klr@hadron.UUCP (Kurt L. Reisler) (05/28/88)
Please note the standards mentioned as well as the ability for any univ
or org to join or anyone to get the source code from the effort (all of
the source code will be available). A lot of this went unreported by
many newspapers.
NEW FOUNDATION TO ADVANCE SOFTWARE STANDARDS,
DEVELOP AND PROVIDE OPEN SOFTWARE ENVIRONMENT
NEW YORK, N.Y., May 17, 1988---Seven leading computer companies today
announced an international foundation to develop and provide a
completely open software environment to make it easier for customers to
use computers and software from many vendors.
The Open Software Foundation (OSF) will develop a software environment,
including application interfaces, advanced system extensions, and a new
operating system, using X/Open(tm) and POSIX* specifications as the
starting point. POSIX is an operating system standard, closely related
to the UNIX(tm) system, that specifies how software should be written
to run on computers from different vendors.
Initial funding for OSF is being provided by the following sponsors:
Apollo Computer Inc., Groupe Bull, Digital Equipment Corporation,
Hewlett-Packard Company, International Business Machines Corporation,
Nixdorf Computer AG, and Siemens Aktiengesellschaft. OSF membership is
available to computer hardware and software suppliers, educational
institutions, and government agencies around the world.
The foundation has a management organization, staff, and a funding
comittment in excess of $90 million to begin immediate operations. Its
initial development will be based on technologies offered by the
members and its own research, to be carried out worldwide.
"The creation of a standard software enviornment is one of the most
important issues facing the computer industry today," said John L.
Doyle, chairman of the foundation board of directors. "Establishing
this international foundation fulfills the critical need for an open,
rational, and equitable process to help establish the standards our
customers demand and to protect their long-term software investment."
Foundation Principles:
OSF is incorporated as a non-profit, industry-supported research and
development organization. It will define specifications, develop a
leadership operating system, and promote an open, portable applications
environment.
Principles of the foundation include:
* Offerings based on relevant industry standards;
* Open process to actively solicit inputs and technology;
* Timely, vendor-neutral decision process;
* Early and equal access to specifications and continuing
development;
* Hardware independant applications;
* Reasonable, stable licensing terms;
* Technical innovation through university/research participation.
To support its portable application environment, the foundation will
provide software that makes it easier for users to mix and match
computers and appllications from different suppliers by addressing the
following needs:
* Portability---the ability to use application software on computers
from multiple vendors.
* Interoperability---the ability to have computers from different
vendors work together;
* Scalability---the ability to use the same software environment on
many classes of computers, from personal computers to
supercomputers.
To achieve maximum acceptance for the new software environment, the
foundation will provide all members early and equal access to the
development process.
The foundation will follow a direction consistent with the
international X/Open Common Application Environment, the U.S. National
Bureau of Standards Application Portability Profile, and equivalent
European and international standards. Where standards do not exist,
the foundation will work with standards groups to help define them.
Membership
Foundation members will contribute ideas on both technical and policy
matters. They will be informed of foundation activities on a regular
basis and periodically polled on specific issues. Membership is open
to anyone.
Research Institute
A research institute is being created to fund research for the
advancement of applications portability, interoperability standards,
and other advanced technologies for future foundation use. An academic
advisory panel will provide guidance and input to the institute. The
Institute's research will be conducted worldwide.
Software environment guidelines
The foundation's open software environment will allow vendors to add
value through compatible extensions. To encourage its widespread use,
it will run on a wide range of single- and multi-processor computers.
The foundation's software environment includes a set of application
programming interfaces to make it easier to write applications for a
variety of systems. The initial set of interfaces will support POSIX
and X/Open specifications, and will be extended to include areas such
as distributed computing, graphics, and user interfaces.
The foundation will base its development efforts on its own research as
well as on technologies which will be selected and licensed from member
offerings. Technologies being considered by the foundation include:
* Apollo's Network Computing System(tm) (NCS)
* Bull's UNIX system-based multiprocessor architecture;
* Digital's user interface tool kit and style guides for the
X Window System(tm)
* Hewlett-Packard's National Language Support (NLS);
* Nixdorf's relational database technology;
* Siemens' OSI protocol support.
To provide a clear and easy migration path for application developers
and end users, the foundation's system will include features to support
current System V- and Berkeley-based UNIX applications. The operating
system will use core technology from a future version of IBM's AIX(tm)
as a development base.
Specifications supported by the foundation will be publicly available,
and a set of verification tests for all appropriate facilities will be
identified or created. The foundation will license its open system
software internationally.
--------
X/Open is a trademark of X/Open CO. Ltd.
* Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standard
1003.
UNIX is a registered trademark of AT&T in the U.S. and other
companies.
Network Computing System is a trademark of Apollo Computer, Inc.
X Window System is a trademark of Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.
AIX is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.
Kurt Reisler (703) 359-6100
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