From: shan@hatteras.cs.unc.edu (Yen-Ping Shan)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.smalltalk
Subject: ANSI ST Standard
Keywords: ANSI, Smalltalk
Date: 21 Nov 92 00:48:54 GMT


A proposal to standardize Smalltalk has been submitted to ANSI by
IBM.  If you support this effort and your organization has a seat 
in the ANSI Standards Planning and Requirements Committee (SPARC),
please encourage your representative to vote in favor of the proposal.

The full text of the proposal is attached at the end of this message.

Thanks.
	---Shan---


==========================================================================

                              1
PROPOSAL TO DEVELOP AN X3 STANDARD FOR THE SMALLTALK PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE

Submitted to:   X3 Secretariat/CBEMA
        Attn: 	Secretary, SPARC
            	311 First St. NW - Suite 500
            	Washington DC 20001

This proposal follows the guidelines X3/SD-3 "Project Proposal Guide."

1. Identification
  
  1.1 Title: American National Standard for Information 
             Systems -- Programming Language Smalltalk
  
  1.2 Proposer:	    Yen-Ping Shan
                    IBM
                    4Bg
                    11000 Regency Parkway
                    Cary, NC 27512
                    Tel: 919-380-1710
  
  1.3 Date submitted:             November 15, 1992
  
  1.4 Project type:               D
  
2. Justification
  
  2.1 Needs
  
           Smalltalk is designed to be the "language of
      description which serves as an interface between the
      models in the human mind and those in computing
      hardware."  The principle is explained by the
      designers of the original Smalltalk language in the
      "Blue Book"  (Goldberg and Robson, Smalltalk-80: The
      Language and Its Implementation, Addison Wesley,
      1985).
  
           There is a continuing growth of interest in the
      language.  It's use has spread beyond the education
      and research community to the commercial applications
      in recent years. Data from many sources (polls in
      conferences as well as independent consultants)
      indicate that Smalltalk is the second most popular
      object-oriented programming language next to C++.
  
           There are at least five vendors of Smalltalk
      implementations.  Although the actual number of
      Smalltalk users is unknown, we believe it to be high.
      It has been estimated that Digitalk Inc., alone, has
      sold over 100,000 Smalltalk/V licenses.
  
           The growth, spread and potential of Smalltalk
      lead to a need for a standard that will protect the
      users' interest in compatibility and portability.
      Adoption of a standard will increase the chances of
      uniform test methods being established.
  
  2.2 Recommended Scope
  
           The scope of the standard will be the Common
      Base Specification for Smalltalk  ("Smalltalk
      Portability: A Common Base,"  International Technical
      Support Center, Document number GG24-3903, IBM, 1992)
      plus consideration of implementation experience and
      ease of programming.  The scope may be altered as
      necessary to promote portability, reliability,
      maintainability and efficient execution of Smalltalk
      programs on a variety of computing systems.
  
  2.3 Existing Practice
  
           The current implementations are similar because
      they all follow the "Blue Book."  However, various
      implementors have made incompatible improvements and
      extensions to the language, which makes it difficult
      to write portable code.  In addition, the book is
      less formal than a standard could be, with a
      potential for differences in detailed interpretations
      by the implementors.  Existing implementations will
      be considered in the development of the standard.
  
  2.4 Expected stability of Proposed Standard
  
           Technological advance is likely to increase the
      applicability of the Smalltalk language.  This is
      because Smalltalk was designed with a high emphasis
      on the users needs as opposed to convenience of
      implementation on binary computers.  The trend to
      reduced cost of hardware power favors Smalltalk.
      History suggests that it may be necessary to modify
      the standard with extensions, over time, but with
      revision the standard will have a long lifetime.
  
3. Description of the Proposed Project
  
  3.1 Type of document.
           This project is for the development of an
      American National Standard.
  
  3.2 Definitions.
           The Common Base Specification for Smalltalk
      contains relevant definitions of key concepts and
      special terms.
  
  3.3 Expected Relationship with Approved X3 Reference Models.
           None
  
  3.4 Recommended Program of Work.
  
      The work will follow the sequence:
      a) Review of the project aims for feasibility and
         justification.  Consolidation of the scope of the project.
      b) Review of the existing implementations and
         others that the committee knows of, with respect to
         their differences from one another and from the
         Common Base Specification for Smalltalk.
      c) Decisions of contents for the standard.
      d) Development of text.
  
  3.5 Resources
  
           It is obviously desirable that the committee
      members should be drawn from areas of expertise in
      Smalltalk.  There are many organizations with an
      investment in Smalltalk.  (For example, the
      programmers in the Knowledge Systems Corporation have
      developed more than 20 applications including
      hundreds of classes and thousands of methods.)  In
      addition to organizations which are users, there are
      several supplier organizations.  Both communities
      expressed their willingness to participate in an ANSI
      Smalltalk activity.  In fact, a currently active
      special interest group in the Object Management Group
      including members from both communities has included
      such activity as part of their missions.  Based on
      contacts made, it is estimated that at least 8 to 10,
      and possibly more, vendors and users will
      participate.
  
  3.6 Recommended X3 Development Technical Committee.
  
           It is recommended that a new X3 Development
      Technical Committee be established for Smalltalk.
  
  3.7 Anticipated Frequency and Duration of Meetings
  
           The majority of the work of the committee can be
      done by mail and electronic mail.  Approximately
      three meetings are expected per year, duration about
      three days.
  
  3.8 Target Date for dpANS to X3 (Milestone 10)
  
           August 1995.
  
  3.9 Estimated Useful Life of Standard or Technical Report
  
           Fifteen years.
  
4. Implementation Impacts
  
  4.1 Impact on Existing User Practices and Investments
  
           There may be differences between current
      Smalltalk implementations such that the standard
      cannot be compatible with all existing
      implementations.  To this extent the existing users
      investment may be affected.  Implementations of the
      standard are expected to be as good as, or better
      than today's implementations with respect to
      robustness and performance.
  
  4.2 Impact on Supplier Products and Support
  
           Some changes will probably be necessary in order
      to bring existing implementations in conformance with
      the standard.  There is no reason to expect that this
      will involve major structural changes to those
      implementations.
  
  4.3 Techniques and Costs for Compliance Verification
  
           After development of the standard, a test suite
      for conformance verification could be developed, as
      has been the case for other languages.  Costs should
      be similar to those for other languages.
  
  4.4 Legal Considerations
  
           IBM has copyright of the Common Base
      Specification for Smalltalk, and IBM will abide by
      the ANSI copyright policy should the Common Base
      become a standard.
  
5. Closely Related Standards Activities
  
  5.1 Existing Standards
  
           None.
  
  5.2 X3 Standards Development Projects
  
           None.
  
  5.3 X3/SPARC Study Groups
  
           None.
  
  5.4 Other Related Domestic Standards Efforts
  
           IEEE Smalltalk-87
           (Cancelled due to lack of participation.  Five
      years after, the demand has increased drastically and
      strong participation form both the user and vendor
      communities is expected.)
  
  5.5 ISO Standards Development Projects
  
           None.
  
  5.6 Other related International Standards Development Projects
  
           None.
  
  5.7 Recommendations for Coordinating Liaison
  
           None.
  
  5.8 Recommendations for Close Liaison
  
           None.