I think the discussion about the MDC needs to be put into a broader context.
>From my less technical vantage point I sense that the "root driver" for a revived MDC is the very strong need for countering the argument that MUMPS is a dead language....that is one of the major "objections" that potential VistA adopters raise. My 2cents worth of advice is that what we need is a strategy for adressing this kind of objection....and that may include the existence of an MDC-like organization..and it may not. What is needed is a clear set of strategic objectives before there is too much spinning of tires because the perspective may be too narrow. Joseph On Wed, 23 Mar 2005 16:02:54 -0500, "Ed de Moel" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said: > I intended to be present at the discussions in Boston, however, > a more pressing matter involves that I'll be in Odessa (Ukraine) > that week, so I had to cancel travel plans to Boston. > > To all who are there: all the best and enjoy the festif\vities around > the eve of $Horolog=60,000. > > Here's what this message is about: > > Every now and then I get contacted with questions about the > current status of the MDC. And every now and then there is > a suggestion to "revive" the committee. > > The current status of the committee is: > - it still exists > - the most recent meeting was in September 1999 > (during this meeting only organizational issues were discussed) > - the most recent meeting where there was a discussion > of any techinical issues was in September 1998 > - depending on the criteria to determine membership, > current membership is any number of institutions > (not individuals) between 6 and 23. > > My personal opinion about the MDC is: > - The committee "as we know it" has served its purpose > and currently has no purpose anymore. > - If a roster of work could be defined for a new organization > that would build upon the work of the MDC, it is better > to shut down the MDC and start a new organization with > its own mission and its own bylaws. > - Converting the MDC into a new organization without > violating any of the bylaws of the MDC is close to > impossible. > > Further background: > > There are many models on which a Standards Developing > Organization (SDO) can be based. We are familiar with the models > of ANSI and ISO, and we are aware of the models used by IEEE, w3c > and DICOM. However, there is one aspect that is common to all > standards and models of operation: there is a group of > implementors who are committed (either voluntarily as in ANSI and > ISO, or by contract as in DICOM and some subgroups of IEEE) to > implement any changes to the standard within a certain amount of > time after the publication of a new standard. > > The MDC published its last official standard in 1995. This > standard has been implemented fully in only one implementation > (DSM), which is currently no longer supported. All > implementations that are currently on the market did not > implement one or more details from this standard. Since the > commercial success of all of these implementations is sufficient > for the needs of their users and implementors, there are are not > even plans to implement the remaining details. > > As fas as the other MUMPS related standards is concerned > (OMI, GKS Binding, X-Window binding, MWAPI): OMI is still > supported by some vendors, but I am not aware that any of the > other standards is still actively supported by any vendor. > > After the 1995 MDC standard became official, well over 100 > modifications to that standard were approved by the MDC, and > almost none of these have been implemented by any implementor. > Clearly, there is no group of implementors who are committed to > implementing any of the MDC's standards, and therefore it is my > opinion that the MDC as a committee has outlived its usefulness > and ought to be formally dissolved. > > Note that, whether or not an MDC exists, the ISO standards will > continue to exist, until ISO votes them out of existence. In the > fall of 2005, ISO will review the status of the MDC documents, > and, as far as I know, the recommendations from the various > member countries are to re-affirm the documents (Language Standard, > OMI and MWAPI) with the intent to stabilize them, in other words, > it looks like ISO will retain the standards for the forseeable > future. Also, as long as these documents are ISO standards, > the copyrights for the documents will remain at ISO. > > Of course, if the MDC decides to dissolve itself, appropriate > notice should be given to ISO, and a decision should be made > as to who would become (or remain) responsible for the maintance > the new documents. The current MDC liaison and project editor > is Kate Schell. > > Aside note: the current document editor for the draft MDC Standards > is Ed de Moel. > > > Respectfully submitted, > Ed de Moel > Secretary of the MDC. > > -- > ************************************************************** > This electronic mail transmission contains confidential and/or > privileged information intended only for the person(s) named. > Any use, distribution, copying or disclosure by another person > is strictly prohibited. > ************************************************************** > > > > ------------------------------------------------------- > This SF.net email is sponsored by Microsoft Mobile & Embedded DevCon 2005 > Attend MEDC 2005 May 9-12 in Vegas. Learn more about the latest Windows > Embedded(r) & Windows Mobile(tm) platforms, applications & content. > Register > by 3/29 & save $300 > http://ads.osdn.com/?ad_id=6883&alloc_id=15149&op=click > _______________________________________________ > Hardhats-members mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members > > -- Joseph Dal Molin [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Joseph Dal Molin [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------------------- This SF.net email is sponsored by Microsoft Mobile & Embedded DevCon 2005 Attend MEDC 2005 May 9-12 in Vegas. Learn more about the latest Windows Embedded(r) & Windows Mobile(tm) platforms, applications & content. Register by 3/29 & save $300 http://ads.osdn.com/?ad_id=6883&alloc_id=15149&op=click _______________________________________________ Hardhats-members mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members
