13404 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 48 / Monday, March 13, 1995 / Notices

questions regarding FIPS for ODA Raster

DAP specifications and requirements,

and issues official interpretations as

needed. Procedures for interpretations

are specified in FIPS PUB 29–3. All

questions about the interpretation of

FIPS for ODA Raster DAP should be

addressed to: Computer Systems

Laboratory, Attn: Raster Graphics

Interpretation, National Institute of

Standards and Technology,

Gaithersburg, MD 20899.

11.3. Validation of ODA Raster DAP

Implementations. Implementations of

FIPS ODA Raster DAP shall be validated

in accordance with NIST Computer

Systems Laboratory (CSL) validation

procedures for FIPS ODA Raster DAP.

The goal of the NIST ODA Raster DAP

Validation Test Service is to maximize

the probability of successful interchange

between conforming systems.

Validation testing provides a way of

determining the degree to which an

implementation conforms to a standard.

The testing of ODA Raster DAP

implementations to determine the

degree to which they conform to the

standard may be required by

Government agencies in accordance

with Federal Information Resources

Management Regulation (FIRMR) 201–

20.303, 201–20.304, 201–39.1002, and

the associated Federal ADP and

Telecommunications Standard Index.

The agency is advised to refer to the

NIST publication Validated Products

List for information about the validation

status of products.

Information concerning the NIST

Raster Graphics Validation Test Service

and validation procedures can be

obtained by contacting the: National

Institute of Standards and Technology,

Computer Systems Laboratory, ATTN:

Raster Graphics Test Service, Building

225, Room A266, Gaithersburg, MD

20899, (301) 975–3257.

12. Waivers. Under certain

exceptional circumstances, the heads of

Federal departments and agencies may

approve waivers to FIPS. The head of

such agency may redelegate such

authority only to a senior official

designated pursuant to section 3506(b)

of Title 44, U.S. Code. Waivers shall be

granted only when:

a. Compliance with a standard would

adversely affect the accomplishment of

the mission of an operator of a Federal

computer system, or

b. Cause a major adverse financial

impact on the operator which is not

offset by governmentwide savings.

Agency heads may act upon a written

waiver request containing the

information detailed above. Agency

heads may also act without a written

waiver request when they determine

that conditions for meeting the standard

cannot be met. Agency heads may

approve waivers only by a written

decision which explains the basis on

which the agency head made the

required finding(s). A copy of each such

decision, with procurement-sensitive or

classified portions clearly identified,

shall be sent to: National Institute of

Standards and Technology; Attn: FIPS

Waiver Decisions, Technology Building,

Room B–154; Gaithersburg, MD 20899.

In addition, notice of each waiver

granted and each delegation of authority

to approve waivers shall be sent

promptly to the Committee on

Government Operations of the House of

Representatives and the Committee on

Governmental Affairs of the Senate and

shall be published in the Federal

Register.

When the determination on a waiver

applies to the procurement of

equipment and/or services, a notice of

the waiver determination must be

published in the Commerce Business

Daily as a part of the notice of

solicitation for offers of an acquisition

or, if the waiver determination is made

after that notice is published, by

amendment to such notice.

A copy of the waiver, any supporting

documents, the document approving the

waiver and any supporting and

accompanying documents, with such

deletions as the agency is authorized

and decides to make under 5 U.S.C. Sec.

552(b), shall be part of the procurement

documentation and retained by the

agency.

13. Where to Obtain Copies. Copies of

this publication are for sale by the

National Technical Information Service,

U.S. Department of Commerce,

Springfield, VA 22161. When ordering,

refer to Federal Information Processing

Standards Publication 194

(FIPSPUB194), and title. Specify

microfiche, if desired. Payment may be

made by check, money order, or NTIS

deposit account.

[FR Doc. 95–6100 Filed 3–10–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–CN–M

[Docket No. 950120022–5022–01]

RIN 0693–AB25

Federal Information Processing

Standards Publication 119–1, Ada

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards

and Technology (NIST), Commerce.

ACTION: The purpose of this notice is to

announce that the Secretary of

Commerce has approved a revised

standard, which will be published as

FIPS Publication 119–1, Ada. This

revised standard adopts the American

National Standard and the International

Organization for Standardization

Reference Manual for the Ada

Programming Language, ANSI/ISO/IEC

8652:1995, which specifies the form and

meaning of programs written in Ada.

SUMMARY: On July 11, 1994 (59 FR

35315–35317), notice was published in

the Federal Register that a revision to

Federal Information Processing

Standard 119, Ada was being proposed

for Federal use.

The written comments submitted by

interested parties and other material

available to the Department relevant to

the revised standard was reviewed by

NIST. On the basis of this review, NIST

recommended that the Secretary

approve the revised standard as a

Federal Information Processing

Standards Publication, and prepared a

detailed justification document for the

Secretary’s review in support of that

recommendation.

The detailed justification document

which was presented to the Secretary is

part of the public record and is available

for inspection and copying in the

Department’s Central Reference and

Records Inspection Facility, Room 6020,

Herbert C. Hoover Building, 14th Street

between Pennsylvania and Constitution

Avenues NW., Washington, DC 20230.

The FIPS contains two sections: (1)

An announcement section, which

provides information concerning the

applicability, implementation, and

maintenance of the standard; and (2) a

specifications section which deals with

the technical requirements of the

standard. Only the announcement

section of the standard is provided in

this notice.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This revised standard

becomes effective July 10, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may

purchase copies of this revised

standard, including the technical

specifications section, from the National

Technical Information Service (NTIS).

Specific ordering information from

NTIS for this standard is set out in the

Where to Obtain Copies Section of the

announcement section of the standard.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

William H. Dashiell, telephone (301)

975–2490, National Institute of

Standards and Technology,

Gaithersburg, MD 20899.

EXECUTIVE ORDER 12866: This FIPS notice

has been determined to be ‘‘not

significant’’ for purposes of E.O. 12866.
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 48 / Monday, March 13, 1995 / Notices 13405

Dated: March 7, 1995.

Samuel Kramer,

Associate Director.

Federal Information Processing

Standards Publication 119–1

(date)

Announcing the Standard for Ada

Federal Information Processing

Standards Publications (FIPS PUBS) are

issued by the National Institute of

Standards and Technology (NIST) after

approval by the Secretary of Commerce

pursuant to Section 111 (d) of the

Federal Property and Administrative

Services Act of 1949, as amended by the

Computer Security Act of 1987, Public

Law 100–235.

1. Name of Standard. Ada (FIPS PUB

119–1).

2. Category of Standard. Software

Standard, Programming Language.

3. Explanation. This publication is a

revision of FIPS PUB 119 and

supersedes that document in its

entirety.

This publication announces the

adoption of American National

Standard and the International

Organization for Standardization

Reference Manual for the Ada

Programming Language, ANSI/ISO/IEC

8652:1995, as a Federal Information

Processing Standard (FIPS). American

National Standard and the International

Organization for Standardization

Reference Manual for the Ada

Programming Language, ANSI/ISO/IEC

8652:1995, specifies the form and

meaning of programs written in Ada.

The purpose of the standard is to

promote portability of Ada programs for

use on a variety of data processing

systems. The standard is for use by

implementors as the reference authority

in developing compilers, interpreters, or

other forms of high level language

processors; and by other computer

professionals who need to know the

precise syntactic and semantic rules of

the standard.

4. Approving Authority. Secretary of

Commerce.

5. Maintenance Agency. U.S.

Department of Commerce, National

Institute of Standards and Technology

(NIST), Computer Systems Laboratory

(CSL).

6. Cross Index. American National

Standard and the International

Organization for Standardization

Reference Manual for the Ada

Programming Language, ANSI/ISO/IEC

8652:1995.

7. Related Documents.

a. Federal ADP and

Telecommunications Standards Index,

U.S. General Services Administration,

Information Resources Management

Service, April 1994 (updated

periodically).

b. Federal Information Resources

Management Regulations (FIRMR)

subpart 201.20.303, Standards, and

subpart 201.39.1002, Federal Standards.

c. FIPS PUB 29–3, Interpretation

Procedures for FIPS Software, 29

October 1992.

d. NBS Special Publication 500–117,

Selection and Use of General-Purpose

Programming Languages.

e. NIST, Validated Products List,

(republished quarterly). Available by

subscription from the National

Technical Information Service (NTIS).

f. ISO 6429: 1992(E)—Information

Technology—Control Functions for

Coded Character Sets.

g. ISO 646 Information Processing—7-

bit Single-Byte Coded Character Set.

h. ISO 8859–1:1987(E)—Information

Processing—8 bit Single-Byte Coded

Character Sets—Part 1: Latin Alphabet

No. 1.

i. ISO 10646–1:1993 Information

Technology—Universal Multiple-Octet

Coded Character Set (UCS)—Part 1:

Architecture and Balic Multilingual

Plane.

8. Objectives. Federal standards for

high level programming languages

permit Federal departments and

agencies to exercise more effective

control over the production,

management, and use of the

Government’s information resources.

The primary objectives of Federal

programming language standards are:

—to encourage more effective utilization

and management of programmers by

insuring that programming skills

acquired on one job are transportable

to other jobs, thereby reducing the

cost of programmer re-training;

—to reduce the cost of program

development by achieving the

increased programmer productivity

that is inherent in the use of high

level programming languages;

—to reduce the overall software costs by

making it easier and less expensive to

maintain programs and to transfer

programs among different computer

systems, including replacement

systems;

—to protect the existing software assets

of the Federal Government by

insuring to the maximal feasible

extent that Federal programming

language standards are technically

sound and that subsequent revisions

are compatible with the installed

base.

Governmentwide attainment of the

above objectives depends upon the

widespread availability and use of

comprehensive and precise standard

language specifications.

9. Applicability.

a. Federal standards for high level

programming languages should be used

for computer applications that are either

developed or acquired for government

use. FIPS Ada is one of the high level

programming language standards

provided for use by all Federal

departments and agencies. FIPS Ada is

suitable for use in programming and any

applications for which there is no

specific language available specifically

targeted to that application.

b. The use of FIPS Ada is

recommended for the following

applications and situations:

—those involving control of real-time or

parallel processes.

—very large systems.

—systems with requirements for very

high reliability.

—systems which are to be developed

with reusable software packages.

—when it is anticipated that the life of

an application will be longer than the

life of the presently utilized

equipment.

—the application or program is under

constant review for updating of the

specifications, and changes may result

frequently.

—the application is being designed and

programmed centrally for a

decentralized system that employs

computers of different makes, models

and configurations.

—the program will or might be run on

equipment other than that for which

the program is initially written.

—the program is to be understood and

maintained by programmers other

than the original ones.

—the advantages of improved program

design, debugging, documentation

and intelligibility can be obtained

through the use of this high level

language.

—the program is or is likely to be used

by organizations outside the Federal

Government (i.e., State and local

governments, and others).

10. Specifications. FIPS Ada

specifications are the language

specifications contained in American

National Standard and the International

Organization for Standardization

Reference Manual for the Ada

Programming Language, ANSI/ISO/IEC

8652:1995 standard.

The American National Standard and

the International Organization for

Standardization Reference Manual for

the Ada Programming Language, ANSI/

ISO/IEC 8652:1995 standard document

specifies the form of a program written

in Ada, the effect of translating and
13406 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 48 / Monday, March 13, 1995 / Notices

executing a program, predefined library

entities that must be supplied, and

detection of compilation and/or link

errors.

The standard does not specify limits

on the size or complexity of programs,

the results when the rules of the

standard fail to establish an

interpretation, the means of supervisory

control of programs, or the means of

transforming programs for processing.

11. Implementation. The

implementation of FIPS Ada involves

four areas of consideration: the effective

date, acquisition of Ada processors,

interpretation of FIPS Ada, and

validation of processors.

11.1 Effective Date. This revised

standard becomes effective July 10,

1995. Ada Processors acquired for

Federal use after this date should

conform to FIPS PUB 119–1.

A transition period provides time for

industry to produce Ada language

processors conforming to the standard.

The transition period begins on the

effective date and ends March 1, 1997.

The provisions of FIPS PUB 119–1

apply to orders placed after the effective

date of this publication. If, during the

transition period, a processor

conforming to FIPS PUB 119–1 is not

available, a processor conforming to

FIPS PUB 119 may be acquired for

interim use during the transition period.

This transition period is intended to

give implementations that conform to

FIPS PUB 119 time to make the

enhancements necessary to enable

conformance to FIPS PUB 119–1. No

further transitional period is necessary.

11.2 Acquisition of Ada Processors.

Conformance to FIPS Ada should be

considered whether Ada processors are

developed internally, acquired as part of

an ADP system procurement, acquired

by separate procurement, used under an

ADP leasing arrangement, or specified

for use in contracts for programming

services. Recommended terminology for

procurement of FIPS Ada is contained

in the U.S. General Services

Administration publication Federal

ADP & Telecommunications Standards

Index, Chapter 4 Part 1.

11.3 Interpretation of FIPS Ada. The

National Institute of Standards and

Technology provides for the resolution

of questions (see FIPS PUB 29–3,

Interpretation Procedures for FIPS

Software, 29 October 1992) regarding

the specifications and requirements, and

issues official interpretations as needed.

All questions about the interpretation of

this standard should be addressed to:

Director, Computer Systems Laboratory,

Attn: FIPS Ada Interpretation, National

Institute of Standards and Technology,

Gaithersburg, MD 20899, Voice: 301–

975–2490, FAX: 301–948–6213, e-mail:

dashiell@alpha.ncsl.nist.gov.

11.4 Validation of Ada Processors.

Implementations of FIPS Ada shall be

validated in accordance with the NIST

Computer Systems laboratory (CSL)

validation procedures for FIPS Ada.

Recommended procurement

terminology for validation of FIPS Ada

is contained in the U.S. General

Services Administration (GSA)

publication Federal ADP &

Telecommunications Standards Index,

Chapter 4 Part 2. This GSA publication

provides terminology for three

validation options; Delayed Validation,

Prior Validation Testing, and Prior

Validation. The agency shall select the

appropriate validation option and shall

specify whether a Validation Summary

Report or Certificate of Validation is

required. The agency shall specify

appropriate time frames for validation

and correction of nonconformities. The

agency is advised to refer to the NIST

publication Validated Products List for

information about the validation status

of Ada products. This information may

be used to specify validation time

frames that are not unduly restrictive of

competition.

The agency shall specify the criteria

used to determine whether a Validation

Summary Report (VSR) or Certificate is

applicable to the hardware/software

environment of the Ada implementation

offered. The criteria for applicability of

a VSR or Certificate should be

appropriate to the size and timing of the

procurement. A large procurement may

require that the offered version/release

of the Ada implementation shall be

validated in a specified hardware/

software environment and that the

validation shall be conducted with

specified hardware/software features or

parameter settings; e.g. the same

parameter settings to be used in a

performance benchmark. An agency

with a single/license procurement may

review the Validated Products List to

determine the applicability of existing

VSRs or Certificates tot he agency’s

hardware/software environment.

Ada implementations shall be

evaluated using a NIST approved test

suite.

For further information contact:

Director, Computer Systems Laboratory,

Attn: FIPS Ada Validation, National

Institute of Standards and Technology,

Gaithersburg, MD 20899, Voice: 301–

975–2490, FAX: 301–948–6213, e-mail:

dashiell@alpha.ncsl.nist.gov.

12. Waivers. Under certain

exceptional circumstances, the heads of

Federal departments and agencies may

approve waivers to Federal Information

Processing Standards (FIPS). The head

of such agency may re-delegate such

authority only to a senior official

designated pursuant to section 3506(b)

of Title 44, U.S. Code. Waivers shall be

granted only when:

a. Compliance with a standard would

adversely affect the accomplishment of

the mission of an operator of a Federal

computer system, or

b. Cause a major adverse financial

impact on the operator which is not

offset by Governmentwide savings.

Agency heads may act upon a written

waiver request containing the

information detailed above. Agency

heads may also act without a written

waiver request when they determine

that conditions for meeting the standard

cannot be met. Agency heads may

approve waivers only by a written

decision which explains the basis on

which the agency head made the

required finding(s). A copy of each such

decision, with procurement sensitive

classified portions clearly identified,

shall be sent to: National Institute of

Standards and Technology, Attn: FIPS

Waiver Decisions, technology Building,

Room B–154, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.

In addition, notice of each waiver

granted and each delegation of authority

to approve waivers shall be sent

promptly to the Committee on

Government Operations of the House of

Representatives and the Committee on

Governmental Affairs of the Senate and

shall be published promptly in the

Federal Register.

When the determination on a waiver

applies to the procurement of

equipment and/or services, a notice of

the waiver determination must be

published in the Commerce Business

Daily as part of the notice of solicitation

for offers of an acquisition or, if the

waiver determination is made after that

notice is published, by amendment to

such notice.

A copy of the waiver, any supporting

documents, the document approving the

waiver and any supporting and

accompanying documents, with such

deletions as the agency is authorized

and decides to make under 5 U.S.C.

Section 552(b), shall be part of the

procurement documentation and

retained by the agency.

13. Where to Obtain Copies. Copies of

this publication are for sale by the

National Technical Information Service,

U.S. Department of Commerce,

Springfield, VA 22161, telephone (703)

487–4650. (Sale of the included

specifications document is by

arrangement with the American

National Standards Institute.) When

ordering, refer to Federal Information

Processing Standards Publication 119–1

(FIPSPUB119–1), and title. Payment
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 48 / Monday, March 13, 1995 / Notices 13407

may be made by check, money order, or

deposit account.

[FR Doc. 95–6099 Filed 3–10–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–CN–M

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[Docket No. 940961–4261]

RIN 0648–ZA11

NOAA Seasonal-to-Interannual Climate

Prediction Program Research Centers,

Program Announcement

AGENCY: National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration,

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: NOAA invites interested

institutions to submit letters of intent

indicating interest in establishing a

cooperative agreement with NOAA to

participate in a multinational network

of Research Centers within the proposed

Seasonal to Interannual Climate

Prediction Program (SCPP).

The proposal to establish an end-toend, multinational SCPP is based on the

evolution of existing program efforts to

observe, understand, predict, and assess

the ocean and the atmosphere. The

programmatic strength of these efforts

has been derived from the support of

individual federal agencies working

together within the context of the U.S.

Global Change Research Program

(GCRP). These interrelated efforts

provide the foundation which has

enabled the research community to

provide useful predictions of climate

variability on seasonal to interannual

time scales and are each a component of

a comprehensive Program.

The U.S. proposes to initiate a

multinational planning process

intended to lead to the establishment of

the multinational infrastructure needed

to generate and transfer useful climate

information and forecasts. This

Announcement of Opportunity is

intended to result in the establishment

of NOAA-designated Research Centers

to pursue the development of ENSO

forecast techniques in anticipation of

the full multinational structure which

will evolve for SCPP. NOAA intends to

ask one or a group of such Centers

selected through this announcement to

assume specific responsibilities for

establishing a center to prepare and

disseminate regularly an experimental

forecast to all interested countries.

Recognizing the value of El Nin ̃ oSouthern Oscillation (ENSO) forecasting

to countries throughout the world, this

center is referred to as the International

Research Institute (IRI) in the U.S.

proposal to establish a Seasonal-toInterannual Climate Prediction Program.

This action on the part of U.S. will

represent the first step in the process of

initializing the participation of all

interested countries, and therefore

NOAA wishes to emphasize that

extensive multinational consultation

will be an integral part of the process

leading to a U.S. site for an International

Research Institute for SCPP.

Funding for activities supported

under this announcement will be

provided through the National Oceanic

and Atmospheric Administration

(NOAA) Climate and Global Change

Program administered by the NOAA

Office of Global Programs.

DATES: Letters of intent should be

submitted to J. Michael Hall, Director,

NOAA Office of Global Programs no

later than April 12, 1995. Response

letters will be issued from NOAA by

April 26, 1995. Those institutions which

are encouraged to submit full proposals

should do so by June 16, 1995.

Designation of U.S. Research Centers for

SCPP will be completed by July 14,

1995, with appropriate funding action

initiated at that time. Selection of the

institution(s) which the U.S. will offer

as a host site for the Institute is planned

to be completed by September 1, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Letters of Intent and

Proposals should be submitted to: Office

of Global Programs, National Oceanic

and Atmospheric Administration, 1100

Wayne Avenue, Suite 1225, Silver

Spring, MD 20910–5063, Attn.: Dr. J.

Michael Hall.

An Applications Kit can be obtained

from: Grants Management Division,

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration, 1325 East West

Highway, Room 5426, Silver Spring, MD

20910, Attn: Michael Nelson.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dr. Kenneth Mooney, NOAA/Office of

Global Programs, 1100 Wayne Avenue,

Suite 1225, Silver Spring, MD 20910–

5603; 301–427–2089, Internet:

mooney@ogp.noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Funding Availability

A total of $5.0 million is available for

first-year awards under this

announcement. Of this amount, $4.0

million is envisioned to establish an

International Research institute for

SCPP and $1.0 million is to support

work at designed SCPP Research

Centers.

This Program Announcement is for

projects to be conducted over a threeyear period. NOAA believes that the

SCPP will benefit significantly from a

strong partnership with outside

investigators. The funding instrument

will be a cooperative agreement based

on need for substantial NOAA

involvement in the implementation of

the project for which an award is to be

made. Funding for non-U.S. institutions

and contractual arrangements for

services and products for delivery to

NOAA are not available under this

announcement.

Program Authority

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 1463; 33 U.S.C. 883d

and 883e; 15 U.S.C. 2907; 15 U.S.C. 2931

(CFDA No. 11.431)—Climate and

Atmospheric Research

Program Objectives

The multinational network of

research, application and operational

centers is designed to catalyze the

international scientific community in a

coordinated research effort to produce

the best possible climate forecasts a

season to a year to two in advance and

to provide forecasts guidance products

which are socially and economically

useful to countries of the world

vulnerable to the impacts of climate

variability. The network’s Research

Centers will promote research efforts

designed to continually develop

coupled models of the global

atmosphere, ocean, and land surface to

serve as a basis for improved climate

prediction one season or one year or

more in advance. Research Centers will

transfer model improvements to the

International Research Institute for

SCPP and to national operational

centers.

The International Research Institute

will have the responsibility of

producing, assessing, and distributing

experimental climate forecast guidance

products on an international basis and

will seek funding from non-U.S. sources

as well as from the U.S. The Institute

will generate and disseminate

experimental forecast guidance and

analyses to Regional Application

Centers, located around the world,

which will refine the forecast based on

analyses of local and regional

conditions and distribute products of

social and economic benefit to users.

The U.S. will assist as appropriate in the

establishment of Application Centers

through a separate process. All of the

NOAA-designated Research Centers will

work closely with interested national

and international operational centers,

such as NOAA’s National

Meteorological Center, which have

responsibilities for routine delivery of

climate products.