Submitted-by: [email]nospam@unix.net[/email] (Andrew Josey)


Austin Group Frequently Asked Questions

Last Updated : Jul 30 2003: freq.ques,v 1.10

This is the Frequently Asked Questions file for the Austin Common
Standards Revision Group. Its maintainer is Andrew Josey (ajosey at The
Open Group ). Suggestions and contributions are always welcome.

This document can be found on the world wide web at
[url]http://www.opengroup.org/austin/faq.html[/url].

This article includes answers to the following.

Q0. What is the Austin Group?
Q1. Is there a description of the project describing the scope?
Q2. Where can I download the specifications from?
Q3. What are the restrictions on the draft?
Q4. How do I become a participant in the Austin Group?
Q5. Who else is participating in the Austin Group?
Q6. Are there minutes available from meetings of the group?
Q7. Are there procedures for the operation of the group?
Q8. Where is the schedule for draft development?
Q9. Are there meetings? Can any one attend?
Q10. How can I find out where the next meeting is ?
Q11. What is aardvark?
Q12. How can I submit a comment against the specifications?
Q13. I filed an aardvark but did not see a copy on the mailing list.
Problem?
Q14. Does this project have an IEEE Project number ?
Q15. What happened to the existing POSIX 1003.1-1990 and POSIX
1003.2-1992 standards when this revision completed?
Q16. I can not attend meetings , how do I get my point of view listened to?
Q17. What are the JDOCS procedures?
Q18. How do I join the mailing list?
Q19. How does this effort compare to the Linux Standard Base?
Q20. Does the unification with the Single UNIX Specification mean the
Austin Group specifications are now only relevant to the UNIX community?
Q21. What are the core technical changes in the Austin Group
specifications over the base documents?
Q22. Were there many interfaces removed in the revision?
Q23. What changed in the handling of options?
Q24. How do I submit a suggestion for inclusion in a future revision of
the specification?
Q25. How do I add a question to this FAQ?

------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Q0. What is the Austin Group?*

The Austin Common Standards Revision Group (CSRG) is a joint technical
working group established to develop and maintain a common revision of
ISO/IEC 9945-1, ISO/IEC 9945-2, IEEE Std 1003.1, IEEE Std 1003.2 and the
appropriate parts of the Single UNIX Specification.

The approach to specification development is "write once, adopt
everywhere", with the deliverables being a set of specifications that
carry simultaneously the IEEE POSIX designation, The Open Group's
Technical Standard designation, and the ISO/IEC designation.

The new set of specifications forms the core of the Single UNIX
Specification Version 3, and was delivered development complete in June
2001. This unique development combines both the industry led efforts and
the formal wide spectrum of participants. The specification was approved
by The Open Group on September 12 2001, as the Base Specifications,
Issue 6, by the IEEE on December 6th 2001 as IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, and
by ISO/IEC as ISO/IEC 9945:2002 in November 2002. The specification was
published during early 2002, and is available in hardcopy,
electronically (including on the web in html, see later) and on CDROM.

Having completed the initial deliverable, the group is presently working
on maintenance activities (which recently included delivery of the 2003
edition of the standard incorporating Technical Corrigendum 1 , known as
TC1).

The IEEE and The Open Group 2003 edition of the standard was published
on March 31st 2003, and updates the standard to include Technical
Corrigendum 1 (TC1). The 2003 Edition is formally known as:

IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition
The Open Group Technical Standard Base Specifications, Issue 6

Includes IEEE Std 1003.1-2001 and IEEE Std 1003.1-2001/Cor 1-2002

and its worth noting that within the text the standard is still referred
to as IEEE Std 1003.1-2001.

TC1 has passed its ballot at ISO, and the 2003 edition text has been
prepared with the ISO/IEC covers and submitted to the ISO secretariat.
ISO/IEC publication of the 2003 edition is targeted for August 15 2003.
The active work item is now Technical Corrigenda 2. The draft scope and
purpose have been produced which will be submitted to the IEEE for
approval. We expect TC2 to be targeted for IEEE approval in December 2003.

*Q1. Is there a description of the project describing the scope?*

Yes, see Austin/9 in the document register

URL: [url]http://www.opengroup.org/austin/docs/austin_9r6.txt[/url].

A scope for Technical Corrigendum Number 1 (TC1), which addresses bugs
in the final standard is available

URL: [url]http://www.opengroup.org/austin/docs/austin_113r1.txt[/url].

The scope for TC2 is technically identical to TC1.

*Q2. Where can I download the specifications from?*

Ongoing draft specifications for the technical corrigenda are available
online from the Austin Group web site at
[url]http://www.opengroup.org/austin/[/url] . You need to be a member of the Austin
Group. Information on how to join the group is on the web site.

URL: [url]http://www.opengroup.org/austin/[/url]. (Austin Group Home Page)

Copies of the final standard can also be obtained either from The IEEE
(search on 1003.1-2001) , The Open Group (Look for documents
T031,C031,C032,C033,C034) or ISO (look for ISO/IEC 9945 parts 1 thru 4).
It is freely available in pdf format to members of the Open Group from
the Open Group publications catalog. If you wish to signup up your
organization to become a member of The Open Group and are an active
participant you can sign up for no fee at
[url]http://www.opengroup.org/austin/ogmembers/[/url] </austin/ogmembers/> (note
this is for companies and organizations only). If you want to join as an
individual please contact Andrew Josey directly, he can then add you as
an individual affiliate member.

The html version of the standard is freely available, we request you to
register at URL:[url]http://www.unix-systems.org/version3/[/url]

*Q3. What are the restrictions on the draft?*

See the copyright notice on the documents and the notice at
[url]http://www.opengroup.org/austin/login.html[/url] . Downloading the draft is
taken as agreement to abide by the stated terms and conditions. In brief
you need to be a participant in the Austin Group in order to download
the drafts.

URL: [url]http://www.opengroup.org/austin/login.html[/url] (Copyright Notice)

All queries regarding permission to reproduce sections of the standard
should be sent to austin-group-permissions at Open Group . Permission
needs to be granted by both copyright holders, The IEEE and The Open Group.

The IEEE and The Open Group position on implementations of the standard
is as follows: "/it is fair use of the standard for implementors to use
the names, labels etc contained within the specification. The intent of
publication of the standard is to encourage implementations of the
standard. Your attention is drawn to the disclaimer regarding
verification of patents when implementing the standard./"

*Q4. How do I become a participant in the Austin Group?*

To participate you need to join the Austin Group. See
[url]http://www.opengroup.org/austin/lists.html[/url] for more information.

URL: [url]http://www.opengroup.org/austin/lists.html[/url]. (How to Join the Austin
Group)

*Q5. Who else is participating in the Austin Group?*

A list of participants can be queried from the mailing list information
page at [url]http://www.opengroup.org/austin/lists.html[/url] As of July 2003,
there are approximately 600 participants from over 125 organizations.

*Q6. Are there minutes and documents available from meetings of the group?*

Yes the group makes all its documentation publically available in the
document register.

URL: [url]http://www.opengroup.org/austin/docreg.html[/url]. (the Document Register)

*Q7. Are there procedures for the operation of the group?*

Yes, there are two sets of procedures.

1. How the group operates without the politics -
URL: [url]http://www.opengroup.org/austin/docs/austin_26.txt[/url].

2. How the group operates with respect to the IEEE, ISO/IEC SC22/WG15
and the Open Group.
URL: [url]http://www.opengroup.org/austin/docs/austin_14r2.pdf[/url]

This second document is also known as the JDOCS procedures.

The procedures for maintenance of the approved standard and future
revision are in Austin/112r1
URL: [url]http://www.opengroup.org/austin/docs/austin_112r1.txt[/url]

*Q8. Where is the schedule for draft development?*

Development of the main standard is now complete, in brief the schedule
was for seven drafts with technical completion in June 2001. Draft 4 was
the first feature set complete draft. Draft 6 was the Sanity review.
Draft 7 was intended as the final draft. Now that The Open Group , IEEE
and ISO have approved the standard the group is concentrating on
maintaining the standard and producing Technical Corrigenda and
interpretations. The first technical corrigenda, Technical Corrigenda
number 1 (TC 1) was completed in December 2002. The 2003 Edition of the
standard incorporating TC1 was published on March 31 2003. TC2 is
expected to complete in December 2003.

URL: [url]http://www.opengroup.org/austin/docs/austin_169.html[/url]. (Status)

*Q9. Are there meetings? Can any one attend?*

Yes there are meetings or teleconferences after each draft review
period. The purpose of these meetings is comment resolution and project
planning. These are open meetings and anyone can attend. For face to
face meetings, an agenda is circulated at least thirty days in advance
of the meeting and minutes are kept for each meeting. For face to face
meetings there is always a teleconference bridge for those unable to
attend to participate. For the teleconferences we provide a freecall US
number.

*Q10. How can I find out where the next meeting is ?*

Check the Austin Group web site ([url]http://www.opengroup.org/austin[/url]), face
to face meetings are announced at least 30 days in advance on the main
page. There are also periodic teleconferences to review defect reports.

*Q11. What is aardvark?*

Aardvark is the commenting format used to review the drafts. It is also
being used for the defect reporting mechanism on the final standard. The
use of a standard format facilitates automated collation of multiple
comments from multiple parties against a large volume of materials (the
standard is 3600 pages+), into a sorted change request report. Specific
information on the format can be found at the aardvark web page.

URL: [url]http://www.opengroup.org/austin/aardvark/aardvark.html[/url] (Aardvark
information)

*Q12. How can I submit a comment against the specifications?*

For defects in the final text of the specification, please use the
defect reporting form. Go to
[url]http://www.opengroup.org/austin/defectform.html[/url] . This page also gives
alternate instructions for defect report submission using email rather
than the web.

URL: [url]http://www.opengroup.org/austin/defectform.html[/url] (How to report a
defect)

For bugs in the Technical Corrigenda, use the bug reporting form which
is separate from the defect reporting form. A URL is located with each
draft corrigenda stating its location.

*Q13. I filed an aardvark but did not see a copy on the mailing list.
Problem?*

No problem. There is a different list. The incoming aardvark are sent to
the Austin-Review mailing list. The purpose of this list is only for
circulation of aardvark comments, and of aardvark change request reports
(generated by the editorial team).

*Q14. Does this project have an IEEE Project number ?*

Yes, on 26th June 1999 the IEEE Standards Board approved the project
authorization request and designated the number P1003.1.

On August 15th 2002, the IEEE Standards Board approved the technical
corrigendum project authorization request with the designation:

P1003.1-2001/Cor 1-200x Standard for Information Technology -- Portable
Operating System Interface (POSIX) -- Technical Corrigendum Number 1

*Q15. What happened to the existing POSIX 1003.1-1990 and POSIX
1003.2-1992 standards when this revision completed?*

Since the material contained in the existing POSIX 1003.1 and POSIX
1003.2 standards is merged into the revision, POSIX 1003.1-1990 and its
amendments, and POSIX 1003.2-1992 and its amendments were
administratively withdrawn by the IEEE.

*Q16. I can not attend meetings , how do I get my point of view listened
to?*

Firstly, if the point can be described concisely with specific actions
to remedy, then the recommended solution is to file an aardvark that
will then be considered at the review meeting.

Secondly, if you are not sure about a problem and how to solve it, the
first course of action is to start a discussion on the austin-group
mailing list, and then if necessary to approach your designated
Organizational Representative as per the JDOCS procedures to raise the
matter on your behalf at a review meeting.

It is also possible to contact the chair to arrange an agenda slot for
the review meeting where you can teleconference in with the review group.

*Q17. What are the JDOCS procedures?*

This is a tri-party set of procedures for operation of the joint group.
The three organizations are IEEE PASC, The Open Group and ISO/IEC SC22
WG15. In brief, these procedures layout the basic principles and high
level operating rules for the group, and issue resolution procedures .

URL: [url]http://www.opengroup.org/austin/docs/austin_14.pdf[/url]

*Q18. How do I join the mailing list?*

URL: [url]http://www.opengroup.org/austin/lists.html[/url]. (How to Join the Austin
Group)

*Q19. How does this effort compare to the Linux Standard Base?*

The Austin Group documents specify application programming interfaces
(APIs) at the source level, and thus are about source code portability.
They are neither a code implementation nor an operating system, but a
stable definition of a programming interface that those systems
supporting the specification guarantee to provide to the application
programmer. Efforts such as the Linux Standard Base are about binary
portability and define a specific binary implementation of an interface
to operating system services. It also worth bearing in mind that at the
time of writing the LSB specifications are not based on the latest
version of the joint document, but the Single UNIX Specification Version
2. They are expected to uplift to the Single UNIX Specification Version
3 for LSB 2.

*Q20. Does the unification with the Single UNIX Specification mean the
Austin Group specifications are now only relevant to the UNIX community?*

No, the additional features to support version 3 of the Single UNIX
Specification have been added as an option (the XSI option). The core
POSIX interfaces still comprise a series of options allowing a minimal
implementation, and with the subprofiling standards such as POSIX
1003.13 and its revision (currently in progress), the Austin Group
specifications are relevant as the open industry standard source API for
embedded real-time devices and controllers.

For a good description of the modular options in the Austin Group
specification see URL:
[url]http://people.redhat.com/~drepper/posix-option-groups.html[/url]

*Q21. What are the core technical changes in the Austin Group
specifications over the base documents?*

The main changes are as follows: alignment with ISO/IEC 9899:1999 (ISO
C), support for IPv6, integration of recent POSIX realtime amendments (
1003.1d, 1003.1j, 1003.1q), amendments to the core POSIX functionality
from the 1003.2b and 1003.1a amendments, application of technical
corrigendum from The Open Group and IEEE interpretations, revision of
options , removal of obsolescent and legacy interfaces.

*Q22. Were there many interfaces removed in the revision? *

Interfaces that were previously marked as obsolescent or Legacy (with
The Open Group Base documents), and thus where due warning has been
given to application programmers have been removed in this revision. The
long scope document gives a list of the affected interfaces. The biggest
single affected technical area was the removal of the XTI interfaces
which were not merged from the original Networking base documents (these
interfaces had been marked as deprecated in XNS5.2). The only exception
to this has been the c89 utility that has been removed and superseded by
c99. In a small number of cases some interfaces have been marked Legacy
or obsolescent in this revision to warn the application programmer that
alternate interfaces should be used when writing new applications and
that these interfaces may be removed in a future revision.

*Q23. What changed in the handling of options?*

The FIPS 151-2 options were made mandatory in the revision, for example
mandating support for job control and supplementary groups. New options
were introduced for support of the recent POSIX amendments 1003.1d,
1003.1j and 1003.1q, support for IPv6, support for raw sockets and
support for the X/Open System Interface extension (for support of
version 3 of the Single UNIX Specification). The Reader/Writer locks
option has been merged into the Threads option, and a new XSI STREAMS
option was broken out from the X/Open System Interface

*Q24. How do I submit a suggestion for inclusion in a future revision of
the specification?*

The procedures for inclusion of new features in a future revision are in
Austin/112r1. You can also email suggestions to austin-group-futures-l
at The Open Group.
URL: [url]http://www.opengroup.org/austin/docs/austin_112r1.txt[/url]

*Q25. How do I add a question to this FAQ?*

Send the question (preferably with a proposed answer) to Andrew Josey.

-----
Andrew Josey
Austin Group Chair