[ebxml] OASIS Invites Submissions for XSLT/XPath Conformance Test Suite

[Carol Geyer <carol.geyer@oasis-open.org>]

OASIS Invites Submissions for XSLT/XPath Conformance Test Suite

Boston, MA, USA; 7 January 2001--OASIS, the XML interoperability
consortium, issued an open invitation for public input on the creation
of its XSLT/XPath Conformance Test Suite. XSLT and XPath are W3C
Recommendations that provide the ability to define a set of rules to
transform XML data into a variety of presentation styles, such as human
readable reports (HTML) or other XML vocabularies. Organizations and
individuals that have created test files for XSLT processors are
encouraged to submit their work to the OASIS XSLT/XPath Conformance
Technical Committee, which plans to corroborate submissions and publish
an amalgam test suite for public use.  Formal submissions from both
IBM/Lotus and Microsoft have already been received by the OASIS XSLT
Technical Committee.

"As the number of XSLT processors continues to increase, the need for
interoperability and conformance becomes absolutely critical," observed
G. Ken Holman of Crane Softwrights Ltd., chair of the OASIS XSLT/XPath
Conformance Technical Committee. "We're opening our conformance work to
the entire industry, so we can be sure our test suite incorporates all
the valid work that's being done in this area. Our goal is to integrate
disparate test-set contributions from companies and individuals around
the world into a comprehensive XSLT/XPath Conformance Test Suite."

"By increasing the probability of successful interoperability,
conformance tests provide developers and users with higher levels of
confidence in product quality. Although conformance tests are not a
guarantee for interoperability, they are an essential step towards
achieving the goal," said Karl Best, director of technical operations
for OASIS. "The work of the OASIS XSLT/XPath Conformance Technical
Committee brings the industry together through an open process in an
effort to produce one global test suite for the community at-large."

Benefits of the OASIS XSLT/XPath Conformance work extend beyond XSLT and
XPath. Holman explained, "Throughout the development of our catalogue,
submission and validation process, the OASIS XSLT/XPath Conformance
Technical Committee worked to abstract aspects of XSLT and XPath away
from the base modules. This resulted in the creation of a generic
framework for accepting and validating submissions and building
collections of test files. We anticipate our work being of use to
developers of other conformance tests --both inside and outside OASIS."

To conform to the OASIS framework, submitters must catalogue their test
file collections according to OASIS published document models, and they
must employ available validation processes that utilize XSLT and XPath.
Complete submission guidelines are posted on
http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/xslt/.

The OASIS XSLT/XPath Technical Committee adheres to the W3C
interpretation of ambiguous or unclear areas of the specifications and
does not compete with the W3C in any way on matters pertaining to
interpretation of the specifications.

About OASIS
OASIS (www.oasis-open.org), a not-for-profit, global consortium, drives
the development, convergence, and adoption of e-business standards.
Members themselves set the OASIS technical agenda, using a lightweight,
open process expressly designed to promote industry consensus and unite
disparate efforts. OASIS is the home for XML conformance, Web services,
security, business transactions, electronic publishing, topic maps and
other interoperability specifications development.

OASIS has more than 400 corporate and individual members in 100
countries around the world. OASIS and the United Nations jointly sponsor
ebXML, a global framework for e-business data exchange. OASIS operates
XML.org, a community clearinghouse for XML application schemas,
vocabularies and related documents. OASIS hosts The XML Cover Pages, an
online reference collection for interoperable markup language standards.


For more information:
Carol Geyer
Director of Communications
OASIS
carol.geyer@oasis-open.org
+1.978.667.5115 x209

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