From: keld@dkuug.dk[SMTP:keld@dkuug.dk]
Sent: Saturday, April 11, 1998 8:56 AM
To: sc22@dkuug.dk; sc22wg20@dkuug.dk
Subject: (SC22WG20.2194) DS comments to N2668
Here is, for your information, the DS comments to
N2668.
Regards
Keld Simonsen
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Danish Standards Association comments to SC22 N2668.
DS can agree to the recommendation 1, but only in
the C+ version. The "+" mode of operation is beneficial
to JTC 1 as the new technical direction can provide standards
and guidelines to all of JTC 1 standardisation.
An alternative to the C+ mode of operation is to
not make a new technical direction with the title of cultural
adaptablility. For example the internationalization or cultural
adaptability side of the proposed technical direction is very
much a portablility concern, as the issue is how to make portable
applications allowing cultural diversability. The cultural adaptability
thus naturally leans itself to other portablility issues with
is currently within the JTC 1 organization mostly handled by SC22.
A mode of B+ or A+ would be very damaging to the
IT enablement of cultural adaptability issues, given that this
would as currently proposed lead to a separation of SC22 from
its WG20 on internationalization. The cultural adaptablilty issue
is in JTC 1 very focused on enabling cultural dependent behaviour
of applications in IT, and the key to success is here that there
be tools for smooth integration of cultural adaptability issues
in the application development tools, and that these to be supported
by adequate diverse cultural data. As applications are mainly
developed in programming languages it is vital for the IT enablement
that expertise be available in integration of the cultural enablement
tools in the field of diverse programming languages. Also it
is important that all aspects of cultural adaptability can be
handled - not just the character set and keyboards issues, which
are currently well understood and where specifications are already
available in standards like ISO/IEC 14651 and 14652. Other areas,
including some quite new issues, are monetary information, telephone
number and postal address handling, paper sizes, and hyphenation,
and the expertise to draw on in the IT enablement process lies
outside of the proposed TD, and in some cases even outside JTC
1. An organisation handling cultural adaptablity thus needs to
have a very broad range of communication partners, and should
not be seen as having special ties to separate areas of the field
such as character sets or keyboards.
DS can agree to recommendation 2.
On recommendation 3 it can be noted that with respect
to cultural adaptability the current definitions on internationalization
as expressed in TR 11017 "Framework for internationalization"
already allows for interoperability among different cultures.
With respect to recommendation 4, DS notes that SC22
is the natural home for providing standards for IT enablement
of cultural adaptability issues, as argued above in our comments
on recommendation 1. SC22/WG20 should thus stay in SC22, and the
work undertaken by WG20 should stay and be further developed by
WG20 for the benefit of the whole of JTC 1.
DS can agree to recommendation 5.
On recommendation 6, DS finds it vital that JTC 1 standards primarily refer to other ISO and IEC standards. This is the primary way to maintaining the integrity, the high quality, and visibility of ISO/IEC standards. Where necessary work from outside the formal standardisation bodies should be employed and incorporated into formal standards.