xml-dev - Re: another data point - OASIS

[KenNorth <KenNorth@email.msn.com>]

> We keep talking about IETF/W3C/ISO, but there's another organization that
> might be worth examining, whose work seems generally separate from (though
> similarly interlocking with) IETF and W3C.

This ongoing discussion about the appropriate role of government, standards
organizations, and consortia is a little broader than just the XML standard.
There's the Java standard, the ISO, IETF, and W3C. There are also issues
such as emerging e-commerce standards. (That's one reason for the discussion
on Dr. Dobbs' -- it affects more than the xml-dev community).

It appears OASIS recognizes that standards should also include the
participation of representative governments. It cooperates with the U.S.
National Institute of Standards and Technology on XPath/XSLT conformance
testing (http://www.itl.nist.gov/div897/projects/projxslt.htm). OASIS also
partnered with the UN when launching the ebXML initiative (www.ebxml.org).