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- Submitted-by: james@xopen.co.uk (James Andrews)
-
- X/Open is developing a test suite for XPG4 Commands and
- Utilities. The test suite (currently known as XCUTS) will
- be capable of testing for conformance to POSIX.2 (IEEE Std 1003.2-1992).
- It will also satisfy the requirements specified by NIST for use as a
- POSIX.2 FIPS certification test suite, and the requirements
- of the EC CTS5 proposal to establish ISO9945-2 test services
- within Europe.
-
- X/Open wishes to minimize development timescales and to ensure openness
- of the process for development of the test suite.
- X/Open is therefore seeking donation of technology or development
- resources but is also prepared to consider funding some
- commercial development. Thus the development work has been
- provisionally broken into packages some of which may be fulfilled
- by free donation from various sources. Others may be met by
- commercial development under our open tender process.
-
- In a previous RFQ, X/Open selected BSI Quality assurance and Mindcraft
- jointly to serve as the test suite integrator. Their tasks are to
- ensure the uniformity of style and quality of the code from the package
- suppliers, to integrate them into a single seamless test
- suite, to act as technical advisors and to provide technical
- project management resources.
-
- X/Open has received a number of offers of free technology
- from its shareholders. X/Open also has had an 'in principle' offer from an
- outside organisation to be a development partner providing
- both IPR and resources free of commercial constraint.
-
- X/Open wishes to know if other companies or organizations are
- interested in participating in the development of XCUTS, or
- have test suite technology (utilities, implementation
- tools) which they may be prepared to make available under any terms
- whatsoever X/Open.
-
- BSI, under contract to X/Open, will put out a Request For Quotation
- for development of those packages that will go to open tender.
- Before that occurs, X/Open would like to know what technologies
- we should be considering.
-
- Note that BSI and Mindcraft are precluded from acting as package
- suppliers under the terms of their integration contract.
-
- If you are interested in providing technology of the sort
- described above for use in XCUTS, please mail me at the attached
- Address of your interest within one week. Follow this up
- by letting me know what you are suggesting within two weeks.
-
- If you are interested in Tendering for the packages but do not have
- specific technology to be used in XCUTS, let us know of your interest
- to ensure that you will receive a package when the RFP is
- distributed. There may be a modest cost associated with
- participating in the RFP to cover the costs of the materials
- distributed; we estimate that it would be about $150. It is
- assumed that you already have a copy of the XPG4 Commands
- and Utilities specification. Your response now can directly
- influence the project and the shape of any commercial RFP's.
-
- There are certain technical constraints that govern the
- architecture of XCUTS. These arise both from X/Open
- requirements and from NIST and European Commission CTS5
- requirements. While we cannot give all those constraints in
- this document, here are some crucial points:
-
- 1. The Test Environment Toolkit (TET) must be used as the
- common test harness for all test development.
-
- 2. The API to be used shall be the TET API plus
- interfaces defined in the Style and Quality Assurance
- Guide (to be provided by the integrators). NOTE: If
- you want to suggest an API, do so; you should be aware
- that anything beyond TET will require the approval of
- the X/Open Test Development Group.
-
- 3. Tests must conform to the requirements of POSIX.3
- (IEEE Std 1003.2-1991).
-
- 4. Tests for POSIX.2 must use the assertions in the most
- current draft of POSIX.3.2, and must track changes in
- subsequent drafts through the test development cycle.
- (This will likely encompass a single new draft.)
- Package suppliers will be required to review the draft
- POSIX.3.2 assertions for correctness and to submit
- corrections to both the POSIX.3.2 committee and the
- integrators. Test assertions must be developed for
- those portions of XPG4 Commands and Utilities outside
- the scope of POSIX.2. The writing and review of these
- assertions will be part of the test suite development
- effort.
-
- 5. Tests must be written in the POSIX.2 Shell language
- whenever possible. When C is required, Standard C
- shall be used.
-
- 6. Tests must be so structured that no assertion test
- depends on the execution or results of any prior test.
-
- DO NOT SUBMIT ANY CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL IN YOUR RESPONSE.
- We will assume that all responses can be exchanged freely
- among the organizations evaluating your response.
-
- Regards
-
- --
- James Andrews X/Open Company Limited
- Conformance Quality Mgr Apex Plaza, Forbury Road
- EMail: j.andrews@xopen.co.uk Reading, England, RG1 1AX
- Tel: +(44) (0)734 508311 FAX: +(44) (0)734 500110
-
- Volume-Number: Volume 31, Number 32
-
-