In article <15894@haddock.ima.isc.com> jimm@ima.ima.isc.com (Jim McGrath) writes:
>>...  If ISO really wants their protocols
>>to gain widespread acceptance they should make it easier to implement
>>them.  
>
>Implement?  You think ISO cares about implementation?  Couldn't prove it
>by me, not considering some of the things they put in those protocols.
>You don't understand:  ISO protocols will gain widespread acceptance by
>being rammed down our throats by politicians, not by being enthusiastically
>accepted by implementors.  That's how ISO works.
>-- 

I'd like to expand on the above, given that I'm an implementor AND attend
ISO meetings.  

ISO is only a forum in which to develop a standard.  In other words, its a
place where representatives from various companies and other organizations
can get together and work out a common way of doing things.

The big problem is that there are very few implementors on
the ISO committees.  I have received time and time again the answer :
"we do standards, not implementations" when I bring up an implementation
issue.

Now, if the other members of the committee were implementors, I doubt I'd
get this kind of answer.  The solution has to be for the organizations 
sending representatives to ISO to send people who are interested
in the "implementability" of the standard they are working on.

Until this happens, the situation described by Mr. Spencer will remain :-(

Paul Pedersen