Subject: SC22 N2455 - Application from Sun for PAS for Java

From: "william c. rinehuls" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 12:54:09 -0400 (EDT)

________________________beginning of title page _____________________
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC22
Programming languages, their environments and system software interfaces
Secretariat:  U.S.A.  (ANSI)

ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC22
N2455

April 1997

SUBJECT:           Application from Sun Microsystems, Inc. for Recognition
                   as a Submitter of Publicly Available Specifications
                   for Sun's Java* Technologies

SOURCE:            Secretariat, ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC22

WORK ITEM:         N/A

STATUS:            N/A

CROSS REFERENCE:   N/A

DOCUMENT TYPE:     N/A

ACTION:            To SC22 Member Bodies, WG Conveners and HODs for
                   information.

* Java is a trademark of Sun Microsystems

Address reply to:
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC22 Secretariat
William C. Rinehuls
8457 Rushing Creek Court
Springfield, VA 22153 USA
Tel:  +1 (703) 912-9680
Fax:  +1 (703) 912-2973
email:  [email-masked]

________________end of title page; beginning of text ___________________

ISO/IEC JTC 1                                                         
Information Technology                                                

ISO/IEC  JTC 1 N 4615                   

DATE:  1997.03.31     

REPLACES                                     

DOC TYPE:
Other document                                                        

TITLE:
Application from Sun Microsystems, Inc. for Recognition as a Submitter
of Publicly Available Specifications for Sun's Java Technologies      

SOURCE:
Sun Microsystems, Inc.                                                

PROJECT:                   

STATUS:
This document is circulated to JTC 1 for letter ballot.  All letter   
ballots are to be returned by 1997-07-14.                             

ACTION ID:  ACT 

DUE DATE:  1997.07.14

DISTRIBUTION:  P and L Members                                             

MEDIUM:  D

DISKETTE NO.:  117       

NO. OF PAGES:  10        

Secretariat, ISO/IEC JTC 1, American National Standards Institute, 11 
West 42nd Street, New York, NY  10036; Telephone:  1 212 642 4932;    
Facsimile:  1 212 398 0023; Email:  [email-masked]

_______________________________________________________________________
Dr. Jim Mitchell
Vice President, Technology and Architecture
JavaSoft, A Sun Microsystems, Inc. Business
2550 Garcia Avenue, MS UCUP01-201
Mountain View, California 94043-1100
USA

14 March 1997

Ms Lisa Rajchel
ISO/IEC JTC 1 Secretariat
American National Standards Institute
11 West 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
USA
Tel: +1 212 642 4932
Fax: +1 212 398 0023
e-mail: [email-masked]

Dear Ms Rajchel,

Sun Microsystems, Inc. is applying to ISO/IEC JTC 1 to become a recognised  
JTC 1 PAS Submitter for our Java technology. Please find attached a copy
of our request, compiled in accordance with the criteria specified in
document ISO/IEC JTC 1 N 3582 The Transposition of Publicly Available  
Specifications into International Standards - A Management Guide.

In addition to this printed version, we are also sending you copies of  
this document by fax and by e-mail. We trust these arrangements are
satisfactory and look forward to a positive outcome.

Sincerely

Dr. Jim Mitchell,
Vice President, Technology and Architecture
JavaSoft, A Sun Microsystems, Inc. Business

Attachments:   Sun Microsystems, Inc. Application to ISO/IEC JTC 1 for  
Recognition as a Submitter of Publicly Available Specifications for Sun's
Java Technology.

_________________________________________________________________________
JavaSoft, A Sun Microsystems, Inc. Business

TITLE:      Sun Microsystems, Inc. Application to ISO/IEC JTC 1 for
            recognition as a Submitter of Publicly Available
            Specifications for Sun s Java Technologies

SOURCE:    Sun Microsystems, Inc.

DATE:      14 March 1997

Contact Information: 
Dr. Ken Urquhart
JavaSoft, MS UCUP01-201
2550 Garcia Avenue,
Mountain View, California
USA 94043-1100
Telephone: +1 408 343 1889
Fax: +1 408 343 1553
Email: [email-masked]
Home Page: http://java.sun.com

__________________________________________________________________________                                                                         

1. Document Purpose and Scope
This document is the request from Sun Microsystems, Inc. (SMI) to ISO/IEC  
JTC 1 for recognition as a Submitter of Publicly Available Specifications
for our Java  technologies.  It was produced in accordance with the
criteria specified in document ISO/IEC JTC 1 N 3582 The Transposition of
Publicly Available Specifications into International Standards - A
Management Guide. 

2. Document Structure 
Section 3 of this document adopts the paragraph numbering used in section  
3 (Organization Acceptance Criteria) of Annex B: Detailed PAS Criteria in
JTC 1 N 3582. Italicized excerpts from Annex B are included in this
submission for ease of cross-reference. 

3. Status of SMI with regard to PAS Organization
   Acceptance Criteria 
3.1  Cooperative Stance 
   There should be evidence of a cooperative attitude toward open dialog,  
and a stated objective of pursuing standardization in the JTC 1 arena. The
JTC 1 community will reciprocate in similar ways and, in addition, will
recognize the organization's contribution to international standards. 

SMI has a long history of working openly and cooperatively with standards  
groups. In the JTC 1 arena we are active in several committees, including
SC22, SC24, and SC29, with respect to our Java technologies. For example,
we have had an open dialog with SC29/WG12 that dates back to 1994 (when
Java was a project code-named oak). We are currently working with both
SC29 and SC24 to allow them to include public references to our Java
specifications in their emerging MHEG-6 (SC29) and VRML 2.0
(SC24) standards.  We hosted the January 1997 joint SC29/WG12, SC22/Java
Study Group meeting at our JavaSoft facility in Cupertino, California and
have been corresponding with the convener of the SC22 Java Study Group.

3.1.1     Commitment to Working Agreement(s):
   There should be acceptable proposals covering the following categories   
   and topics:
   a) What working agreements have been provided, how comprehensive are they?
   b) How manageable are the proposed working agreements (e.g.
      understandable , simple, direct, devoid of legalistic language
      except where necessary)?
   c) What is the attitude toward creating and using working agreements?

SMI has an open and positive attitude towards creating and entering into  
working agreements with JTC 1, its subcommittees, and its working groups  
with regard to the standardization of the mature portions of our Java  
technologies. We are committed to providing the people and the resources
necessary to attend and/or host committee and working group meetings and
to carry out project editing tasks. We agree that all written working agree-
ments should be stated in simple, direct, and understandable terms.

3.1.2 Ongoing Maintenance:
   a) What is the willingness and resource availability to conduct ongoing  
      maintenance, interpretation, and 5 year revision cycles following
      JTC 1 approval?

SMI is committed to evolving the Java platform in response to, and at a  
pace consistent with, market conditions. The only proviso is that the Java
platform continues to remain compatible and interoperable across the
widest possible set of hardware and operating systems.

To this end, SMI would provide all resources necessary for the ongoing  
maintenance, interpretation and enhancement of the Java platform.

   b) What level of willingness and resources are available to facilitate  
      specification progression during the transposition process (e.g.,  
      technical clarification and normal document editing)? 

SMI will ensure that resources are available to facilitate specification  
progression during the transposition process - including, but not limited
to, project editing and technical clarification.

3.1.3 Changes: 
   a) What are the expectations of the proposer toward technical and  
      editorial changes to the specification during the transposition
      process? 

The specifications and interface definitions of the Java platform have
been adopted and implemented worldwide by a broad spectrum of industry,
government, and academia. SMI will therefore entertain technical changes
that do not compromise existing and future compatibility and  
interoperability of Java across applications, implementations and platforms. 

We expect that technical changes or additions, if any, will be kept to a  
minimum during transposition. This expectation is based on the existing
high level of worldwide and cross-industry acceptance of, and dependence on, the current Java specifications and all publicly
announced API additions prior to submission to the JTC 1 transposition  
process. Nevertheless, we are prepared to consider each transposition case  
on its merits and we are, in principle, open to changes emanating from  
ISO/IEC JTC 1.

With regard to editorial changes, these should be minor given that SMI
will base its written contributions upon ISO/IEC language standards.
   b) How flexible is the proposing organization toward using only
      portions of the proposed specification or adding supplemental  
      material to it? 

SMI is prepared to be flexible on the transposition of technically
coherent portions of a proposed specification, along with the possible
addition of supplemental material, provided we can carry out the project
editing tasks necessary to ensure uniform wording and consistency. On this  
basis, SMI welcomes the opportunity envisaged for Submitter involvement
in the resolution processes detailed in the PAS Submission Guidelines. 

3.1.4 Future Plans: 
   a) What are the intentions of the proposing organization toward future  
      additions, extensions, modifications to the specification? When?  
      Rationale? 

SMI currently has specifications for the Java language, the class file 
format, the byte codes recognized by the Java Virtual Machine, and the
Java APIs. Each specification is at a different level of maturity. The  
language, class file format, and byte code specifications are the most
mature and unlikely to need any major additions, extensions, or  
modifications. As such, they are the most likely first candidates for
transposition. The API specifications are at various levels of maturity.
Some of the Java Core APIs can be considered reasonably stable while some
of the more recently introduced Java Standard Extension APIs (like the
Java Media API) are still in the public comment stage and will require
more time before they can be considered candidates for transposition.

   b) What is the scope of the organization activities relative to  
      specifications similar to but beyond that being proposed? 

SMI expects that there will be a need for future additions and extensions 
to the set of Java APIs. We intend to continue to enhance Java in response
to market needs and to submit the new APIs to the transposition process as
they mature.

3.2 Characteristics of the Organization 
   The PAS should have originated in a stable body that uses reasonable  
processes for achieving broad consensus among many parties.  The PAS owner
should declare any ongoing commercial interest in the specification either  
as an organization in its own right or by supporting organizations such as
revenue from sales or royalties.
3.2.1 Process and Consensus: 
   a) What processes are used to achieve consensus by small groups and by 
the organization in its entirety? 

SMI has implemented an open, market driven process for the development and  
evolution of the Java platform s public interfaces. This allows additions
and enhancements to be delivered extremely rapidly without sacrificing the  
needed consensus from the marketplace.  This has given us the ability to
respond quickly and effectively to market demands.

This process is for all aspects of our Java technologies. As a concrete  
example, consider our process for developing and evolving Java APIs. It
begins with a SMI engineer drafting an initial specification based on
perceived market need. After that, SMI works with other companies with the
necessary expertise and commercial interest in the API to obtain neces-
sary feedback on the design draft and to take into account their
individual concerns. Working with multiple companies avoids the problem of  
one company having undue influence on an API specification and ensures
that the API meets the needs of the broader market-place.

Once the draft is complete, it is distributed to our licensees for initial  
comment. Many licensees, including Microsoft, IBM, Netscape, Novell, and
Fujitsu, have been active in providing us with feedback and suggestions
for improvement. After considering and incorporating the suggested changes  
into the draft specification, it is then made publicly available
at our web site java.sun.com. Comments from the public are accepted via  
e-mail and in writing in order to make it as easy as possible for everyone
to participate.

Adoption of suggested changes at any point in this process is based upon  
both market and technical merit with the added provision that such changes
must not sacrifice the cross-platform compatibility and interoperability  
of the API.

This process of reaching consensus on API development and evolution has  
proven to be extremely successful in practice. For example, the process
has allowed both the JDBC (Java Database Connectivity) and Java Beans
specifications to be completed and published within six months of their
respective project start dates. This included the time needed to take
public input into account.

   b) How easy or difficult is it for business entities, individuals, or  
government representatives to participate? 

Since the development of the Java platform has always been driven by
market needs, we have made it very easy for companies with the necessary
expertise and commercial interest to participate in the development and
evolution of Java APIs. We believe that broad industry participation is  
vital to this process.

SMI also believes contributions from individuals, universities, and  
government agencies can be just as valuable as contributions from
corporations. For this reason, the process for developing API
specifications is an open one. Anyone is allowed to submit a response to a
call for proposals and anyone is allowed to propose modifications to a  
specification when it is made publicly available for comment.

   c) What criteria are used to determine  voting  rights in the process  
of achieving consensus? 

Our criteria for achieving consensus are designed to be open and rapid.  
As described above, we start with a draft specification, refine it by
working with a widening set of industry participants, and then open it up
for public comment as the specification stabilizes.  SMI works to achieve
a wide consensus among industry leaders on each new part of the Java
platform specification. While there are no  voting  rights per se, the  
ability to reach consensus through this process is evident by the many
endorsements that have accompanied the announcement of each new  
specification.

3.2.2 Credibility and Longevity: 
   a) What is the extent of and support (technical commitment) from active  
members of the organization? 

SMI is committed to supporting the advancement of the Java platform and to  
ensure that it remains open, compatible, and interoperable across the
widest possible range of applications, implementations, and platforms.

   b) How well is the organization recognized by the interested/affected  
industry? 

SMI, through its JavaSoft business unit, is universally recognized and  
accepted by the computer software and hardware industries as the   
intellectual home  of the Java platform and the source of the Java
reference implementation. It has received broad cross-industry support in  
its efforts to deliver a platform that addresses changing market needs. 
   
   c) How long has the organization been functional (beyond the initial  
establishment period) and what are the future expectations for continued
existence? 

SMI was founded in 1982 and has grown into an international, multi-billion  
dollar, company. We expect SMI to remain a viable entity for many years  
to come.

   d)     What sort of legal business entity is the organization operating  
under? 

Sun Microsystems, Inc. is incorporated in the United States of America and  
has subsidiaries incorporated throughout the world. It is active in all
major international markets.

3.3 Intellectual Property Rights: 
   The organization is requested to make known their position on the items  
listed below. In particular, there shall be a written statement of 
willingness of the organisation and its members, if applicable. to comply  
with the ISO/IEC patent policy in reference to the PAS under consideration. 

3.3.1 Patents: 
   a) How willing are the organization and its members to meet the ISO/IEC  
policy on these matters? 

SMI is (and has been) compliant with the ISO/IEC Patent Policy. We make  
our Java technologies available to everyone on a fair and equitable basis.  
As of March 1997, we have over 75 major licensees of our Java platform
worldwide.

3.3.2 Copyrights: 
   a) What copyrights have been granted relevant to the subject  
      specification(s)? 
   b) What copyrights is the PAS originator willing to grant? 
   c) What conditions, if any, apply (e.g., copyright statements,  
      electronic labels, logos)? 

In general, document copyrights remain with SMI and extend to all media in  
which the information may be embodied. However, SMI will not require any
copyright fees for documents accepted by ISO/IEC JTC 1, or its national  
bodies, for standardization.

Electronic labels and logos are discussed below in section 3.3.4
(Trademark  Rights).

3.3.3 Distribution Rights: 
   a) What distribution rights exist and what are the terms of use? 
   b) What degree of flexibility exists relative to modifying distribution  
      rights both before and after the transposition process is complete? 

SMI currently distributes its major Java specifications through  
Addison-Wesley under the series entitled The Java Series...from the
Source Other specifications are distributed in paper format and in
electronic form by SMI itself. Addison-Wesley has been granted publication
rights only. We continue to own the rights to the material published in  
the Java series and expect to continue to be able to distribute our
specifications after transposition. However, we are prepared to be
flexible concerning an arrangement with ISO/IEC in respect to future
distribution of any transposed specification that is consistent with our
established rights.

3.3.4 Trademark Rights: 
   a) What trademarks apply to the subject specification? 
   b) What are the conditions for use and are they to be transferred to  
      ISO/IEC in part or in their entirety? 

SMI owns a number of trademarks with respect to its Java technologies.  
These trademarks include, but are not limited to, the names  Java ,  Java
Compatible ,  100% Pure Java , and the internationally recognized  cup and
steam  logo.

These trademarks are used to represent that a given implementation of Java  
meets the strict compatibility and interoperability criteria inherent in
the Java platform specifications. We expect to continue to own all of our
trademark logos and names and would not expect to transfer the rights
associated with them to ISO/IEC.

3.3.5 Original Contributions: 
   a) What original contributions (outside the above IPR categories)
      (e.g.,  documents, plans, research papers, tests, proposals) need
      consideration in terms of ownership and recognition? 
   b) What financial considerations are there? 
   c) What legal considerations are there? 

SMI knows of no financial or legal considerations that need consideration  
in any decision to transpose one or more of its specifications or parts of
a specification. In regard to recognition, we would welcome and consider  
it appropriate that a transposed specification contain an acknowledgment
of its origin. 

4. Indication of Planned Submissions 
As mentioned in section 3.1.4 of this document, SMI currently has  
specifications for the Java language, the class file format, the byte
codes recognized by the Java Virtual Machine, and the Java APIs. While all
specifications are potential candidates for the PAS Submission process,
they are at various levels of maturity and stability with respect to  
changes. For example, the Java language, the class file format, and the
byte code specifications are the most mature and are the likely first
candidates for submission. The APIs are a different story. The Java Core
APIs can be considered reasonably stable while some of the more recently
introduced Java Standard Extension APIs (like the Java Media API) are  
still in the public comment stage and it will be some time before they can
be considered ready for submission.

_________________________end of SC22 N2455 _________________________