Review of ISO/IEC JTC Interoperabilty Considerations

["Dennis E. Hamilton" <dennis.hamilton@acm.org>]

I suggest that we  review the interoperability-related considerations that
are found in the ISO/IEC JTC1 directives that apply to submission of ODF as
an ISO/IEC International Standard.  

Rob Weir provides this reference: ISO/IEC JTC 1 Directives, (5th Ed., v.
3.0, 5 April 2007) pg. 145,
<http://www.jtc1sc34.org/repository/0856rev.pdf>.  I find it valuable to
take a guided search through the few occurrences of "interoperability" in
the document.

I recommend this review for the following purposes:

 1. Understanding what the interoperability considerations at JTC1 are, and
how they apply to a submission such as ODF as an International Standard

 2. Seeing what value, if any, the JTC1 directives have in how we approach
guidance and inspection/testing methodologies.  I am thinking in terms of
any OIC-provided feedback and recommendations that support the ODF TC in
having the ODF specifications satisfy JTC1 criteria related to
interoperability (to the degree that their satisfaction matters as part of
joint arrangements between OASIS and JTC1).

 - Dennis

MORE DETAILS AND PERSONAL ANALYSIS

I am making this recommendation based on an exchange that just occured on
the oic-comment list.  Here is more thinking about the subject:

 1. For the purpose of ascertaining how interoperability considerations are
delimited in the JTC1 Directives (ISO/IEC JTC 1 Directives, (5th Ed., v.
3.0, 5 April 2007), I find it useful to browse through the document using a
search on "interoperability," paying attention to the context and any
statements of policy that pertain at each occurrence.  There are a moderate
number of occurrences (although only two are included in the index) and I
recommend conducting the exercise.

 2. Although it might be a matter of some interest how the ODF specification
is assessed with regard to the interoperability-related criteria that apply
to it as an ISO/IEC JTC1 submission, I don't believe that the OIC TC has
undertaken any responsibility in that regard.  This seems to be a proper
concern for the ODF TC, especially as JTC1 policies come to bear on future
submissions pertaining to IS 26300, its maintenance, its revisions, and its
possible replacements.

 3. I don't think the OIC TC is considering the assessment of the
specification with regard to its satisfaction of JTC1
interoperability-related criteria.  I don't believe that inspecting the ODF
specification in this way has ever come up; the charter does not refer to
that particular challenge.

 4. It seems that the OIC TC assessment of the state of interoperability is
not about the application of the JTC1 criteria, but about practical
achievement of interoperability.  (I do confess that the ISO/IEC Information
Technology Vocabulary definition is rather opaque and probably too abstract.
It would be useful to add something about what that means to us with regard
to ODF interoperability.)

 5. Since the assessment and other efforts of the OIC TC may lead to
recommendations to the ODF TC concerning needed improvements and
clarifications in the specification itself, there might be an indirect
contribution to satisfaction of interoperability-related conditions in the
JTC1 procedures.  The connection seems to be an indirect one.

It would be useful for us to review the interoperability considerations in
the JTC1 procedures to see if there is anything that would strengthen the
focus and value of our assessments and of our feedback to the ODF TC.





-----Original Message-----
From: robert_weir@us.ibm.com [mailto:robert_weir@us.ibm.com] 
http://lists.oasis-open.org/archives/oic-comment/200906/msg00001.html
Sent: Tuesday, June 09, 2009 08:08
To: oic-comment@lists.oasis-open.org
Subject: Re: [oic-comment] State of ODF Interoperability ? Draft Rev 0.2 --
Discussion of interoperability

marbux <marbux@gmail.com> wrote on 06/09/2009 12:13:33 AM:
http://lists.oasis-open.org/archives/oic-comment/200906/msg00000.html
> 
> @ The draft currently states:
> 
> "According to ISO/IEC 2382-01, 'Information Technology Vocabulary,
> Fundamental Terms', interoperability is 'The capability to
> communicate, execute programs, or transfer data among various
> functional units in a manner that requires the user to have little or
> no knowledge of the unique characteristics of those units'.
> 
> ISO/IEC 2382-001's definition is inapplicable to international IT
> standards and its usage has led to a serious error in the subject
> draft.
> 

ISO/IEC 2382 is the International Standard for IT Vocabulary.  So to say 
that its use is inapplicable to international standards is absurd.  Not 
only is it permissible, the use of this vocabulary standard is 
specifically recommended in ISO Directives Part 2 "Rules for the structure 
and drafting of International Standards".


> The definition applicable to international IT standards is provided by
> ISO/IEC JTC 1 Directives, (5th Ed., v. 3.0, 5 April 2007) pg. 145,
> <http://www.jtc1sc34.org/repository/0856rev.pdf>:
> 

This is a policy document, not a standard for IT vocabulary. The section 
you quote is in annex to that policy document. You have conveniently 
omitted that the sentence you quote begins "For the purpose of this policy 
statement, interoperability is understood..." which makes it clear that 
the definition is scoped to that specific policy statement, and is not 
being set out as a general definition.


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