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THE OPEN GROUP AND IEEE TO DEVELOP JOINT REVISION TO POSIX AND UNIX STANDARDS
Collaborative Effort to Yield Version 3 of the Single UNIX Specification
MENLO PARK, Calif. (July 17, 1999) - The Open Group, a leading consortium
dedicated to enterprise integration, and The Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Inc., announced today an agreement for
joint development of a common revision to the existing Portable
Operation System Interface (POSIX) and UNIX specifications.
Under this agreement, The Open Group and IEEE will share joint copyright
of the resulting work. The work will replace the existing IEEE Std
1003.1, 1996 version, IEEE Standard for POSIX--Part 1: System
Application: Program Interface (API) [C Language], and IEEE Std 1003.2,
1992 version, IEEE Standard for POSIX--Part 2: Shell and Utilities, and
The Open Group Base specifications for the Single UNIX Specification.
It is expected that the joint work will also be put forward for adoption
by the International Electrotechnical Comission (IEC) and the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
This unique collaboration, informally known as the Austin Common
Revision Standards Group, combines the formal standards process with the
industry specifications for the UNIX system. The resulting document set
will replace the existing POSIX.1, POSIX.2 and become the core of
Version 3 of the Single UNIX Specification.
``This (agreement) offers significant benefits to the industry and to
end users. The IEEE POSIX specifications and the UNIX specification are
significant foundations for today's IT systems. By combining the two,
the industry is assured of this solid foundation continuing, preserving
the high value of investments associated with software systems,'' stated
Judith Gorman, Managing Director of IEEE Standards.
``The aim for the revision project is to write once, adopt everywhere,''
said Andrew Josey, Chair, of the Austin Group. ``Participation in the
project presently includes over 120 individuals from over 50 companies,
including representatives from the commercial system vendors, the Open
Source community, government and academia.''
The joint revision of standard is anticipated to be finalized in the
first quarter of 2001. The first draft specifications are now available
from The Open Group web site at URL:
http://www.opengroup.org/austin/login.html. Detailed information about
the project is found at http:/www.opengroup.org/austin/
The Austin Common Revision Standards Group has received widespread
industry support for its efforts.
``Compaq has always been a leading advocate of industry standards, is
playing an active role in the Austin Common Revision Standards Group
effort, and is committed to ensuring that Compaq Tru64 UNIX remains open
standards-compliant,'' said Tim Yeaton, Vice President and General
Manager, UNIX Software Division, Compaq Computer Corporation.
``Participation in this initiative underscores our commitment to open
standards, and helping our customers maintain their investment in
existing applications. This effort is going to substantially increase
the pace at which corporate customers adopt UNIX as the IT platform for
enterprise applications,'' Yeaton added.
``Development of these key industry standards continues to provide the
necessary freedom of choice in selection of systems from competing
suppliers both today and, more importantly tomorrow,'' said Denis Brown,
Vice President, General Manager, Litton PRC and Chair of the Governing
Board of The Open Group.
``The Linux Standard Base is pleased to be contributing to the Austin
Group. POSIX is an important factor behind the success of Linux and the
Austin Group update is needed to underpin the future of Linux and other
POSIX operating systems,'' said Dan Quinlan, Linux Standard Base.
``Canada has been and continues to be a strong supporter of this work
through our participation via the Standards Council of Canada in ISO/IEC
JTC1/SC22/WG15. We look forward to the publication of this important
work in the very near future,'' said Doug Langlotz, the Standards
Council of Canada.
``Softway Systems has long supported the ongoing work of the IEEE POSIX
standards, and their adoption by The Open Group into the Single UNIX
Specification,'' said Jason Zions, Chief Scientist, Softway Systems and
Chair of the IEEE POSIX Working Group for System Services. ``These
documents form the basis for the INTERIX environment on Windows NT and
Windows 2000. We look forward to continuing our participation to ensure
a common programming environment exists between Windows NT and all Linux
and UNIX systems.''
``Lack of true source level portability is one of the highest hidden
costs in software development, and this agreement is a substantial step
towards reducing that cost. Producing a single, coherent, reference
work for applica- tion developers that will be implemented not just on
traditional UNIX platforms but on numerous others, including LINUX and
Windows NT , is something our 8,000 members have long demanded'.'' said
-Nick Stoughton, Standards Representative at Usenix Association.
The Open Group has been the custodian of the specification for the UNIX
system and the trademark since 1993. The effort that led to this
transfer was the catalyst for all vendors to make their systems conform
to this single definition, a goal that had been elusive in previous
harmonization efforts. Today all the major vendors support the Single
UNIX Specification and have registered product. For information on
registered products see http://www.opengroup.org/regproducts/.
ABOUT THE IEEE
The IEEE is the world's largest technical professional society. The
members and volunteers of the IEEE are the technical and scientific
professionals making the revolutionary engineering advances that are
reshaping our world today. This includes the development of
leading-edge, electronic and information technology standards used
throughout industry.
ABOUT THE OPEN GROUP
The Open Group is committed to delivering greater business efficiency by
bringing together buyers and suppliers of information systems to lower
the cost and risks associated with integrating new technology across the
enterprise. The Open Group, a vender and technology-neutral consortium,
ensures that multi-vendor information technology matches the demands and
needs of customers. This is achieved through the development and
deployment of frameworks, polices, best practices and standards in
pursuit of the group's IT DialTone vision --- the concept of making all
technology as open and accessible as using a telephone.
By leveraging the expertise of its sponsors - Compaq (NSYE: CPQ),
Fujitsu, HP (NYSE: HWP), Hitachi (TSE:6501), IBM (NYSE: IBM), NCR (NYSE:
NCR), Siemens, Sun (NASDAQ: SUNW) - and other members comprising leading
software companies, Fortune 500 users and government departments, The
Open Group is well on its way to achieving the DialTone vision.
Embracing the maxim: "we can do so much more together than alone", The
Open Group is helping its members to stay ahead in the race to use
technology to gain competitive advantage.
Additional information about The Open Group is available at the
consortium's web site at http://www.opengroup.org.
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Note to editors: UNIX is a registered trademark and IT DialTone and The
Open Group are trademarks of The Open Group in the US and other
countries. POSIX is a registered trademark of the IEEE. All other
products or company names mentioned are used for identification purposes
only, and may be trademarks of their respective owners. The Austin
Common Revision Standards Group is named after the location of the
inaugural meeting held at the IBM facility in Austin, Texas in September
1998.
