To:       Members of JTC1/SC22

From:  Arnold F. Winkler (Convenor of SC22/WG20)

Date:   November 26, 2001

 

Re.:     Encouraging you to vote on SC22 ballots regarding SC22/WG20

 

 

Dear Member of SC22

 

 

I urge you to vote on the SC22 ballots that will decide the future of SC22/WG20, the working group for internationalization. 

 

 

The ballots :

 

SC22 N3327:

Letter Ballot on Future of SC 22/WG 20 (Internationalization)

 

I encourage you to vote for Choice #1 – Reassign all existing projects of ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 22/WG 20's to ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC22 and disband WG 20.

 

My reasons are simple and straight forward:

• WG20 has very few permanent members – Canada, Norway, and USA; and few members that participate, if the meeting happens to be close to their location – Germany, Japan, and UK. 
• The major projects are completed, the maintenance ought to be done in a committee that is intimately familiar with the repertoire and the properties of newly added characters to ISO/IEC 10646, such as SC2/WG2.
• The unfinished projects are extremely controversial, should be withdrawn, or can be completed by SC22.  For example, the DTR 14652 ballot resulted in more than 70 mainly technical objections, and the follow-on document classifies most major subjects as “controversial” with no agreement in sight.
• The registration standard for cultural elements needs to be executed by the registration authority (DKUUG), revisions can be completed by SC22.
• WG20 has outlived its useful life.

 

 

SC22 N3328:

Letter Ballot on Withdrawal of Project JTC 1.22.15435 - APIs for Internationalization

 

I encourage you to vote for the withdrawal of project 22.15435 – I18N APIs

 

This project has not produced a draft for CD registration in over 4 years – it should be withdrawn.  Rapid development of new technologies has surpassed this POSIX based work item.  Even as a TR it is outdated.

 

 

SC22 N3329:

Letter Ballot on Establishment of Liaison with IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force)

 

I encourage you to vote for establishing liaison between SC22 and the IETF.

 

The IETF with its work items in networking, the world wide web, domain names, and all other internet related subjects is a prime user of SC22 standards.  Close cooperation and speedy exchange of information and requests is essential for both parties.

 

 

SC22 N3330:

Letter Ballot on Revision of ISO/IEC TR 10176 - Guidelines for the Preparation of Programming Language Standards

 

I encourage you to vote YES on the revision of ISO/IEC TR 10176

 

This guidelines document ensures internationalization to be considered in all aspects of programming language standards.  One of the most important parts is Annex A which contains the list of characters allowed in identifiers in programming languages.  This list needs to grow with the repertoire of ISO/IEC 10646.  This maintenance function would best be assigned to SC2/WG2.

 

 

SC22 N3326:

Letter Ballot on Request to Include Annex A of ISO/IEC TR 10176 on the ITTF Website

 

I encourage you to vote YES on publishing Annex A for TR 10176 on the ITTF web. 

 

Annex A of TR 10176 contains the ISO/IEC 10646 characters recommended for identifiers in programming languages.  Since this repertoire is growing over time, it makes sense to have the latest approved list of such characters available on the ITTF web site for implementers.

 

 

Conclusion:

 

Please let me be abundantly clear: 

• SC22/WG20 with its few members is in no position to develop and maintain high quality standards and TRs. 
• The maintenance of its existing work needs a different skill set than what is available in WG20, the knowledge can be found in SC2/WG2.
• If your National Body does not vote on the ballots above by January 7, 2002, the agony of WG20 will continue with no advantage for the standards community. 
• In today’s economic situation we can not afford to waste efforts, time, and money for developing standards that are not needed,