std-unix@ut-sally.UUCP (07/04/86)
This is a rewrite and update of an earlier mod.std.unix article.
Comments are solicited.
Access information is given for the following:
user groups: USENIX, /usr/group, EUUG
newsletters: ;login:, commUNIXations, EUUG
standards: IEEE 1003.1 (POSIX), 1003.2 (shell/tools), 1003.3 (verification)
X3J11 (C language), /usr/group Standard,
System V Interface Definition, X/OPEN PORTABILITY GUIDE
magazines: UNIX REVIEW, UNIX/WORLD
A slightly later version of this article will probably appear in
";login: The USENIX Association Newsletter". That newsletter is sent
free of charge to all members of the USENIX Association, whose address is
USENIX Association
P.O. Box 7
El Cerrito, CA 94530
415-528-8649
{ucbvax,decvax}!usenix!office
USENIX sponsors two USENIX Conferences a year, featuring technical papers.
The next one is in Washington, D.C., 20-23 January 1987.
I am the Institutional Delegate from USENIX to the IEEE 1003 committee
(see below) and one of my functions as such 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.
I'm also currently on the USENIX Board of Directors.
Another large group related to the UNIX System is /usr/group,
/usr/group
4655 Old Ironsides Drive, Suite 200
Santa Clara, California 95054
408-986-8840
They publish a newsletter called CommUNIXations. The May/June 1986
issue contains a report by Heinz Lycklama (the /usr/group Institutional
Delegate to IEEE 1003) 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. I will post contact
information for these working groups as taken from that article
in a later mod.std.unix article.
The annual Uniforum Conferences are sponsored by /usr/group
and feature a large trade show. The next one is in D.C.
at the same time as the next USENIX Conference. USENIX
and /usr/group have held several concurrent conferences
in the past and will probably do so in the future.
Both USENIX and /usr/group also have tutorials at their
conferences and both sponsor other meeting activities
in addition to their regular conferences.
In Europe there is the European UNIX systems Users Group,
who have a newsletter and hold two conferences a year.
EUUG secretariat
Owles Hall
Buntingford
Herts SG9 9PL
England
seismo!mcvax!euug
The IEEE 1003 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. Contact:
IEEE Service Center
445 Hoes Ln.
Piscataway, NJ 08854
714-821-8380
Ask for "IEEE 1003.1 Trial Use Standard" - stock number SH10546 (Book #967).
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 Standards Organization (ISO) arena.
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 working group of the committee are
17-19 September 1986 Palo Alto, CA hosts: Amdahl, HP and Sun
9-11 December 1986 Atlantic City NJ with X3J11
2-6 March 1987 Toronto, ON
June 1987 Phoenix, AZ the week of USENIX
September 1987 New Orleans, LA
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 Jesperson (Amdahl), Don Cragun (Sun)
1003.3 verification Roger Martin (NBS), Carol Raye (AT&T)
Both will meet concurrently with 1003.1 in Palo Alto in September,
and inquiries should go to the same address as for 1003.1.
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 (C Standards Committee):
Thomas Plum
Vice Chair, X3J11 Committee
Plum Hall Inc.
1 Spruce Avenue
Cardiff, New Jersey 08232
There is frequent discussion of X3J11 in mod.std.c, which see.
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
It was $15.00 as of January, 1985.
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.
To purchase the System V Interface Definition, write to:
System V Interface Definition, Issue 2
Select Codes 320-011 (Volume 1) and 320-012 (Volume 2)
AT&T Customer Information Center
2833 North Franklin Road
Indianapolis, IN 46219
Be sure to include the address the document should be shipped to
and a check or money order made payable to AT&T.
or call
1-800-432-6600
and ask for operator 77. Give the operator the Select Code
307-127. (You must have a major credit card to order by phone.)
The price is about thirty U.S. dollars.
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.
The two main general circulation magazines about the UNIX system are
UNIX REVIEW UNIX/WORLD
Miller Freeman Publications Co. Tech Valley Publishing
500 Howard Street 444 Castro St.
San Francisco, CA 94105 Mountain View, CA 94041
415-397-1881 415-940-1500
Corrections and additions to this article are solicited.
Oh, yes: "UNIX is a registered Trademark of AT&T."
Volume-Number: Volume 6, Number 21std-unix@ut-sally.UUCP (Moderator, John Quarterman) (07/29/86)
Date: Wed, 23 Jul 86 15:13:37 cdt From: ihnp4!attunix!sfsup!djk (Don Kretsch) Your article summarizing all the players in the UNIX* standards area was full of info and to the point. I liked it. Since you asked for comments, I thought I would point out an additional, although minor piece of info missing from your article. You mentioned that P1003 frequently discusses C language issues and the pointer to C standards info is Tom Plum. This is correct. However, for completeness, you might also mention that I am the C Standards liaison (institutional rep?) to the P1003 committee. Thanks, Don Kretsch AT&T 190 River Road Summit, NJ 07901 [ Not minor at all. Sorry about that. -mod ] Volume-Number: Volume 6, Number 39