From rinehuls@access.digex.net Wed Apr 23 18:54:17 1997 Received: from access5.digex.net (qlrhmEbBUV1EY@access5.digex.net [205.197.245.196]) by dkuug.dk (8.6.12/8.6.12) with ESMTP id SAA12251 for ; Wed, 23 Apr 1997 18:54:11 +0200 Received: from localhost (rinehuls@localhost) by access5.digex.net (8.8.4/8.8.4) with SMTP id MAA18221 for ; Wed, 23 Apr 1997 12:54:09 -0400 (EDT) Date: Wed, 23 Apr 1997 12:54:09 -0400 (EDT) From: "william c. rinehuls" To: sc22docs@dkuug.dk Subject: SC22 N2455 - Application from Sun for PAS for Java Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII ________________________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: rinehuls@access.digex.net ________________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: lrajchel@ansi.org _______________________________________________________________________ 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: LRAJCHEL@ANSI.ORG 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: ken.urquhart@eng.sun.com 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 _________________________