Subject: [members] OASIS TC Call for Participation: OASIS UnitsML TC
From: James Bryce Clark <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked], [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2006 17:16:40 -0700

A new OASIS technical committee is being formed.
The OASIS UnitsML Technical Committee has been proposed by the members of
OASIS listed below.  The proposal, below, meets the requirements of
the OASIS TC Process [a].  The TC name, statement of purpose, scope,
list of deliverables, audience, and language specified in the proposal
will constitute the TC's official charter.  Submissions of
technology for consideration by the TC, and the beginning of technical
discussions, may occur no sooner than the TC's first meeting.

This TC will operate under our 2005 IPR Policy
[b].  The eligibility requirements for becoming a participant in the
TC at the first meeting (see details below) are that:

(a) you must be an employee of an OASIS member
organization or an individual member of OASIS;

(b) the OASIS member must sign the OASIS membership
agreement [c];

(c) you must notify the TC chair of your intent to
participate at least 15 days prior to the first meeting, which members
may do by using the "Join this TC" button on the TC's public
page at [d]; and

(d) you must attend the first meeting of the TC, at
the time and date fixed below.

Of course, participants also may join the TC at a later time.  OASIS
and the TC welcomes all interested parties.

Non-OASIS members who wish to participate may contact
us about joining OASIS [c].   In addition, the public may
access the information   resources maintained for each TC: a
mail list archive, document repository and public comments facility,
which will be linked from the TC's public home page at [d].

Please feel free to forward this announcement to any
other appropriate lists. OASIS is an open standards organization; we
encourage your feedback.   Kind regards  JBC

~  James Bryce Clark

~  Director, Standards Development, OASIS

~  [email-masked]

[a]
http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/process.php

[b] http://www.oasis-open.org/who/intellectualproperty.php

[c] See http://www.oasis-open.org/join/

[d] http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/tc_home.php?wg_abbrev=unitsml

====

PROPOSED FINAL

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

OASIS UnitsML TC

Name of the TC

OASIS Units Markup Language (UnitsML) Technical Committee

Statement of Purpose

The purpose of the Units Markup Language Technical Committee is to define an XML-based specification that will provide for unambiguous representation of units of measure.

Background

Units Markup Language (UnitsML) is being developed for encoding scientific units of measure in XML.   This UnitsML language is expected to be the first part of a project that is composed of three components: an XML schema (UnitsML), a database containing detailed information on SI (International System of Units) and non-SI scientific units of measure, and tools to facilitate the incorporation of UnitsML into other markup languages. The development and deployment of a markup language for units will allow for the unambiguous storage, exchange, and processing of numeric data, thus facilitating the collaboration and sharing of information over the Internet. It is anticipated that UnitsML markup will be used by the developers of other markup languages to address the needs of specific communities (e.g. mathematics, chemistry, materials science, etc.). Use of UnitsML in other markup languages will reduce duplication of effort and improve compatibility among specifications that
represent numerical data.

The XML schema under development for UnitsML allows for the ability to represent scientific units of measure in XML and will be used for validating XML documents that use UnitsML. Development of this schema has initially taken place at NIST, but completion of the development process should include input from the international scientific and engineering community. This work may be accomplished through the creation of an OASIS Working Group to address any needed changes in the schema and publish a final recommendation.

The UnitsML schema is not intended to be a standalone schema, but rather to be used in combination with other specific schemas through the use of namespaces. SI units can be represented through the use of base units (e.g., meter, second), special derived units (e.g., joule, volt), and any combination of these units with appropriate prefixes and exponential powers (e.g., mm o s-2). In addition, commonly used derived SI units (e.g., square meter, meter per second) and non-SI units (e.g., minute, ångström, and inch) will be explicitly supported for reference within XML documents.

Proponents of UnitsML may develop one or more databases to contain detailed units and dimensionality information for an extensive number of SI units and common, non-SI units available for access by users of UnitsML.  A database resource of this type would facilitate wide use of the markup language by including information needed to reference units in an XML document, specifically including unique identifiers, and also could include various unit symbols, language-specific unit names, and representations in terms of other units (including conversion factors).  In addition to scientific units, such a database may include information about quantities - the measurable, countable, or comparable properties or aspects of a thing, e.g., length.

Scope of Work

The TC will develop and publish an XML-based specification that will enable the unambiguous representation of units of measure.

Deliverables

The Units Markup Language Technical Committee plans to complete the following tasks during its first year of operation.

1. UnitsML Working Draft identifying the requirements and data-model for units of measure.

2. UnitsML Proposed Standard for the representation of units information in XML.

3. Guidelines for implementation of UnitsML.

IPR Mode

RF on Limited Terms Mode (as specified in the OASIS IPR Policy)

Anticipated Audience

It is anticipated that UnitsML markup will be used by users and developers of XML-based markup languages to address the needs of specific communities, such as, science, engineering, construction, etc.

Language

The TC will conduct its business in English.

----

The following is informational only for the purposes of starting the TC, and will not be part of the TC's charter.

Related Work

All specifications that may consume basic units of measure are potential targets of this work, including products of the following groups, with which the UnitsML TC will seek to establish a liaison relationship:

OASIS Emergency Management TC

OASIS MaterialsML TC

OASIS PLCS TC

OASIS PPS TC

OASIS UBL TC

ISO 31 / ISO 1000

UN/ECE Trade Recommendation 20

UN/CEFACT CCTS

W3C MathML

Anticipated Contributions

The current draft schema for UnitsML, available at http://unitsml.nist.gov/, is expected to be contributed to this TC.

Date and Time of First Meeting

The first meeting of the UnitsML TC will be a telephonic meeting held at 11:00 am Eastern US time on 12 July 2006.   The conference bridge information will be posted to the TC's website.

On-Going Meeting Plans & Sponsors

It is anticipated that the TC will meet via teleconference monthly, on a schedule and at a time determined by the TC members during the TC's first meeting.  NIST and the other proposers are willing to sponsor conference bridge facilities for meetings of the TC.

Proposers of the TC

The following eligible individuals are in support of this proposal:

Mark Carlisle, NIST, [email-masked]

David Connelly, Open Applications Group, [email-masked]

Bob Dragoset, NIST, [email-masked]

Simon Frechette, NIST, [email-masked]

Tom Hendrix, Boeing, [email-masked]

Keith Hunten, Lockheed Martin, [email-masked]

Peter Linstorm, NIST, [email-masked]

Gary Kramer, NIST, [email-masked]

TC Convener

The TC Convener will be Simon Frechette, NIST, [email-masked]

Proposed Chair(s)

Simon Frechette, NIST, [email-masked]

----

~ James Bryce Clark

~ DIrector of Standards Development, OASIS

~ [email-masked]

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