Definitive test suite? (was Re: Oracle XML) [RETRY]

[G. Ken Holman]

At 98/11/15 05:04 -0800, Dave Winer wrote on the XML-DEV mailing list:
>There still is no definitive test suite of XML files they have to parse. If
>we're serious about having compatibility and offering users real choices,
>we can probably still fix this, but soon, the cat will be out of the bag,
>as they say, and it'll be too late. 
>
>No individual commercial vendor has the credibility or motivation to
>establish this test suite. 

The Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards
(OASIS - http://www.oasis-open.org) has established the XML Conformance
subcommittee of its technical committee to address this issue.

An industry consortium of users, vendors and invited experts, OASIS members
volunteer to collaborate in the development of resources to contribute to
the community at large.  When complete, said resources are made available
to the entire community without constraints ... it is a benefit of
membership in the consortium to be involved in the development of technical
reports.

I am currently chairing this volunteer group which has, due to constraints
on the available time of contributing members, not been very visible.

The first deliverable from the subcommittee will be a report on XML
Conformance, complete with a suite of test files.  These test files do not
include the tests from James Clark, so the community will have hundreds of
additional test files than what is available today.

During the XML Conference in Chicago last week, impromptu meetings with
members resulted in new and renewed commitments to the effort which should
produce results more quickly than in the past.

Of note, the subcommittee has the valuable contribution from NIST of
expertise directly related to conformance testing that has been committed
to the effort, and I have begun sharing the subcommittee chair duties with
Mary Brady who was instrumental in the development of the VRML Conformance
work.

I will report to this group on the availability of results of the work of
the committee, and how the committee decides to solicit input from the
community on any draft work that may be released.

Any contributions of test files made without any strings attached will be
gratefully considered by the committee for inclusion in the report, and any
such materials that are included in the final report will be attributed.

We on the committee are interested to receive comments on your own
perspectives regarding XML Conformance ... if you are employed by an OASIS
member company, please find your representative and make your feelings
known; if you deal with an OASIS member company, you can forward your
comments through them; you are welcome to send me your comments, and we are
temporarily using my FTP site ftp://ftp.CraneSoftwrights.com for any
contributions.

Thank you!

.......... Ken 

--
G. Ken Holman               mailto:gkholman at CanadaMail.com
Crane Softwrights Ltd.  http://www.CraneSoftwrights.com/x/
Box 266,                                V: +1(613)489-0999
Kars, Ontario CANADA K0A-2E0            F: +1(613)489-0995
Training:   http://www.CraneSoftwrights.com/x/schedule.htm
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