A LETTER FROM THE COMPUTER SYSTEMS LABORATORY
CSL
NOVEMBER 1992
OSI WORKSHOP: A CHANGED FOCUS
In 1983, CSL established the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI)
Implementors Workshop (OIW) to address interoperability problems
encountered by vendors, suppliers, and users in the
implementation of international standards for OSI. Now
attracting more than 300 participants to its quarterly meetings,
the workshop is cosponsored by NIST and the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Computer Society as a
public technical forum that develops implementation agreements
and test suites for OSI standards. Its principal output is a set
of stable Implementation Agreements, now totaling over 1500
pages, that specify the conventions to achieve multi-product
interoperability. Other regional workshops have been formed in
Europe and the Far East. The three regional workshops
collaborate on their work plans and harmonize the results of
agreements they develop regionally.
Several large U.S. corporations approached the workshop in 1991
to consider developing implementation agreements across the
entire open systems spectrum. Users and technology providers
expressed a growing interest in developing interoperability
agreements for application programming interfaces (APIs) between
application software and multi-vendor hardware/software
platforms.
The workshop formed a task group to investigate broadening the
OIW charter to encompass Open System Environments (OSE). Based
on the task group's recommendations, the workshop plenary voted,
at its December 1991 meeting, to expand the OIW charter and to
change the name to the OSE Implementors Workshop (OIW) to reflect
its expanded role. Other actions resulting from the change in
focus of the OIW included:
o establishment of an OSE Technical Committee to develop new
procedures needed to manage OSE projects;
o consideration of the use of publicly available
specifications to fill gaps in areas where international
standards are not available; and
o acceptance of user requirements for open systems from
outside groups.
During 1992, the workshop has been developing procedures for
processing user requirements, and several special interest groups
(SIGs) are collaborating with groups from other standards-
development organizations (IEEE, European Workshop for Open
Systems [EWOS], etc.) to incorporate emerging APIs and
specifications into the OIW's Implementation Agreements. Several
liaisons have been established with formal standards technical
committees such as the IEEE Technical Committee on Operating
System (TCOS) groups. These collaborations are expected to
accelerate the adoption of new work done by standards groups and
consortia and compress the time needed to incorporate
specifications into new OSE products.
The future promises to bring more involvement from the vendor
community and consortia, as well as a better process for
developing OSE user requirements. Additionally, the expanded
workshop will address migration issues that arise when providers
and users begin to adopt open systems while still needing to run
systems currently in place.
NIST Special Publication 500-202, Stable Implementation
Agreements for Open Systems Interconnection Protocol, Version 5,
Edition 1, December 1991, is the current version of the stable
Implementation Agreements document. It may be purchased from the
Government Printing Office, (202) 783-3238, order number SN903-
015-00000-4, subscription price $59.00, which includes change
pages. See the Upcoming Technical Conferences section of the
newsletter for future meeting dates of the OIW.
FEDERAL INFORMATION PROCESSING STANDARD (FIPS) ACTIVITIES
Review of FIPS 46-1, Data Encryption Standard (DES)
Issued in 1977, the DES provides an algorithm to be implemented
in electronic hardware devices and used for the cryptographic
protection of computer data. Reaffirmed for federal agency use
in 1983 and 1987, the current review seeks to assess the adequacy
of the standard to continue to protect computer data. The review
offers three options: reaffirmation of the standard for another
five years; withdrawal of the standard; and revision of the
applicability or implementation statements of the standard.
Copies of FIPS 46-1 may be obtained from the National Technical
Information Service at (703) 487-4650. Written comments should
be sent to Director, Computer Systems Laboratory, ATTN: Review
of FIPS 46-1, Technology Bldg., Room B154, NIST, Gaithersburg, MD
20899. The comment deadline is December 10, 1992. We welcome
your views.
Minor Technical Changes to FIPS 146-1, Government Open Systems
Interconnection Profile (GOSIP)
Effective October 21, 1992, three technical changes to FIPS 146-
1 were made to align Version 2 of GOSIP with revisions to the
Workshop Agreements, to adopt increased functionality for GOSIP
users, and to improve interoperability among GOSIP products. The
first change affects the requirement for the procurement of VT
simple systems, i.e., those that support the TELNET VT-profile.
The second change deals with the bit settings of the Encoded
Information Types when an Office Document Architecture (ODA)
document is present. The third change requires that Message
Handling Systems implementations be able to generate domain-
defined attributes. For more information, call our FIPS Office
at (301) 975-2816 for a copy of the FIPS Publication Change
Notice.
Spatial Data Transfer Standard Approved As FIPS
As announced in the Federal Register of August 28, 1992, the
Secretary of Commerce approved the Spatial Data Transfer Standard
(SDTS) as FIPS 173. To be effective February 15, 1993, FIPS 173
will facilitate the transfer of digital spatial data between
dissimilar computer systems.
The SDTS provides specifications for the organization and
structure of digital spatial data transfer, definition of spatial
features and attributes, and data transfer encoding. The
standard was developed through a government/industry cooperative
effort headed by the Department of the Interior. In addition to
serving as the national spatial data transfer mechanism for
federal agencies, the SDTS is being made available for use to
state and local governments, the private sector, and academia.
Three FIPS for Telecommunications Wiring Approved
The Secretary of Commerce approved three new telecommunications
wiring standards for federal agency use, effective March 1, 1993.
FIPS 174, Federal Building Telecommunications Wiring Standard,
adopts ANSI/EIA/TIA-568-1991 and specifies minimum requirements
for telecommunications wiring within a building and between
buildings in a campus environment. FIPS 175, Federal Building
Standard for Telecommunications Pathways and Spaces, specifies
minimum requirements for telecommunications pathways and spaces
within a federal office building and between office buildings in
a campus environment, by the adoption of ANSI/EIA/TIA-569-1990.
FIPS 176, Residential and Light Commercial Telecommunications
Wiring Standard, through adoption of ANSI/EIA/TIA-570-1991,
provides federal agencies with a generic, standardized premises-
wiring system intended for connecting one to four exchange access
lines to various types of customer-premises equipment.
The new FIPS are available from the National Technical
Information Service (NTIS), 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA
22161, telephone (703) 487-4650.
CSL Develops Technical Interpretation to FIPS 21-3, COBOL
The Federal Register of July 29, 1992, announced the adoption of
Technical Interpretation No. 1 for FIPS 21-3, COBOL. Pertaining
to the handling of invalid arguments in intrinsic functions for
COBOL, the technical interpretation serves as additional
specifications but requires no change to FIPS 21-3, which was
effective on June 29, 1990. For a copy of the Federal Register
notice detailing the technical interpretation, call our FIPS
Office at (301) 975-2816.
UPDATE ON NEW PUBLICATIONS
CSL publishes the results of studies, investigations, and
research. The reports listed below may be ordered from the
following sources as indicated for each:
*Superintendent of Documents
U.S. Government Printing Office
(GPO)
Washington, DC 20402
Telephone (202) 783-3238
*National Technical Information
Service (NTIS)
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Telephone (703) 487-4650
Conformance Test Specifications for COBOL Intrinsic Function
Module
By Carmelo Montanez-Rivera and L. Arnold Johnson
NIST Spec. Pub. 500-203
July 1992
SN003-003-03172-1 $6.50
Order from GPO
This document contains test specifications for the COBOL
Intrinsic Functions Module of the FIPS 21-3, Programming Language
COBOL. It serves as a reference manual and a user's guide for
the COBOL Intrinsic Function Module Tests in the 1985 COBOL
Compiler Validation System. NIST uses the tests to evaluate
COBOL implementations for conformance to FIPS 21-3.
High Integrity Software Standards and Guidelines
By Dolores R. Wallace, Laura M. Ippolito, and D. Richard Kuhn
NIST Spec. Pub. 500-204
September 1992
SN003-003-03171-2 $6.50
Order from GPO
This report presents the results of a study of standards, draft
standards, and guidelines that provide requirements for the
assurance of software in safety systems in nuclear power plants.
The study focused on identifying the attributes necessary in a
standard to provide reasonable assurance for software in nuclear
systems.
Optimization of Neural Network Topology and Information Content
Using Boltzmann Methods
By Charles L. Wilson and Omid M. Omidvar
NISTIR 4766
February 1992
PB92-205418 $17.00 paper
Order from NTIS $ 9.00 microfiche
This report describes character recognition research in neural
network optimization using a method which focuses on network
topology and information content.
Computer Security Training & Awareness Course Compendium
Kathie Everhart, Editor
NISTIR 4846
May 1992
PB92-205442 $35.00 paper
Order from NTIS $17.00 microfiche
This document assists federal agencies in locating computer
security training resources nationwide. The publication
organizes courses into training areas within audience categories
as defined in NIST Special Publication 500-172, Computer Security
Training Guidelines; target audiences include executives,
managers, and users.
Reject Mechanisms for Massively Parallel Neural Network Character
Recognition Systems
By Michael D. Garris and Charles L. Wilson
NISTIR 4863
June 1992
PB92-213412 $17.00 paper
Order from NTIS $ 9.00 microfiche
This report compares two reject mechanisms using a massively
parallel character recognition system implemented at NIST.
Network Management Support for OSI Systems (NeMaSOS) Version 2.0
Programmer's Reference Manual
By Kevin G. Brady, James F. Fox, and Robert Aronoff
NISTIR 4866
July 1992
PB92-213271 $26.00 paper
Order from NTIS $12.50 microfiche
This manual provides support to application programmers using the
interface library of functions to the Common Management
Information Services and Protocol (CMIS/CMIP).
An Introduction to Graphical User Interfaces and Their Use by
CITIS
By Susan Q. Sherrick
NISTIR 4876
July 1992
PB92-213404 $17.00 paper
Order from NTIS $ 9.00 microfiche
This publication provides a tutorial on the various meanings of
the term Graphical User Interface (GUI), describes the usefulness
of GUIs, identifies problems with GUIs, and recommends that the X
Window System GUI be used within the Contractor Integrated
Technical Information Service (CITIS) specification.
Massively Parallel Neural Network Fingerprint Classification
System
By C.L. Wilson, G. Candela, P.J. Grother, C.I. Watson, and R.A.
Wilkinson
NISTIR 4880
July 1992
PB92-213339 $19.00 paper
Order from NTIS $ 9.00 microfiche
This report describes a massively parallel fingerprint
classification system developed at NIST for the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) which uses image-based, ridge-valley
features, K-L transforms, and neural networks to perform pattern-
level classification.
Research Considerations Regarding FBI-IAFIS Tasks & Requirements
By R. McCabe, C. Wilson, and D. Grubb
NISTIR 4892
July 1992
PB92-238609 $17.50 paper
Order from NTIS $ 9.00 microfiche
This report provides a review of the programmatic needs and the
directions of technical efforts that the FBI's Identification
Division should consider in upgrading services to provide a
state-of-the-art Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification
System (IAFIS).
Topological Separation Versus Weight Sharing in Neural Net
Optimization
By O.M. Omidvar and C.L. Wilson
NISTIR 4893
July 1992
PB92-222942 $17.50 paper
Order from NTIS $ 9.00 microfiche
This report describes neural net optimization research focusing
on the information content and the quality of information
represented in the network. In conjunction with the Boltzmann
method as a secondary method of optimization, the resulting
optimized network has been shown to be effective for both
fingerprint and handwritten character recognition.
The First Census Optical Character Recognition Systems Conference
By R. Wilkinson, J. Geist, S. Janet, P. Grother, C. Burges, R.
Creecy, B. Hammond, J. Hull, N. Larsen, T. Vogl, and C. Wilson
NISTIR 4912
August 1992
PB92-238542 $44.50 paper
Order from NTIS $17.50 microfiche
This report discusses the results, conclusions, and open
questions of the First Census Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
Systems Conference, which tested a number of systems developed by
different commercial, educational, and government organizations
in the OCR of segmented hand-printed digits, upper-case letters,
and lower-case letters.
Validated Products List 1992 No. 4
Judy B. Kailey, Editor
NISTIR 4951 (supersedes 4871)
October 1992
PB92-937304 $26.00 paper
Order from NTIS $68.00 subscription
This document, published quarterly, identifies the COBOL,
FORTRAN, Pascal, C, MUMPS, and Ada programming language
processors with current validation certificates and the SQL
language processors with registered test reports. Also included
are GOSIP Conformance Testing Registers, NIST POSIX Testing
Laboratories and Validated Products, Graphics, and Computer
Security testing programs.
UPCOMING TECHNICAL CONFERENCES
Lecture Series on High Integrity Systems
This lecture series addresses problems and solutions for
developing and operating high integrity systems. The series
targets managers and technical staff who acquire or develop
computer software systems.
Date: December 1, 1992
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Place: NIST Green Auditorium
Speaker: Bill Curtis, Software Engineering Institute
Topic: "The Superior Software Organization"
Date: February 25, 1993
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Place: NIST Green Auditorium
Speaker: David Seifert, NCR
Topic: "Software Reliability Estimation and Modeling"
Contact: Dolores Wallace
(301) 975-3340
GOSIP Procurement Symposium
This one-day symposium will help those responsible for acquiring
products and services meeting Government Open System
Interconnection (OSI) Profile (GOSIP) specifications to use the
language which reflects realistic testing and verification
requirements.
Date: December 7, 1992
Place: NIST, Gaithersburg, MD
Contact: Jean-Philippe Favreau
(301) 975-3634
Open System Environment (OSE) Implementors Workshop (OIW)
This workshop is part of a continuing series to develop
implementation specifications from international standard design
specifications for computer network protocols.
Sponsors: NIST and the IEEE Computer Society
Dates: December 14-18, 1992
March 8-12, 1993
June 7-11, 1993
September 13-17, 1993
December 6-10, 1993
Place: NIST, Gaithersburg, MD
Contact: Brenda Gray
(301) 975-3664
North American ISDN Users' Forum (NIUF)
The NIUF addresses many concerns over a broad range of Integrated
Services Digital Network (ISDN) issues and seeks to reach
consensus on ISDN Implementation Agreements. Participants
include ISDN users, implementors, and service providers.
Dates: February 8-12, 1993
June 21-25, 1993
Place: NIST, Gaithersburg, MD
Contact: Dawn Hoffman
(301) 975-2937
Federal Digital Signature Applications Symposium
This symposium will provide a forum for discussion of common
problems and issues pertaining to the application of digital
signature technology to government and commercial systems.
Date: February 17-18, 1993
Place: Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza, Rockville, MD
Contact: Vickie Harris
(301) 975-2920
6th Annual Data Administration Management Association (DAMA)
Symposium
This symposium will disseminate knowledge and experience about
data administration and provide a forum for the exchange of ideas
and resolution of problems.
Sponsors: NIST and DAMA
Date: May 11-12, 1993
Place: NIST, Gaithersburg, MD
Contact: Judith Newton
(301) 975-3256
Applications Portability Profile (APP)/Open Systems Environment
(OSE) Workshop
This workshop is designed as a user's forum to discuss the latest
developments in the APP/OSE.
Dates: May 25-26, 1993
Place: NIST, Gaithersburg, MD
Contact: Marty Gray
(301) 975-3276
COMPASS '93, Eighth Annual Conference on Computer Assurance
With a theme of "Practical Paths to Assurance," the conference
strives to bridge the gap between emerging technology for
computer assurance from research laboratories into industrial
computer systems development.
Sponsors: IEEE and the IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems
Society, in cooperation with the British Computer Society
Date: June 14-17, 1993
Place: NIST, Gaithersburg, MD
Contact: Laura Ippolito
(301) 975-5248