in050397

LX/05-0018

ANNUAL REPORT FOR INCITS  STUDY GROUP ON LINUX

PERIOD:  Inception (September 2003) through May 2005

Title of Group:  INCITS STUDY GROUP ON LINUX

Document Register: INCITS SGL Document Register

Submitted by Dave Thewlis,
Convenor, INCITS Study Group on Linux


Description:  The INCITS Study Group on Linux was created by the INCITS Executive Board in September, 2004  to provide an INCITS Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to develop U.S. positions and represent the United States to Linux-related activities within JTC 1 and SC 22 in the absence of a formal Technical Committee, which would only be formed upon the creation of an international Linux Subcommittee or Working Group.  The INCITS SGL is therefore both an administrative and technical group, although it is not charged with doing any actual technical work other than reviewing proposals, activities and comments and developing and furthering U.S. positions.  At the time of creation, it was the intent of the INCITS Executive Board that the INCITS SGL would be replaced by or evolve into an INCITS Technical Committee should an international Linux Subcommittee or Working Group be established within JTC 1.  As of May 2005 this has not occurred.


1.   Executive Summary

Background:  JTC 1/SC 22 was authorized by the October, 2002 JTC 1 Plenary to investigate the field of Linux standardization and determine what if any role JTC 1 should seek in this area.  SC 22 held a Linux Study Group meeting in late May in London, England, to which INCITS sent a delegation of four people.  Among the recommendations of that Study Group were that the Free Standards Group, the primary driver of Linux standardization, should seek PAS Submittor status with JTC 1 and should submit the Linux Standard Base and relevant extensions such as hardware specific extensions as PAS's; that FSG should seek Category A Liaison status with SC 22; and that a study of the differences between Linux and POSIX should be undertaken.  In September, the JTC 1/SC 22 Plenary accepted the recommendations of the Linux Study Group, established an SC 22 Linux Rapporteur Group and began investigating possible roles for SC 22 WGs in the Linux Field. 

With the establishment of the SC 22 Linux Rapporteur Group and the application of the Free Standards Group to become a PAS Submittor, the INCITS Executive Board established the INCITS Study Group on Linux to provide a U.S. TAG to the SC 22 Linux Rapporteur Group or other Linux-related activities within SC 22 or JTC 1.  At that time it was unclear whether JTC 1's involvement with Linux would ultimately result in a Linux Working Group in SC 22 (or elsewhere) or not.  The intent of the INCITS Executive Board was that the INCITS SGL would be replaced by or evolve into an INCITS Technical Committee if an international working activity began within JTC 1 in the area of Linux.

Membership Status:  Participation in the INCITS SGL is currently at six members.  Initial participation in the INCITS SGL was slightly higher, and over the year and a half since its inception several organizations have expressed an interest and not participated, or have become involved briefly and subsequently dropped their membership.  However, with the exception of USENIX the other five member have been involved since the first meeting of the INCITS SGL.  USENIX joined the INCITS SGL in 2004 when it became active within  INCITS SC 22 Technical Committees.

Unusual Attributes:  As the INCITS Study Group on Linux was created by the INCITS Executive Board as a sort of "placeholder" to support U.S. interests until and unless a Technical Committee were to be formed, it has some slightly different characteristics than a Technical Committee.  One is that the Convenor of the INCITS SGL is required to submit a written report to the INCITS Executive Board quarterly; that is, for each meeting of the EB.  Another is that the existence of the INCITS SGL is intentionally temporary, to be replaced with a real Technical Committee (or simply disbanded) depending on how the future of Linux evolves within JTC 1.  The third is that it is charged with more of an administrative and coordination role than a purely technical role, and is not intended to do any standards development activities under its auspices, nor participate in any such activities in its role as TAG to Linux-related international activities of any sort within JTC 1.


2.  Significant Accomplishments

The INCITS Study Group on Linux successfully promoted U.S. positions and interests in the February, 2004 meeting of the JTC 1/SC 22 Linux Rapporteur Group, specifically in helping to ensure that actual Linux standards development activities remain coordinated within the Free Standards Group, rather than become disbursed between FSG and its related activities, and one or more working groups or other activities within JTC 1/SC 22.  The U.S. position was first, that that the role of JTC 1 and SC 22 in Linux standardization should be as a facilitator in helping Linux specifications progress into International Standards via the PAS process, and that SC 22 Working Groups should provide information and requirements as necessary into FSG activities rather than attempt to fork the Linux standardization track with the potential for duplicative and redundant efforts.  A second major element of the U.S. position was that while convergence of Linux and POSIX was ultimately attractive, it should not be allowed to impede or disrupt the progression of Linux standardization or the adoption of Linux itself.   The third major element of the U.S. strategy was to avoid any potential for disruption of the emerging relationship between JTC 1 and the open source community.

In the period since the inception of the INCITS Study Group on Linux, several major accomplishments with respect to Linux have occurred, although these are not specifically accomplishments of the INCITS SGL itself:

3.  Significant Challenges

None.


4.  Expected Challenges

The Ballot Resolution Meeting for DIS 23360 will take place the last week in August in Singapore; the INCITS Study Group on Linux will provide a delegation to this meeting.   It is also not clear at this time what Linux-related activities will continue within JTC 1.  If the DIS is successful, there will be ongoing technical corrigenda, plus the possibility of future Linux-related PAS from the FSG and ongoing liaison activities between FSG and SC 22. In addition, the SC 22 Plenary Meeting in September 2005 is reputed to have some Linux-related matters before it although an initial agenda has not yet been published. 


5.   Committee Activities:

a.   Previous Meetings:

Meeting #
Date
Location
1
December 2, 2003
ITI, Washington, D.C.
2
January 16, 2004
Teleconference
3
December 3, 2004
Teleconference
4
January 17, 2005
Teleconference
5
January 28, 2005
Teleconference
6
February 7, 2005
Teleconference
7
February 24, 2005
ITI, Washington, D.C.


b.   Planned Meetings:


Meeting #
Date
Location
8
June 7, 2005
Teleconference

Meeting #8 was originally scheduled for May 23 but was postponed due to the arrival timing of voting and comment information on DIS 23360. At this meeting the INCIT SGL will establish the U.S. Delegation to the DIS 23360 Ballot Resolution Meeting, and will determine if future meetings of the INCITS SGL are required prior to the Ballot Resolution Meeting.


6.   Liaison Activities

None.


7.  Membership and Officers:

a  Officers

The INCITS Study Group on Linux has only one officer, its Convenor (Chair).

Convenor (Chair)   Dave Thewlis, Intel Corporation      (Trained October 13, 2003)

b.   Membership

Membership in the INCITS Study Group on Linux stands at six:


8.   Future Trends and Related Technical Activities

The significant issue for JTC 1 and INCITS has to do with what if any Linux-related standardization activities happen within JTC 1.  At this time, the existing model is that Linux standardization should continue to be centered in the FSG, with JTC 1 entities providing input, requirements, and suggestions via liaison with FSG or other mechanisms, but not embarking on actual development of Linux standards within JTC 1.  At the same time, JTC 1 clearly has an ongoing responsibility for POSIX standardization, and there is an expressed view towards the ultimate convergence of the Linux and POSIX standards.  (The precise definition of "convergence" may be debated.) 

At this time it appears that these areas can be progressed satisfactorily by a combination of FSG participation via the PAS process and liaison activities, and the participation of FSG and USENIX in SC 22 activities directly where appropriate.  However, if at a future point SC 22 or another JTC 1 entity decided that it wanted to aggressively pursue actual Linux standardization activities, the models would change and it isn't clear what would happen.  In a broader sense, the Linux-related process that has happened within JTC 1 can provide a useful model for future activities involving other parts of the open source community, in addition to helping to encourage standardization within that community and by progressing its specifications to become full International Standards.


9.  Other Administrative Information

The INCITS Study Group on Linux collects no fees and has no assets.

With respect to the future of the INCITS Study Group on Linux, the results of the Ballot Resolution Meeting for DIS 23360, and the resolutions from the JTC 1/SC 22 Plenary meeting in September, 2005, should both be available by the October meeting of INCITS.  As indicated above, if the DIS is successful, there will be yearly corrigenda, plus the prospect in the future of other Linux-related PAS and eventually new versions of the LSB.  Ongoing liaison activities between SC 22 and the FSG, plus activities related to the ultimate disposition of  POSIX-Linux convergence, and the potential for new initiatives within SC 22, suggest that there will be some degree of ongoing Linux-related activity within JTC 1 for the forseeable future although it is not possible to predict the amount or the nature of it at this time.  Although there is no planned SC 22 parallel to the INCITS SGL, the SGL has successfully worked directly with the FSG to ensure that U.S. concerns are adequately handled and this model could be preserved to deal with future Linux issues in the absence of a formal international committee for which a U.S. Technical Committee should be formed

Therefore, the INCITS Executive Board will need to consider whether the INCITS Study Group on Linux should be continued, replaced with a Technical Committee, or simply dissolved.  With the ongoing need for some technical entity to form U.S. positions on Linux activities such as the technical corrigenda, the last option (dissolving the INCITS SGL without replacing it) is probably not the best choice:  CT 22 has already made it clear that it has no Linux expertise and cannot deal with Linux-related matters, and it is doubtful that the Executive Board wishes to take on this task..


Respectfully Submitted,

Dave Thewlis
Convenor, INCITS Study Group on Linux

24 May 2005