{Resending] New OASIS TC on Code list representation

plcs message

I believe that the earleir version of this message was a casualty of the server problems that OASIS has had.

Please note that OASIS is seeking participation in a new TC on Code List representation - see attached.

While the target is code lists for XML transactions, there is an obvious overlap with the PLCS reference data environment, and also the work of the SC4 Maintenance Agency and ISO 22745. I have signed up to ensure that we are represented, but it would be appropriate for those who are involved in reference data development to sign up as well.

The first meeting is scheduled for 28 August, but details are not yet available. I will unfortunately not be able to attend, due to vacation plans, and would appreciate a volunteer to participate.

From: James Bryce Clark [jamie.clark@oasis-open.org] Sent: 27 July 2006 19:08 To: members@lists.oasis-open.org; tc-announce@lists.oasis-open.org Subject: [members] OASIS TC Call for Participation: OASIS Code List Representation TC *** WARNING *** This mail has originated outside your organization, either from an external partner or the Global Internet. Keep this in mind if you answer this message. To: OASIS members & interested parties A new OASIS technical committee is being formed. The OASIS Code List Representation Technical Committee has been proposed by the members of OASIS listed below. The proposal, below, meets the requirements of the OASIS TC Process [a]. The TC name, statement of purpose, scope, list of deliverables, audience, and language specified in the proposal will constitute the TC's official charter. Submissions of technology for consideration by the TC, and the beginning of technical discussions, may occur no sooner than the TC's first meeting. This TC will operate under our 2005 IPR Policy [b]. The eligibility requirements for becoming a participant in the TC at the first meeting (see details below) are that: (a) you must be an employee of an OASIS member organization or an individual member of OASIS; (b) the OASIS member must sign the OASIS membership agreement [c]; (c) you must notify the TC chair of your intent to participate at least 15 days prior to the first meeting, which members may do by using the "Join this TC" button on the TC's public page at [d]; and (d) you must attend the first meeting of the TC, at the time and date fixed below. Of course, participants also may join the TC at a later time. OASIS and the TC welcomes all interested parties. Non-OASIS members who wish to participate may contact us about joining OASIS [c]. In addition, the public may access the information resources maintained for each TC: a mail list archive, document repository and public comments facility, which will be linked from the TC's public home page at [d]. Please feel free to forward this announcement to any other appropriate lists. OASIS is an open standards organization; we encourage your feedback. Kind regards JBC ~ James Bryce Clark ~ Director, Standards Development, OASIS ~ jamie.clark@oasis-open.org [a] http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/process.php [b] http://www.oasis-open.org/who/intellectualproperty.php [c] See http://www.oasis-open.org/join/ [d] http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/tc_home.php? wg_abbrev=codelist CALL FOR PARTICIPATION OASIS CODE LIST REPRESENTATION TC Name of the TC: OASIS Code List Representation TC Background: Many communities of users exchange information in which commonly-accepted concepts can be expressed using concise mnemonics or abbreviations called "codes". Choosing a collection of these codes can constrain the expression of information to an agreed-upon set, requiring the exchange to reference one or more members from only a limited list of such codes, variously called "code lists", "enumerations", or "controlled vocabularies". Examples of standardized code lists include country abbreviations, currency abbreviations, shipping container descriptors, and airport codes. Examples of non-standardized code lists used between trading partners include financial account types, workflow status indicators, and any set of values representing the semantics of related concepts known between the parties involved in information interchange. An advantage of using a controlled set of semantic concepts is in localization where the associated documentation for the coded values can include descriptions in different languages, thus not requiring the coded values themselves to be translated, or where translation is desired, the semantic equivalence of values can be described. Statement of Purpose: While code lists have been used for many years, and their representations for the purposes of being validated are features of a number of constraint languages, there does not exist any standardized representation whose purposes address their interchange, documentation and management for use in any processing context. The purpose of the TC is to produce an XML interchange format for code lists. The format will support actual codes (including alternative codes and composite multi-part codes) and arbitrary related information for each code suitable for documentation and management. The format will also support the automated generation of derived code lists by providing an unambiguous specification of how a set of input code lists can be transformed into an output code list. Scope of Work: The scope of the TC is to produce a set of requirements, a W3C XML Schema, a UML model, documentation, and test examples (particularly to support the code list derivation functionality) initially based on an initial contribution to the committee, and then subsequently on evolving requirements. The creation of software to implement the work of the TC is out of scope. Deliverables: * First version of Code list requirements refined from initial submissions [Q3 2006] * First version of W3C XML Schema, UML model, & documentation based on initial requirements [Q4 2006] * Test examples [Q2 2007] * Ongoing development of additional requirements and versions based on deployment experience [beginning Q1 2007] IPR Mode: RF on limited terms Anticipated Audience: Anyone who works with code lists and has a requirement to transmit the code list values and/or metadata between systems. Also anyone who creates code lists based on pre-existing or 3rd party code lists. Users and consumers of code lists, who may also find a standardized deployment format for such lists easier to employ. Those who are responsible for defining XML vocabularies may be interested in describing a constrained set of values to represent agreed-upon semantic concepts in order to control information items. Language: English ---- The following is informational only for the purposes of starting the TC, and will not be part of the TC's charter. Related Work: The proposers are unaware of standardization efforts related to the representation of code lists and controlled vocabularies. Some projects that have expressed interest in the preliminary work being submitted to this committee, and projects that are known to need solutions in this area, include: OASIS PLCS TC and ISO STEP work OASIS UBL TC (already uses a draft version [0.4] of genericode for code lists non-normatively.) OASIS UnitsML TC FIX - Financial Information Exchange FpML - Financial Products Markup Language MDDL - Market Data Definition Language OSCRE/PISCES (real estate) UN/CEFACT Core Components Specification The TC plans to liaise with each of the OASIS TCs above, and will contact and welcome liaison from the other efforts listed. Possible liaisons already have been identified for UBL TC, PLCS TC and UnitsML TC. Anticipated Contributions: The current genericode draft (version 0.4) requirements, UML models, XSD models, and documentation are expected to be contributed to this TC by Miley Watts LLP (see http://www.genericode.org and http://www.idealliance.org/proceedings/xml04/abstracts/paper86.html for more information regarding genericode) Proposed Working Title for Specification: genericode Date and Time of First Meeting: Monday, 28 August 2006, 15:00 UTC, by teleconference. Ongoing Meeting Plans & Sponsors: Teleconferences will be on an as-required basis every two or three weeks while most of the discussion will happen on the TC mail list. The sponsor for the teleconferences is the Software & Information Industry Association. Proposers of the TC: James Hartley, SIIA FISD, jhartley@siia.net Jon Bosak, Sun Microsystems, jon.bosak@sun.com Tony Coates, Miley Watts, LLP, abcoates@mileywatts.com G. Ken Holman, individual member, gkholman@cranesoftwrights.com Jim Northey, individual member, jnorthey@jandj.com Bryan Rasmussen, Denmark Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation, brs@itst.dk TC Convener: G. Ken Holman, gkholman@cranesoftwrights.com Proposed Chair(s): G. Ken Holman, gkholman@cranesoftwrights.com END --------------------------------------------------------------------- This email list is used solely by OASIS for official consortium communications. Opt-out requests may be sent to member_services@oasis-open.org, however, all members are strongly encouraged to maintain a subscription to this list.