Subject: Text Only for JTC 1 N 4627- reengineering output for 60-day letter ballot

From: Steve Carson <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 1997 11:00:46 -0600

ISO/IEC JTC 1 N 4627

Title:		Proposed JTC 1 Technical Directions and Common Strategic
Characteristics
Source:	JTC 1 Ad Hoc on JTC 1 Reengineering
Action:	This document is circulated to JTC 1 National Bodies for a 60-day
letter ballot.

The following Technical Directions have been identified by the JTC 1 Ad Hoc
on JTC 1 Re-engineering:

Technical Directions
			
Data capture
Distributed application services
Identification Cards and Related Devices
Information Interchange Media
IT terminology
Multimedia and Representation	
Networking & Interconnects
Office Equipment
Programming Languages & Software Interfaces
Security	
Software Engineering	
User Interfaces

 Descriptions of Technical Directions

Data Capture
Coding (data formats, syntax, and structure) and enabling technologies for
individually and uniquely identifying items and entities.

Distributed Application Services
Enabling technologies for use in a distributed environment in order to
achieve concrete distributed application services. They constitute:
§ Data management functions including definition of data structures and
semantics for a complete range of datatypes, together with services and
protocols for storage, access and update of such data; 
§ Specification of application functions independently of the details of
their distribution (through the use of object technology); together with
the configuration and management of those functions across enterprises.

Distributed systems services functions such as transaction processing,
electronic messaging, directory and systems management; and for
specification of techniques used for messaging in electronic commerce.

ID Cards and Related Devices
Interchange and manipulation of stored digital data on optical, magnetic
and/or semiconductor media, using on demand optical, magnetic, electrical
and/or RF techniques.

Information Interchange Media
Physical characteristics of storage media using optical, magnetic or other
technologies and structure of data for storage and interchange, including
algorithms for the loss-less compression of data.

IT Terminology
Terminology for Information Technology and related fields, intended to
achieve consistency throughout worldwide markets and users.

Multimedia & Representation
Coding of hypermedia and multimedia and coded representation of picture,
audio and character information, including
	- sets of compression and control functions for use with such information,
- interchange of such information.

Networking and Interconnects
Functions necessary for establishment and control of information exchange
via networks and physical interfaces. They comprise, for communications,
interfaces and protocols, for transport, network management and selected
application services and the physical infrastructure.

Office Equipment
Basic characteristics, performance, test methods and other related aspects
of office equipment and products such as:

· Printers
· Copying equipment
· Digital scanners
· Facsimile equipment

Programming Languages and Software Interfaces
Programming languages, their environments and systems software interfaces,
including
		- specification techniques,
		- common facilities, and
		- language bindings.

Security
Generic frameworks, methods, techniques and mechanisms for Information and
Communication Technology security, including interfaces for invoking
security functionalities, related APIs and protocols.

Software Engineering
Processes, supporting tools and supporting technologies for the engineering
of software products and systems.

User Interfaces
User-system interfaces for input devices such as  keyboards, mice, pointers
and pens; rules for systems control by voice recognition, presentation
techniques, dialogues, graphic symbols and icons including those for people
with special needs.

COMMON STRATEGIC CHARACTERISTICS FOR JTC 1 STANDARDS

A purpose of  IT standardization is to ensure that products available in
the marketplace have characteristics of interoperability, portability and
that can easily be adopted in different cultural environments.  Standards
which are developed within the context of the  JTC 1 Technology Directions
shall reflect the requirements of the following common strategic
characteristics:

Interoperability

The ability of two or more systems or applications to exchange information
and to mutually use the information that has been exchanged.  

Portability

The ease with which entities such as software and data can be transferred
from one system to another.

Cultural Adaptability

The special characteristics of natural languages and the commonly accepted
rules for their use (especially in written form) which are particular to a
society or geographic area.  Examples are:  national characters and
associated elements (such as hyphens, dashes, and punctuation marks),
correct transformation of characters, dates and measures, sorting and
searching rules, coding of national entities (such as country and currency
codes), presentation of telephone numbers, and keyboard layouts.

The requirement for JTC 1 standards to enhance and ensure Interoperability
is consistent with the approved JTC 1 Policy on Interoperability.

These characteristics are from the attributes identified in ISO/IEC JTC 1
GII N 123, ISO/IEC JTC 1 GII Roadmap:  Guidelines for Evolution, Management
and Development of GII Standards.  While all the attributes in this
document are important and should be taken into account as appropriate, we
believe Interoperability, Portability and Cultural Adaptability are
critical to the success of JTC 1 standards.  

The applicability of these three requirements will vary across the
technology directions.  Work in each of the technology directions must
properly take in account these requirements.

Steve Carson
Chair, ISO/IEC JTC1/SC24
Computer Graphics and Image Processing
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Steve Carson                 phone:   +1-505-521-7399
GSC Associates Inc.          fax:     +1-505-521-9321
5272 Redman Road             e-mail:  [email-masked]
Las Cruces, NM 88011 USA
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