A LETTER FROM THE COMPUTER SYSTEMS LABORATORY CSL NOVEMBER 1992 OSI WORKSHOP: A CHANGED FOCUS In 1983, CSL established the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Implementors Workshop (OIW) to address interoperability problems encountered by vendors, suppliers, and users in the implementation of international standards for OSI. Now attracting more than 300 participants to its quarterly meetings, the workshop is cosponsored by NIST and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Computer Society as a public technical forum that develops implementation agreements and test suites for OSI standards. Its principal output is a set of stable Implementation Agreements, now totaling over 1500 pages, that specify the conventions to achieve multi-product interoperability. Other regional workshops have been formed in Europe and the Far East. The three regional workshops collaborate on their work plans and harmonize the results of agreements they develop regionally. Several large U.S. corporations approached the workshop in 1991 to consider developing implementation agreements across the entire open systems spectrum. Users and technology providers expressed a growing interest in developing interoperability agreements for application programming interfaces (APIs) between application software and multi-vendor hardware/software platforms. The workshop formed a task group to investigate broadening the OIW charter to encompass Open System Environments (OSE). Based on the task group's recommendations, the workshop plenary voted, at its December 1991 meeting, to expand the OIW charter and to change the name to the OSE Implementors Workshop (OIW) to reflect its expanded role. Other actions resulting from the change in focus of the OIW included: o establishment of an OSE Technical Committee to develop new procedures needed to manage OSE projects; o consideration of the use of publicly available specifications to fill gaps in areas where international standards are not available; and o acceptance of user requirements for open systems from outside groups. During 1992, the workshop has been developing procedures for processing user requirements, and several special interest groups (SIGs) are collaborating with groups from other standards- development organizations (IEEE, European Workshop for Open Systems [EWOS], etc.) to incorporate emerging APIs and specifications into the OIW's Implementation Agreements. Several liaisons have been established with formal standards technical committees such as the IEEE Technical Committee on Operating System (TCOS) groups. These collaborations are expected to accelerate the adoption of new work done by standards groups and consortia and compress the time needed to incorporate specifications into new OSE products. The future promises to bring more involvement from the vendor community and consortia, as well as a better process for developing OSE user requirements. Additionally, the expanded workshop will address migration issues that arise when providers and users begin to adopt open systems while still needing to run systems currently in place. NIST Special Publication 500-202, Stable Implementation Agreements for Open Systems Interconnection Protocol, Version 5, Edition 1, December 1991, is the current version of the stable Implementation Agreements document. It may be purchased from the Government Printing Office, (202) 783-3238, order number SN903- 015-00000-4, subscription price $59.00, which includes change pages. See the Upcoming Technical Conferences section of the newsletter for future meeting dates of the OIW. FEDERAL INFORMATION PROCESSING STANDARD (FIPS) ACTIVITIES Review of FIPS 46-1, Data Encryption Standard (DES) Issued in 1977, the DES provides an algorithm to be implemented in electronic hardware devices and used for the cryptographic protection of computer data. Reaffirmed for federal agency use in 1983 and 1987, the current review seeks to assess the adequacy of the standard to continue to protect computer data. The review offers three options: reaffirmation of the standard for another five years; withdrawal of the standard; and revision of the applicability or implementation statements of the standard. Copies of FIPS 46-1 may be obtained from the National Technical Information Service at (703) 487-4650. Written comments should be sent to Director, Computer Systems Laboratory, ATTN: Review of FIPS 46-1, Technology Bldg., Room B154, NIST, Gaithersburg, MD 20899. The comment deadline is December 10, 1992. We welcome your views. Minor Technical Changes to FIPS 146-1, Government Open Systems Interconnection Profile (GOSIP) Effective October 21, 1992, three technical changes to FIPS 146- 1 were made to align Version 2 of GOSIP with revisions to the Workshop Agreements, to adopt increased functionality for GOSIP users, and to improve interoperability among GOSIP products. The first change affects the requirement for the procurement of VT simple systems, i.e., those that support the TELNET VT-profile. The second change deals with the bit settings of the Encoded Information Types when an Office Document Architecture (ODA) document is present. The third change requires that Message Handling Systems implementations be able to generate domain- defined attributes. For more information, call our FIPS Office at (301) 975-2816 for a copy of the FIPS Publication Change Notice. Spatial Data Transfer Standard Approved As FIPS As announced in the Federal Register of August 28, 1992, the Secretary of Commerce approved the Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS) as FIPS 173. To be effective February 15, 1993, FIPS 173 will facilitate the transfer of digital spatial data between dissimilar computer systems. The SDTS provides specifications for the organization and structure of digital spatial data transfer, definition of spatial features and attributes, and data transfer encoding. The standard was developed through a government/industry cooperative effort headed by the Department of the Interior. In addition to serving as the national spatial data transfer mechanism for federal agencies, the SDTS is being made available for use to state and local governments, the private sector, and academia. Three FIPS for Telecommunications Wiring Approved The Secretary of Commerce approved three new telecommunications wiring standards for federal agency use, effective March 1, 1993. FIPS 174, Federal Building Telecommunications Wiring Standard, adopts ANSI/EIA/TIA-568-1991 and specifies minimum requirements for telecommunications wiring within a building and between buildings in a campus environment. FIPS 175, Federal Building Standard for Telecommunications Pathways and Spaces, specifies minimum requirements for telecommunications pathways and spaces within a federal office building and between office buildings in a campus environment, by the adoption of ANSI/EIA/TIA-569-1990. FIPS 176, Residential and Light Commercial Telecommunications Wiring Standard, through adoption of ANSI/EIA/TIA-570-1991, provides federal agencies with a generic, standardized premises- wiring system intended for connecting one to four exchange access lines to various types of customer-premises equipment. The new FIPS are available from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA 22161, telephone (703) 487-4650. CSL Develops Technical Interpretation to FIPS 21-3, COBOL The Federal Register of July 29, 1992, announced the adoption of Technical Interpretation No. 1 for FIPS 21-3, COBOL. Pertaining to the handling of invalid arguments in intrinsic functions for COBOL, the technical interpretation serves as additional specifications but requires no change to FIPS 21-3, which was effective on June 29, 1990. For a copy of the Federal Register notice detailing the technical interpretation, call our FIPS Office at (301) 975-2816. UPDATE ON NEW PUBLICATIONS CSL publishes the results of studies, investigations, and research. The reports listed below may be ordered from the following sources as indicated for each: *Superintendent of Documents U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) Washington, DC 20402 Telephone (202) 783-3238 *National Technical Information Service (NTIS) 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield, VA 22161 Telephone (703) 487-4650 Conformance Test Specifications for COBOL Intrinsic Function Module By Carmelo Montanez-Rivera and L. Arnold Johnson NIST Spec. Pub. 500-203 July 1992 SN003-003-03172-1 $6.50 Order from GPO This document contains test specifications for the COBOL Intrinsic Functions Module of the FIPS 21-3, Programming Language COBOL. It serves as a reference manual and a user's guide for the COBOL Intrinsic Function Module Tests in the 1985 COBOL Compiler Validation System. NIST uses the tests to evaluate COBOL implementations for conformance to FIPS 21-3. High Integrity Software Standards and Guidelines By Dolores R. Wallace, Laura M. Ippolito, and D. Richard Kuhn NIST Spec. Pub. 500-204 September 1992 SN003-003-03171-2 $6.50 Order from GPO This report presents the results of a study of standards, draft standards, and guidelines that provide requirements for the assurance of software in safety systems in nuclear power plants. The study focused on identifying the attributes necessary in a standard to provide reasonable assurance for software in nuclear systems. Optimization of Neural Network Topology and Information Content Using Boltzmann Methods By Charles L. Wilson and Omid M. Omidvar NISTIR 4766 February 1992 PB92-205418 $17.00 paper Order from NTIS $ 9.00 microfiche This report describes character recognition research in neural network optimization using a method which focuses on network topology and information content. Computer Security Training & Awareness Course Compendium Kathie Everhart, Editor NISTIR 4846 May 1992 PB92-205442 $35.00 paper Order from NTIS $17.00 microfiche This document assists federal agencies in locating computer security training resources nationwide. The publication organizes courses into training areas within audience categories as defined in NIST Special Publication 500-172, Computer Security Training Guidelines; target audiences include executives, managers, and users. Reject Mechanisms for Massively Parallel Neural Network Character Recognition Systems By Michael D. Garris and Charles L. Wilson NISTIR 4863 June 1992 PB92-213412 $17.00 paper Order from NTIS $ 9.00 microfiche This report compares two reject mechanisms using a massively parallel character recognition system implemented at NIST. Network Management Support for OSI Systems (NeMaSOS) Version 2.0 Programmer's Reference Manual By Kevin G. Brady, James F. Fox, and Robert Aronoff NISTIR 4866 July 1992 PB92-213271 $26.00 paper Order from NTIS $12.50 microfiche This manual provides support to application programmers using the interface library of functions to the Common Management Information Services and Protocol (CMIS/CMIP). An Introduction to Graphical User Interfaces and Their Use by CITIS By Susan Q. Sherrick NISTIR 4876 July 1992 PB92-213404 $17.00 paper Order from NTIS $ 9.00 microfiche This publication provides a tutorial on the various meanings of the term Graphical User Interface (GUI), describes the usefulness of GUIs, identifies problems with GUIs, and recommends that the X Window System GUI be used within the Contractor Integrated Technical Information Service (CITIS) specification. Massively Parallel Neural Network Fingerprint Classification System By C.L. Wilson, G. Candela, P.J. Grother, C.I. Watson, and R.A. Wilkinson NISTIR 4880 July 1992 PB92-213339 $19.00 paper Order from NTIS $ 9.00 microfiche This report describes a massively parallel fingerprint classification system developed at NIST for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) which uses image-based, ridge-valley features, K-L transforms, and neural networks to perform pattern- level classification. Research Considerations Regarding FBI-IAFIS Tasks & Requirements By R. McCabe, C. Wilson, and D. Grubb NISTIR 4892 July 1992 PB92-238609 $17.50 paper Order from NTIS $ 9.00 microfiche This report provides a review of the programmatic needs and the directions of technical efforts that the FBI's Identification Division should consider in upgrading services to provide a state-of-the-art Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). Topological Separation Versus Weight Sharing in Neural Net Optimization By O.M. Omidvar and C.L. Wilson NISTIR 4893 July 1992 PB92-222942 $17.50 paper Order from NTIS $ 9.00 microfiche This report describes neural net optimization research focusing on the information content and the quality of information represented in the network. In conjunction with the Boltzmann method as a secondary method of optimization, the resulting optimized network has been shown to be effective for both fingerprint and handwritten character recognition. The First Census Optical Character Recognition Systems Conference By R. Wilkinson, J. Geist, S. Janet, P. Grother, C. Burges, R. Creecy, B. Hammond, J. Hull, N. Larsen, T. Vogl, and C. Wilson NISTIR 4912 August 1992 PB92-238542 $44.50 paper Order from NTIS $17.50 microfiche This report discusses the results, conclusions, and open questions of the First Census Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Systems Conference, which tested a number of systems developed by different commercial, educational, and government organizations in the OCR of segmented hand-printed digits, upper-case letters, and lower-case letters. Validated Products List 1992 No. 4 Judy B. Kailey, Editor NISTIR 4951 (supersedes 4871) October 1992 PB92-937304 $26.00 paper Order from NTIS $68.00 subscription This document, published quarterly, identifies the COBOL, FORTRAN, Pascal, C, MUMPS, and Ada programming language processors with current validation certificates and the SQL language processors with registered test reports. Also included are GOSIP Conformance Testing Registers, NIST POSIX Testing Laboratories and Validated Products, Graphics, and Computer Security testing programs. UPCOMING TECHNICAL CONFERENCES Lecture Series on High Integrity Systems This lecture series addresses problems and solutions for developing and operating high integrity systems. The series targets managers and technical staff who acquire or develop computer software systems. Date: December 1, 1992 Time: 2:00 p.m. Place: NIST Green Auditorium Speaker: Bill Curtis, Software Engineering Institute Topic: "The Superior Software Organization" Date: February 25, 1993 Time: 2:00 p.m. Place: NIST Green Auditorium Speaker: David Seifert, NCR Topic: "Software Reliability Estimation and Modeling" Contact: Dolores Wallace (301) 975-3340 GOSIP Procurement Symposium This one-day symposium will help those responsible for acquiring products and services meeting Government Open System Interconnection (OSI) Profile (GOSIP) specifications to use the language which reflects realistic testing and verification requirements. Date: December 7, 1992 Place: NIST, Gaithersburg, MD Contact: Jean-Philippe Favreau (301) 975-3634 Open System Environment (OSE) Implementors Workshop (OIW) This workshop is part of a continuing series to develop implementation specifications from international standard design specifications for computer network protocols. Sponsors: NIST and the IEEE Computer Society Dates: December 14-18, 1992 March 8-12, 1993 June 7-11, 1993 September 13-17, 1993 December 6-10, 1993 Place: NIST, Gaithersburg, MD Contact: Brenda Gray (301) 975-3664 North American ISDN Users' Forum (NIUF) The NIUF addresses many concerns over a broad range of Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) issues and seeks to reach consensus on ISDN Implementation Agreements. Participants include ISDN users, implementors, and service providers. Dates: February 8-12, 1993 June 21-25, 1993 Place: NIST, Gaithersburg, MD Contact: Dawn Hoffman (301) 975-2937 Federal Digital Signature Applications Symposium This symposium will provide a forum for discussion of common problems and issues pertaining to the application of digital signature technology to government and commercial systems. Date: February 17-18, 1993 Place: Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza, Rockville, MD Contact: Vickie Harris (301) 975-2920 6th Annual Data Administration Management Association (DAMA) Symposium This symposium will disseminate knowledge and experience about data administration and provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and resolution of problems. Sponsors: NIST and DAMA Date: May 11-12, 1993 Place: NIST, Gaithersburg, MD Contact: Judith Newton (301) 975-3256 Applications Portability Profile (APP)/Open Systems Environment (OSE) Workshop This workshop is designed as a user's forum to discuss the latest developments in the APP/OSE. Dates: May 25-26, 1993 Place: NIST, Gaithersburg, MD Contact: Marty Gray (301) 975-3276 COMPASS '93, Eighth Annual Conference on Computer Assurance With a theme of "Practical Paths to Assurance," the conference strives to bridge the gap between emerging technology for computer assurance from research laboratories into industrial computer systems development. Sponsors: IEEE and the IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society, in cooperation with the British Computer Society Date: June 14-17, 1993 Place: NIST, Gaithersburg, MD Contact: Laura Ippolito (301) 975-5248