From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.5-pre1 (2020-06-20) on ip-172-31-74-118.ec2.internal X-Spam-Level: * X-Spam-Status: No, score=1.8 required=3.0 tests=BAYES_50,FROM_ADDR_WS autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.5-pre1 Date: 9 Aug 93 12:06:36 GMT From: agate!spool.mu.edu!wupost!wuarchive.wustl.edu!conn@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU ( Richard Conn) Subject: Reuse Library Interoperability Group Message-ID: List-Id: I'm posting this for the RIG. Please respond to the address given at the end of the posting. -- Rick The Reuse Library Interoperability Group (RIG) is a volunteer, consensus-based organization composed of members from government, academia, and industry. Its purpose is to cooperatively draft standards for the interoperability of reuse libraries. Several reuse libraries, both public and private, already exist today. The advantage is that a diverse approach will speed technological innovation, permit specialization within given subject areas, and provide a variety of interfaces, fee structures and distribution mechanisms to suit a variety of users. The disadvantage, of course, is that libraries would have to duplicate their holdings. The solution is to permit libraries to interoperate so that a user of any library can access, under appropriate terms, the holdings of any other library. This kind of interoperability permits one to view the storing of components as an activity which is distinct from the value-added cataloguing or processing of those components. The result may be an industry where, freed from the requirement to store huge amounts of data, an entrepreneur can find a variety of value-added niches, e.g., providing evaluations of components stored elsewhere, cataloguing special purpose collections, providing diskette and hardcopy distribution, providing consulting and integration services, etc. The RIG's goal is to draft standards which will facilitate interoperability. Currently (July 1993), the RIG has thirty-five organizational members. Although the RIG does not categorize its members, for purposes of description, they could be viewed as falling in the following groups: reuse libraries (8), government agencies (5) and private corporations and consortia (22). Of course, the technical work of the RIG is ultimately performed by individuals. Nearly 100 individuals participate in the RIG's Technical Committees either in person or by correspondence. Most of the individuals are employees of member organizations; some (notably academia) participate on their own. The RIG meets six times per year and conducts business via email between meetings. There are five technical committees working on various aspects of library interoperability: TC1 is establishing a common basis for describing and characterizing reuse library interoperability. The RIG's first Technical Report is a glossary of terms created by TC1 to form a lexicon for describing interoperability. The glossary especially seeks to differentiate the reuse library itself from the mechanism used to manage the contents of the library, a distinction which has sometimes been blurred. TC1 continues work on a set of matrices which will characterize the commonalities and differences among some existing libraries and tools. TC2 is developing data models for describing information which reuse libraries should be prepared to interchange. The RIG's first proposed standard, the Basic Interoperability Data Model, is a model for the minimum data which a library should be prepared to exchange. So far, IBM Programming Systems and Westinghouse have announced plans to support the BIDM. The ASSET library is using the BIDM for its planned National Software Reuse Directory, sort of a reuse "yellow pages". The interoperability planned by CARDS, ASSET and DSRS will be based upon the BIDM. TC3 is developing meta-models for library interoperability. The concept is that various libraries who do not share a common data model would describe their data models in terms of a common meta- model. This level of description would facilitate the exchange of information among heterogeneous libraries. TC4 will develop metrics for interoperability. They are currently developing a document describing an approach to measuring interoperability. The document provides several worked examples. The newest technical committee, TC5, is describing protocols for electronically interchanging the data contained in the TC2 data models. Currently, they are focusing on the X.500 standard for this purpose. The individual technical committees are grouped into a Combined Technical Committee which has procedures for enlarging the consensus reached by the individual TCs. This ensures that every member of any RIG technical committee has the opportunity to affect the product of any of the other committees. The RIG also has an Executive Board which provides administration and management for the organization. The thirty-five organizational members mentioned previously are actually members of the Executive Board. Membership in the RIG is free and is open to any organization or individual who supports the goals and the charter of the RIG. To obtain information about membership, one should contact the RIG Secretariat: Applied Expertise, Inc. 1925 N. Lynn Street, Suite 802 Arlington, VA 22209 Phone: (703) 516-0911 Fax: (703) 516-0918 Internet: ddikel@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu Electronic copies of RIG documents may be obtained from ASSET or from AdaNet. Hard copies may be obtained from AdaNet by submitting an electronic request or by calling (304) 594-9075. -- Richard Conn, ASR and PAL Manager | conn@wuarchive.wustl.edu Opinions expressed herein are my own and not necessarily those of anyone else.