---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Florida SunFlash SPARC International Announces SCD 2.0 SunFLASH Vol 40 #23 April 1992 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SPARC International Adrienne Bachleda (415) 321-8692 x 238 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Only Viable End-User Specification for Shrinkwrap Applications SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- April 7,1992-- SPARC International (SI) announced today that the SPARC industry's UNIX System V Release 4 developer and end-user specification, the SPARC Compliance Definition (SCD) 2.0, is complete and has been approved for distribution to developers. SI will ship over twenty thousand SCD 2.0 specifications directly to SPARC software developers early in Q2 1992. SCD 2.0, a key interface technology listed in the SPARCBuilders Portfolio, announced today, specifies all the stable interfaces between SPARC operating environments and applications on which platform providers, software developers and end-users can depend. SCD 2.0 is defined by SI members in the Compliance & Compatibility (C&C) Committee, and unanimously approved by SI's Board. The SCD 2.0 interfaces are the basis for developing shrinkwrap applications for multiple SPARC platforms that will be verified by SI to be SPARC Compliant at the SCD 2.0 level. All platforms and applications verified compliant with SCD 2.0 carry the SPARC Compliant trademark, which assures buyers that SPARC systems and applications tested to the same SCD will interoperate. SCD 2.0 Contents The foundations of SCD 2.0 are specific versions of, and errata for, UNIX System Laboratory's Generic and SPARC Application Binary Interfaces (ABIs). SI members have enriched SCD 2.0 with two Extensions beyond the ABIs: The X Toolkit and the OPEN LOOK widget set. Extensions must be present exactly as described in a conforming product. SI members have likewise defined two SCD 2.0 Options: the Motif Widget Set, and Network Licensing Naming Conventions. Options are not required in a conforming product, but if implemented, must be present in full and exactly as described in SCD 2.0. SCD 2.0 Operating Systems and Platforms SCD 2.0 is the foundation for all operating systems that run on SPARC Compliant platforms. SCD 2.0 operating systems, such those from Fujitsu, ICL and SunSoft, include all SCD 2.0 base-line interfaces and Extensions. They may also include SCD 2.0 Options, and will certainly contain vendor-specific value-added interfaces. SI does not test compliance of operating systems alone, but rather the implementation of operating systems on specific SPARC platforms. SCD Evolution Because the SCD is a dynamic, evolving technology, there is a broad range of new vendor-specific and common industry interface definitions under consideration by SI's C&C Committee. Participation on this committee is open to any SI member. SI's specifying process encourages members with stable interface technology recommendations of common interest to simply "write them down" for C&C Committee work toward continual SCD enrichment. SCD 2.0 Industry Position SCD 2.0 belongs equally to SPARC end-users and the community of SPARC software and hardware developers. It is a reflection of commonly used application-visible binary interfaces on all SI member products. This is critical to the continued enrichment of the SCD because the ABIs, on which the SCD is currently based, are increasingly a reflection of interfaces in USL products. Because it reflects all commonly used interfaces in members' products, and because it is a binary specification against which products are tested and branded for the buyer, SCD 2.0 is the only viable end-user specification in the computer industry. There are many viable source-level specifications. The SCD references interface technology represented in several source-level specifications, including the System V Interface Definition (SVID) Release 3, POSIX and X/Open Portability Guides. Source-level specifications allow developers to provide source compatibility between UNIX systems, but do not address end-users' broadly-acknowledged insistence on binary compatibility. The end-user positioning of SCD 2.0 makes it ideal for specification in any organization's requests for proposals that include consideration of SPARC based platforms. SCD 2.0 Eliminates Wasted Human and Financial Resources As the only viable end-user specification in the computer industry, SCD 2.0 is a powerful weapon in SI's war against the long-time industry practice of testing every application on every platform. Combined with SPARC International's aggressive testing and branding programs, SCD 2.0 is a sufficient catalyst for vendors to shift their operational models to testing to a rich binary specification rather than every application on every platform. According to Phil Huelson, SI's vice president of technology, "Software developers' need to test every application on every hardware platform they target, is one of the biggest areas of wasted human and financial resource in the computer industry. SCD 2.0 allows software developers to devote their resources to product development and improvements that benefit the buyer, rather than to porting." SCD 2.0 Member Endorsement SCD 2.0 was unanimously approved by SI's Board, which is comprised of its current roster of 11 Executive Members, two representatives from its Associate members (system hardware/software suppliers), and one representative from its ISV members. SCD 2.0 has been the primary task of the Compliance & Compatibility Committee and its Working Groups for the last year, and has involved a broad cross-section of SI platform and application suppliers. SPARC International's Board representatives include: Amdahl Corporation ICL PLC Philips International LSI Logic Corporation Ericsson HaL Computer Hyundai Corporation Texas Instruments Fujitsu Limited Sun Microsystems Ross Technology Interactive Systems Oracle Corporation Matsushita Electric Corporation ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ For information send mail to info-sunflash@sunvice.East.Sun.COM. Subscription requests should be sent to sunflash-request@sunvice.East.Sun.COM. Archives are on solar.nova.edu, paris.cs.miami.edu, uunet.uu.net, src.doc.ic.ac.uk and ftp.adelaide.edu.au All prices, availability, and other statements relating to Sun or third party products are valid in the U.S. only. Please contact your local Sales Representative for details of pricing and product availability in your region. Descriptions of, or references to products or publications within SunFlash does not imply an endorsement of that product or publication by Sun Microsystems. John McLaughlin, SunFlash editor, flash@sunvice.East.Sun.COM. (305) 776-7770.