UNIX®, POSIX, and Open Systems

John S. Quarterman is Senior Technical Partner at Texas Internet Consulting, which consults in networks and open systems with particular emphasis on TCP/IP networks, UNIX systems, and standards.He is the author of The Matrix: Computer Networks and Conferencing Systems Worldwide (Digital Press, 1990), and is a coauthor of UNIX, POSIX, and Open Systems: The Open Standards Puzzle (1993), Practical Internetworking with TCP/IP and UNIX (1993), The Internet Connection: System Connectivity and Configuration (1994), and The E-Mail Companion: Communicating Effectively via the Internet and Other Global Networks (1994), all published by Addison-Wesley. He is editor of Matrix News, a monthly newsletter about issues that cross network, geographic, and political boundaries, and of Matrix Maps Quarterly; both are published by Matrix Information and Directory Services, Inc. (MIDS) of Austin, Texas. He is a partner in Zilker Internet Park, which provides Internet access from Austin. He and his wife, Gretchen Quarterman, split their time among his home in Austin, hers in Buffalo, New York, and various other locations. Susanne Wilhelm is the President of Windsound Consulting. Her fields of specialization include UNIX system software, open systems standards, system administration, embedded systems, and networking. She has been involved with POSIX standards since 1989. She is currently developing a test platform for Proximity Sensor Electronics Units. 0201527723AB04062001

I. CONTEXT.

1. Computing Models.


Models.



Models.



History.



Open Systems.



Specifications and Interfaces.



Summary.

2. UNIX and Open Systems.


The UNIX System.



Networking.



Degrees of Openness.



Summary.

3. POSIX and Open Standards.


Standards for Open Systems.



Standard.



Specification.



Interface.



Implementation.



Profile.



Why Standards Are Important.

II. CUTTERS.

4. Formal Standards Bodies.


International Standards Bodies.



National Standards Bodies.



Regional Standards Bodies.

5. Industry Organizations and User Groups.


POSIX Process Participants.



Manufacturers Organizations.



Industry User Groups.



Military User Groups.



Traditional User Groups.



OSI Industry Promotion Groups.



OSI Workshops.



TCP/IP Protocol Standardization Bodies.

6. Processes.


The Standards Process Model.



The ANSI Process.



The IEEE Process as Implemented by TCOS.



The ASC X3 Process.



The ISO/IEC JTC 1 Process.



Participation and Membership.



Differences in Processes.



Networks and Standards.



Drawbacks.

III. PIECES AND PATTERNS.

7. IFEEICS TCOS Standards.


Overview.



Functional Groups.



SEC Subcommittees.



POSIX System Interface.



Contents of the System Interface Standard.



System Error Interfaces.



P1003.1a andPIOO3.1b.



POSIX Shell and Utilities.



Graphical User Interface.



Network Interfaces.



Realtime.



Security.

8. Protocols and Standards.


Layers and Processes.



OSI Standardization.



TCP/IP Standardization.



The Internet.



The IAB Standards Process.



IAB and IETF and TCOS.

9. Programming Language Issues.


Interfaces.



History.



How Language Independence Affected POSIX.



Language Binding.



LIS and Binding Goals.



LIS and Binding Conformance.



Other LIS Issues.



C.



Fortran.



Ada.

10. Conformance Testing.


Overview.



History.



System Interface Conformance.



Application Conformance.



Implementation Conformance.



IEEE 1003.3: Test Methods.



What Is Tested?



Accreditation, Validation, and Certification.



Issues.



Test Suites and Test Scaffolds.

11. Internationalization.


Traditional Environment.



Languages.



Coded Character Sets.



Cultural Conventions.



Locale.



Internationalization Organizations.

IV. PUZZLES.

12. Frameworks.


Profile Hierarchies.



Profiles.



Frameworks.



Profile Issues.



Profiling.

13. TCOS Profiles.


PSC: Profile Steering Committee.



IEEE P1003.0 POSIX Guide.



IEEEPIOO3.18 PEP.



IEEE P1003.14 Multiprocessing AEP.



IEEE P1003.13 Realtime AEP.



IEEE P1003.10 Supercomputing AEP.



IEEE P1003.15 Batch AEP.



IEEE P1003.11 Transaction Processing.



TCOS Profiles and Distributed Computing.



TCOS Profile History.

14. Industry Profiles.


X/Open Portability Guide.



SVID: System V Interface Definition.



AES: Application Environment Specification.



DCE: Distributed Computing Emironment.



UI-ATLAS.



BSDI: Berkeley Software Design, Inc.



ABI: Application Binary Interfaces.



Distributed Management.

15. Procurement Profiles.


NIST Profiles.



IAB: Internet Architecture Board.



PSSG: Protocol Standards Steering Group.



Other Profiles.

Appendix A: Resources.


Standards Bodies.



Industry Organizations and User Groups.



Working Groups.



Standards Documents.



Books.



Technical Reports.



Periodicals



Newsletters.



Online Information.

Appendix B: Puzzle Challenge.


The Standard Word Search Problem.



The Standards Puzzle.



This Helps a Bit.



The Formal Standards.



Standards Bodies and Consortia.

Glossary.
Index.