xml-dev - Re: ISO standardization & availability

[Ronald Bourret <rpbourret@rpbourret.com>]

There was some discussion of this at XML DevCon in November. One of the
things mentioned was that, when negotiating the terms under which an
existing specification was taken into ISO, this was something that could
be taken into account. I can't remember what spec the speaker was
talking about, but he said that, after it had gone through the ISO
process, you could get the resulting spec free from his organization's
Web site or pay ISO for it.

-- Ron

"Paul W. Abrahams" wrote:
> 
> One issue I haven't seen mentioned in the idea of proposing
> XML for ISO standardization in one form or another is that
> of availability.   W3C specifications are freely available
> over the Web.  Not so for ISO standards; as someone else
> pointed out a while ago, the documents are sold at prices
> that few individuals and even small businesses can afford.
> And they can't be reproduced because of copyright
> restrictions.
> 
> I'd hate to see XML go that route.  If XML is to become an
> ISO standard, it has to remain freely available.
> 
> Paul Abrahams

-- 
Ronald Bourret
Programming, Writing, and Training
XML, Databases, and Schemas
http://www.rpbourret.com