[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 127 (Tuesday, July 5, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-16113]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: July 5, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[Docket No. 940670-4170]
RIN 0693-AB26
Proposed Revision of Federal Information Processing Standard
(FIPS) 125-1, MUMPS (Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-
Programming System)
AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; Request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This proposed revision of Federal Information Processing
Standard (FIPS) 125-1, MUMPS (Massachusetts General Hospital Utility
Multi-Programming System), will adopt the revised voluntary industry
specifications, ANSI/MDC X11.1-199X. The American National Standard for
M (also known as MUMPS, [MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL UTILITY MULTI-
PROGRAMMING SYSTEM]) specifies the form and establishes the
interpretation of programs written in the M programming language.
Prior to the submission of this proposed revision to the Secretary
of Commerce for review and approval, it is essential to assure that
consideration is given to the needs and views of manufacturers, the
public, and state and local governments. The purpose of this notice is
to solicit such views.
This proposed FIPS contains two sections: (1) An announcement
section, which provides information concerning the applicability,
implementation, and maintenance of the standard; and (2) a
specifications section which deals with the technical requirements of
the standard. Only the announcement section of the standard is provided
in this notice. Interested parties may obtain copies of the technical
specifications (ANSI/MDC X11.1-199X) from the MUMPS Development
Committee (MDC) Secretariat, 1738 Elton Road, Suite 205, Silver Spring,
MD 20903, (301) 431-4070, FAX (301) 431-0017.
DATES: Comments on this proposed revision must be received on or before
October 3, 1994.
ADDRESSES: Written comments concerning the proposed revision should be
sent to: Director, Computer Systems Laboratory, ATTN: Proposed FIPS
125-2, M, Technology Building, Room B-154, National Institute of
Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.
Written comments received in response to this notice will be made
part of the public record and will be made available for inspection and
copying in the Central Reference and Records Inspection Facility, Room
6020, Herbert C. Hoover Building, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and
Constitution Avenues, NW., Washington, DC 20230.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dr. William H. Dashiell, National Institute of Standards and
Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, (301) 975-2490.
Dated: June 27, 1994.
Samuel Kramer,
Associate Director.
Proposed Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 125-2
(Supersedes FIPS PUB 125-1--1993 June 10)
(date)
Announcing the Standard for M (Also Known as MUMPS [MASSACHUSETTS
GENERAL HOSPITAL UTILITY MULTI-PROGRAMMING SYSTEM])
Federal Information Processing Standards Publications (FIPS PUBS)
are issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
after approval by the Secretary of Commerce pursuant to Section 111(d)
of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as
amended by the Computer Security Act of 1987, Public Law 100-235.
1. Name of Standard. M (also known as MUMPS [MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL
HOSPITAL UTILITY MULTI-PROGRAMMING SYSTEM]) (FIPS PUB 125-2).
2. Category of Standard. Software Standard, Programming Language.
3. Explanation. This publication announces the adoption of American
National Standard for M, ANSI/MDC X11.1-199X, as a Federal Information
Processing Standard (FIPS). The American National Standard for M, ANSI/
MDC X11.1-199X, specifies the form and establishes the interpretation
of programs written in the M programming language. The purpose of the
standard is to promote portability of M programs for use on a variety
of data processing systems. The standard is for use by implementors as
the reference authority in developing compilers, interpreters, or other
forms of high level language processors; and by other computer
professionals who need to know the precise syntactic and semantic rules
adopted by ANSI. This publication is a revision of FIPS PUB 125-1 and
supersedes that document in its entirety.
4. Approving Authority. Secretary of Commerce.
5. Maintenance Agency. U.S. Department of Commerce, National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Computer Systems
Laboratory (CSL).
6. Cross Index. American National Standard for Information System--
Programming Language--M (also known as MUMPS [MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL
HOSPITAL UTILITY MULTI-PROGRAMMING SYSTEM]), ANSI/MDC X11.1-199X.
7. Related Documents.*
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*Refers to most recent revision of FIPS PUBS.
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a. Federal Information Resources Management Regulations subpart
201-20.303, Standards, and subpart 201-39.1002, Federal Standards.
b. FIPS PUB 29-3, Interpretation Procedures for Federal Information
Processing Standards for Software.
c. NBS Special Publication 500-117, Selection and Use of General-
Purpose Programming Languages.
d. NIST, Validated Products List, (republished quarterly).
Available by subscription from the National Technical Information
Service (NTIS).
8. Objectives. Federal standards for high level programming
languages permit Federal departments and agencies to exercise more
effective control over the production, management, and use of the
Government's information resources. The primary objectives of Federal
programming language standards are:
--To encourage more effective utlilization and management of
programmers by ensuring that programming skills acquired on one job are
transportable to other jobs, thereby reducing the cost of programmer
retraining.
--To reduce the cost of program development by achieving the increased
programmer productivity that is inherent in the use of high level
programming languages;
--To reduce the overall software costs by making it easier and less
expensive to maintain programs and to transfer programs among different
computer systems, including replacement systems; and
--To protect the existing software assets of the Federal Government by
ensuring to the maximal feasible extent that Federal programming
language standards are technically sound and that subsequent revisions
are compatible with the installed base.
Government wide attainment of the above objectives depends upon the
widespread availability and use of comprehensive and precise standard
language specifications.
9. Applicability.
a. Federal standards for high level programming languages are
applicable for computer applications and programs that are either
developed or acquired for government use. FIPS M is one of the high
level programming language standards provided for use by all Federal
departments and agencies. FIPS M is suitable for the data processing
applications which include but are not limited to:
--Those involving the creation and manipulation of string-oriented or
text-oriented collections of data;
--Those requiring interactive data management.
b. The use of FIPS high level programming languages applies when
one or more of the following situations exist:
--It is anticipated that the life of the program will be longer than
the life of the presently utilized equipment.
--The application or program is under constant review for updating of
the specifications, and changes may result frequently.
--The program is to be understood and maintained by programmers other
than the original ones.
--The advantages of improved program design, debugging, documentation
and intelligibility can be obtained through the use of this high level
language regardless of interchange potential.
--The program is or is likely to be used by organizations outside the
Federal Government (i.e., State and local governments, and others).
--The program is being used for ``cooperative'' processing across
multiple processing platforms (e.g., desktops, servers, and
mainframes).
c. Nonstandard language features should be used only when the
needed operation or function cannot reasonably be implemented with the
portable features alone. Although nonstandard language features can be
very useful, it should be recognized that their use may make the
interchange of programs and future conversion to a revised standard or
replacement processor more difficult and costly.
d. Programmatic requirements also may be more economically and
efficiently satisfied by the use of automatic program generators.
However, if the final output of a program generator is a M source
program, then the resulting program should conform to the conditions
and specifications of FIPS M.
10. Specifications. FIPS M (also known as MUMPS [MASSACHUSETTS
GENERAL HOSPITAL UTILITY MULTI-PROGRAMMING SYSTEM]) specifications are
the language specifications continued in American National Standard for
Information System--Programming Language--M (also known as MUMPS,
[MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL UTILITY MULTI-PROGRAMMING SYSTEM]),
ANSI/MDC X11.1-199X.
a. The ANSI/MDC X11.1-199X document specifies the representation,
syntax, and semantics for M programs; the representation of input and
output data processed by M programs; and the restrictions and
limitations imposed by an implementation of M conforming to the ANSI/
MDC X11.1-199X standard.
b. The standard does not specify:
--The mechanisms by which M programs are transformed or invoked for use
by a data processing system;
--The mechanisms by which input data are transformed for use by a M
program or output data are transformed after being produced by a M
program;
--The limits on program size or complexity except when and where
applicable to an application as specified in Part 2: M Portability
Requirements of ANSI/MDC X11.1-199X;
--The results when the rules of the standard fail to establish an
interpretation;
--The minimal requirements of a data processing system that is capable
of supporting a conforming implementation.
11. Implementation. The implementation of FIPS M involves four
areas of consideration: the effective date, acquisition of M
processors, interpretation of FIPS M, and validation of processors.
1.1 Effective Date. This revised standard becomes effective six
(6) months after the publication in the Federal Register announcing
approval by the Secretary of Commerce. M Processors acquired for
Federal use after this date should conform to FIPS PUB 125-2.
A transition period provides time for industry to produce M
language processors conforming to the standard. The transition period
begins on the effective date and continues for 90 days thereafter. The
provisions of FIPS PUB 125-2 apply to orders placed after the effective
date of this publication. If, during the transition period, a processor
conforming to FIPS PUB 125-2 is not available, a processor conforming
to FIPS PUB 125-1 may be acquired for interim use during the transition
period.
This transition period is intended to give implementations time to
make the enhancements necessary to enable conformance to FIPS PUB 125-
2. No further transitional period is necessary.
11.2 Acquisition of M Processors. Conformance of FIPS M should be
considered whether M processors are developed internally, acquired as
part of an ADP system procurement, acquired by separate procurement,
used under an ADP leasing arrangement, or specified for use in
contracts for programming services. Recommended terminology for
procurement of FIPS M is contained in the U.S. General Services
Administration publication Federal ADP & Telecommunications Standards
Index, Chapter 4 Part 1.
11.3 Interpretation of FIPS M. The National Institute of Standards
and Technology provides for the resolution of questions (see FIPS PUB
29-3, Interpretation Procedures for FIPS Software, 29 October 1992)
regarding the specifications and requirements, and issues official
interpretations as needed. All questions about the interpretation of
this standard should be addressed to: Director, Computer Systems
Laboratory, Attn: FIPS M Interpretation, National Institute of
Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, Voice: 301-975-2490,
Fax: 301-948-6213, E-mail: dashiell@ecf.ncsl.nist.gov.
11.4 Validation of M Processors. Implementations of FIPS M shall
be validated in accordance with the NIST Computer Systems Laboratory
(CSL) validation procedures for FIPS M. Recommended procurement
terminology for validation of FIPS M is contained in the U.S. General
Service Administration (GSA) publication Federal ADP &
Telecommunications Standards Index, Chapter 4 Part 2. This GSA
publication provides terminology for three validation options: Delayed
Validation, Prior Validation Testing, and Prior Validation. The agency
shall select the appropriate validation option and shall specify
whether a Validation Summary Report or Certificate of Validation is
required. The agency shall specify appropriate time frames for
validation and correction of nonconformities. The agency is advised to
refer to the NIST publication Validated Product List for information
about the validation status of M products. This information may be used
to specify validation time frames that are not unduly restrictive of
competition.
The agency shall specify the criteria used to determine whether a
Validation Summary Report (VSR) or Certificate is applicable to the
hardware/software environment of the M implementation offered. The
criteria for applicability of a VSR or Certificate should be
appropriate to the size and timing of the procurement. A large
procurement may require that the offered version/release of the M
implementation shall be validated in a specified hardware/software
environment and that the validation shall be conducted with specified
hardware/software features or parameter settings; e.g. the same
parameter settings to be used in a performance benchmark. An agency
with a single/license procurement may review the Validated Products
List to determine the applicability of existing VSRs or Certificates to
the agency's hardware/software environment.
M implementations shall be evaluated using a NIST approved test
suite.
For further information contact: Director, Computer Systems
Laboratory, Attn: FIPS M Validation, National Institute of Standards
and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, Voice: 301-975-2490, Fax: 301-
948-6213, E-mail: dashiell@ecf.ncsl.nist.gov.
12. Waivers. Under certain exceptional circumstances, the heads of
Federal departments and agencies may approve waivers to Federal
Information Processing Standards (FIPS). The head of such agency may
redelegate such authority only to a senior official designated pursuant
to section 3506(b) of title 44, U.S. Code. Waivers shall be granted
only when:
a. Compliance with a standard would adversely affect the
accomplishment of the mission of an operator of a Federal computer
system, or
b. Cause a major adverse financial impact on the operator which is
not offset by Government wide savings.
Agency heads may act upon a written waiver request containing the
information detailed above. Agency heads may also act without a written
waiver request when they determine that conditions for meeting the
standard cannot be met. Agency heads may approve waivers only by a
written decision which explains the basis on which the agency head made
the required finding(s). A copy of each such decision, with procurement
sensitive or classified portions clearly identified, shall be sent to:
National Institute of Standards and Technology; Attn: FIPS Waiver
Decisions, Technology Building, Room B-154; Gaithersburg, MD 20899.
In addition, notice of each waiver granted and each delegation of
authority to approve waivers shall be sent promptly to the Committee on
Government Operations of the House of Representatives and the Committee
on Governmental Affairs of the Senate and shall be published promptly
in the Federal Register.
When the determination on a waiver applies to the procurement of
equipment and/or services, a notice of the waiver determination must be
published in the Commerce Business Daily as a part of the notice of
solicitation for offers of an acquisition or, if the waiver
determination is made after that notice is published, by amendment to
such notice.
A copy of the waiver, any supporting documents, the document
approving the waiver and any supporting and accompanying documents,
with such deletions as the agency is authorized and decides to make
under 5 U.S.C. 552(b), shall be part of the procurement documentation
and retained by the agency.
13. Special Information. Agencies should consider adopting
programming guidelines on the use of standard language features where
determined appropriate.
It is recommended that agencies assess changes that may be
forthcoming in future revisions of the ANSI/MDC X11.1-199X standard.
For information on revisions to this standard, contact the M
Development Committee at: M Development Committee Secretariat, 1738
Elton Road, Suite 205, Silver Spring, Maryland 20903 U.S.A., Telephone:
(301) 779-6555, Fax: (301) 779-7674.
14. Where to Obtain Copies. Copies of this publication are for sale
by the National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of
Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161. (Sale of the included specifications
document is by arrangement with the American National Standards
Institute.) When ordering, refer to Federal Information Processing
Standards Publication 125-2 (FIPSPUB125-2), and title. Payment may be
made by check, money order, or deposit account.
[FR Doc. 94-16113 Filed 7-1-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-CN-M
