LX/03-0011, Draft Minutes - INCITS Study Group on Linux Meeting #1 - Initial Meeting of INCITS SGL and US Delegation Meeting in Preparation for the February 3-5, 2004 SC 22 Linux Rapporteur Group Meeting

As the above listed organizations were represented at the formation meeting of the INCITS Study Group on Linux, they attained voting rights at the start of the meeting. Voting membership on the INCITS Study Group on Linux stands at six organizations. There are no quorum requirements for INCITS Study Groups.

Ms. Garner and Mr. Morris attended the meeting on behalf of the INCITS Secretariat.

Mr. Thewlis explained that the following individuals/organizations have expressed interest in participating on the INCITS Study Group on Linux, however, they were not in attendance at the formation meeting:

The participants were referred to the revised draft agenda for the December 2-3, 2003 formation meeting of the INCITS Study Group on Linux (LX/03-0010).

The following change to the agenda were made at the meeting:

add new agenda item "3.1 Review of Scope and Program of Work for the INCITS Study Group on Linux"

The revised draft agenda (LX/03-0010) was approved as revised at this meeting by unanimous consent (Deutsch/Barrett).

Reference: LX/03-0010

Mr. Thewlis reviewed the initial charter of the INCITS Study Group on Linux as outlined in LX/03-0001:

The INCITS Study Group on Linux will provide US National Body representation on the SC 22 Linux Rapporteur Group and will develop US National Body positions to the LRG. Reports and status from the meetings will be provided within 30 days to the INCITS Executive Board. The Convener of the INCITS Study Group on Linux will participate on CT22.

The Study Group discussed the charter and agreed that it was adequate.

Mr. Thewlis stated that he would prepare reports of the SG and LRG meetings and circulate them to the Study Group members for review and comment prior to submitting them to the INCITS Executive Board.

Action Item: The INCITS Study Group on Linux will prepare a report of the December 2, 2003 formation meeting for submission to the INCITS Executive Board no later than January 2, 2004, in accordance with the charter of the Study Group.

Mr. Thewlis reviewed background documentation leading up to the formation of the JTC 1/SC 22 Linux Rapporteur Group (LRG):

LX/03-0004 - SC 22 Study Group on Linux report to JTC 1 Plenary

This document is the report of the SC 22 Chairman to the November 2003 JTC 1 Plenary in Singapore. As detailed in this report, recommendations urging the following actions were approved at the May 2003 meeting of the SC 22 Study Group on Linux:

FSG to become a PAS submitter
SC 22 to accept FSG as a Category A liaison organization
UK to submit an NP on the differences between POSIX and Linux
Canada to coordinate development of an NP

The various resolutions from the meeting are detailed in the report. Mr. Thewlis gave an update on the following resolutions:

Resolution 2 - The Free Standards Group has been accepted as a JTC 1 PAS Submitter - first specification (LSB V2.0) is anticipated to be submitted within 6 months.
Resolution 3 - Category A Liaison between SC 22 and The Free Standards Group has been approved
Resolution 5 - the LB closed on November 29, 2003, however, the results were not yet available for consideration
Resolution 7 - Mr. Brannon from the ITTF reported at the November 2003 JTC 1 Plenary on the way in which the LSB PAS would be published as an ISO/IEC Standard and will be providing a formal response for distribution to the JTC 1 members

LX/03-0006 - Linux Ad Hoc Group Report to SC 22

This presentation is a report of the Linux break out/ad hoc that was held at the September 2003 SC 22 Plenary on Linux.

LX/03-0007 - resolutions from September 2003 SC 22 Plenary specific to Linux activities were as follows:

Resolution 03-13: Endorsement of the Linux Study Group Recommendations

SC 22 endorses the recommendations made by the Linux Study Group at its May
2003 meeting in London as contained in document SC 22 N3588.

NOTE: The US delegation to the September 2003 SC 22 Plenary voted to approve this resolution.

Resolution 03-14: Revision of SC 22 N3588: Report-Study Group on LINUX

JTC 1/SC 22 instructs its Chair to make the following revisions to SC 22 N3588 and re-submit the document to JTC 1:

As per Resolution SG-02-Free Standards Group PAS, the Free Standards Group submitted an application to be a PAS Submitter to JTC 1/SC 22. The application is now under ballot
As per Resolution SG-03-Free Standards Group Liaison, the Free Standards Group submitted an application for the establishment of Category A liaison with SC 22. The application is now under ballot
As per Resolution SG-04-Review and Comment for LSB 1.9, the Free Standards Group has begun public review of LSB 1.9 and distributed the text to participants of the Linux Study Group
As per Resolution SG-05, POSIX and LSB Convergence, The UK National Body has submitted to a New Work Item Proposal to JTC 1. The NP Ballot is currently under way
As per Resolution SG-08-Linux Project, the Canadian National Body has set up a mailing list for scope discussion. However, the discussion did not lead to a New Work Item Proposal

NOTE: The US delegation to the September 2003 SC 22 Plenary voted to approve this resolution.

Resolution 03-15: Creation of Linux Rapporteur Group

JTC 1/SC 22 establishes a Linux Rapporteur Group and instructs the LRG rapporteur to complete the following tasks and report the results as soon as possible, but no later than the next SC 22 Plenary Meeting:

Identify technical requirements of JTC 1 National Bodies for “Linux Distribution,” as defined in Resolution SG-01-Definitions of the Linux Study Group
Identify publicly available technologies, i.e. components of “Linux Distribution,” and the control bodies for those technologies. The control bodies may include development projects for the technologies, specification development bodies, de jure or defacto standardization bodies, and experts
Recommend the scope of standardization for “Linux Distribution” within SC 22 or JTC 1
Identify the issues and risks of standardization for “Linux Distribution” and recommend a possible mitigation plan for those risks
Assess how the activities of the Free Standards Group and other organizations may be of interest with SC 22 mandate
Assess which portions of the SC 22 Work Programme may be of interest to the Free Standards Group and other organizations
Recommend the direction of standardization for “Linux Distribution,” including the standardization process, and the feasibility of standardization within a new or existing SC 22 WG for “Linux Distribution,” especially in identifying a relationship with other SC 22 standards including POSIX and C, and possible cooperation with external bodies of SC 22

The life time of the Linux Rapporteur Group is one year, but may be extended by resolution of SC 22. SC 22 allows the rapporteur of the LRG to hold multiple meetings as needed within its life time.

SC 22 appoints John Hill as initial rapporteur of the LRG and it instructs him to hold the first meeting 3-5 February 2004 in Tokyo, Japan.

The participants of the LRG are not necessarily limited to the members of SC 22. SC 22 directs the rapporteur of the LRG to accept nominations from JTC 1 National Bodies and other Subcommittees, as well as Conveners of SC 22 Working Groups, Liaison Organizations and JTC 1 Recognized PAS Submitters, or hold the meeting jointly with Linux or other open-source related non-profit organizations. SC 22 also instructs the rapporteur of the LRG to distribute the announcement of the first meeting at least one month prior to the meeting.

NOTE: The US delegation to the September 2003 SC 22 Plenary voted to approve this resolution.

It was noted that the draft agenda for the February 2004 JTC 1/SC 22 Linux Rapporteur Group meeting was based upon the charter outlined in SC 22 Resolution 03-015.

Reference: LX/03-0004 (SC 22 SG on Linux report), LX/03-0006 (Linux Ad Hoc Group report to SC 22), LX/03-0007 (resolutions from September 2003 SC 22 Plenary)

The INCITS Study Group on Linux reviewed the draft agenda for the February 3-5, 2004 meeting of the SC 22 Linux Rapporteur Group (LX/03-0002). The agenda was built around the LRG charter outlined in SC 22 Resolution 03-015 (LX/03-0007).

The Study Group developed positions and US delegates' instructions for the February 2004 JTC 1/SC 22 LRG meeting. As is customary, US positions and delegates' instructions for an international meeting are not captured in the minutes of a meeting but instead are contained in a separate document. US delegates' instructions are neither available to the public nor to be shared with other National Bodies.

Mr. Litchfield tentatively volunteered to represent the US on the drafting committee at the February 2004 meeting of the SC 22 Linux Rapporteur Group.

Action Item: The INCITS Secretariat will distribute the draft US delegates' instructions for the February 2004 LRG meeting to the members of the INCITS Study Group on Linux prior to the January 16, 2004 committee teleconference.

Reference: LX/03-0002 (first draft agenda of JTC 1/SC 22 LRG), LX/03-0008 (SC 22 NP), LX/03-0009 (AFNOR comment on SC 22 NP)

Mr. Thewlis reported that the LRG Convener had indicated that he would request that contributions for consideration at the February 2004 LRG meeting be submitted by the end of December 2003 to permit National Bodies time to review the contributions. As not all of the potential participants were at this formation meeting, it was agreed that proposed US contributions to the February 2004 LRG meeting must be submitted to the Study Group reflector not later than December 12, 2003 to permit time for the SG members to review the documents. If US contributions are developed, they will be submitted to ANSI no later than December 29, 2003. Based upon discussions at this meeting, it was agreed that no US contributions were anticipated at this time.

Action Item: The INCITS Secretariat will notify the members and prospective members of the INCITS Study Group on Linux of the requirement that proposed US contributions to the February 2004 LRG meeting be submitted to the Study Group reflector not later than December 12, 2003 to permit time for the SG members to review the documents. Any US contributions will be submitted to ANSI no later than December 29, 2003.

The following members of the INCITS Study Group on Linux volunteered to serve on the US delegation to the February 2004 JTC 1/SC 22 LRG meeting in Tokyo, Japan:

Mr. Dave Thewlis - Intel Corporation and US Head of Delegation (HoD)
Mr. Franc Camara - Microsoft Corporation (nominated by Ms. Isabelle Valet-Harper of Microsoft)
Dr. Donald Deutsch - Oracle Corporation
Mr. Scott Jameson - Hewlett-Packard Company
Mr. Jim Litchfield - Sun Microsystems, Inc.

There was no objection to the approval of the US delegation.

Mr. Thewlis noted that the meeting registration forms and hotel reservations are due to SC 22 Secretariat and host contact by December 21, 2003. Each delegate is expected to submit these forms on their own behalf.

The Study Group discussed the expressed interest of the following individuals, not at this meeting, in participating in the INCITS Study Group on Linux and/or in serving on the US delegation to the February 2004 JTC 1/SC 22 LRG meeting: Mr. James Moore (IEEE), Mr. Robert Gaskill (OSD/S&T), Mr. Hideki Hiura (Sun Microsystems), Mr. Ron Silletti (IBM) and Mr. Ted Ts'o (IBM).

Action Item: The INCITS Secretariat will notify the additional individuals who have expressed interest in participating in the INCITS Study Group on Linux and in serving on the US delegation to the February 2004 JTC 1/SC 22 LRG meeting that they must indicate their intent to participate on the US delegation no later than December 12, 2003 and submit the appropriate meeting registration and hotel reservation forms by the December 21, 2003 deadline. They will also be notified of the requirements that they be members of the INCITS Study Group on Linux to serve on the US delegation and that all US delegates to the February 2004 LRG meeting must personally participate on the January 16, 2004 US delegates' teleconference. This email transmission will also be sent to the Study Group reflector as a reminder of the meeting deadlines.

It was agreed that the next INCITS Study Group on Linux meeting would be a teleconference held on January 16, 2004 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM eastern. The purpose of the teleconference will be to address any contributions that have been submitted for the February 2004 LRG meeting. Mr. Thewlis asked that the SG members review the documents in advance of the teleconference.

Action Item: The INCITS Secretariat will request RSVPs in advance of the January 16, 2004 teleconference.

Date:	December 3, 2003
Reply to:	Jennifer Garner
Phone:	(202) 626-5737
Email:	jgarner@itic.org