Report 0544 Actions
Problem Report Number |
0544 |
Submitter's Classification |
Specification problem |
State |
Resolved |
Resolution |
Minor System Fault (MSF) |
Problem Resolution ID |
MSF.X.0035 |
Raised |
1970-01-01 08:00 |
Updated |
2003-03-13 08:00 |
Published |
1995-10-13 08:00 |
Expiry Date |
null |
Product Standard |
Commands and Utilities V2 (UNIX 95) |
Certification Program |
The Open Brand certification program |
Test Suite |
VSC version 4.1.4 |
Test Identification |
POSIX.upe/uustat/uustat.ex 0 |
Problem Summary |
MSF4C.00003 Uustat must be present for branding, but is only required to support a local connection. |
Problem Text |
X/Open Reference: req.4.C.00018 Originator Reference: VSC1158 Waiver Reason: Grey Area in the XPG We have received your refusal response to our waiver request for 'uustat'. We are now requesting an "anonymous review" of this waiver request. We believe that the Application Usage section for uustat, in the "X/Open CAE Specification (1994) Commands and Utilities Issue 4, Version 2", sentence 2: "On systems where there are no available communications means (either temporarily or permanently), this utility will write an error message describing the problem and exit with a non-zero exit status." should be considered NORMATIVE text. There is no requirement in the Standard that a communications channel be available and no requirement for proper inter- operability with arbitrary XPG4 branded systems. There is no format specified for communications with a remote XPG4 branded system. In support of our belief that the presence of a communications channel in not mandated by the normative text of the specification, the change history for the UUSTAT command for Issue 4 of XPG states that the "presence of the utility is mandated, even on systems where no communications are available." Although this text is most definitely not normative, it is a strong indication of the intent of the authors of the specification.
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Test Output |
X/Open Commands and Utilities, Issue 4, section 1.7.1, Codes states for code UN "Possibly unsupportable feature. It need not be possible to implement the required functionality (as defined) on all XSI-conformant systems and the functionality need not be present. This may, for example, be the case where the XSI-conformant system is hosted and the underlying system provides the service in an alternative way." The uustat utility, SYNOPSIS section, is marked with the UN code. However, this same utility is not listed in the Table of Possibly Unsupportable utilities in section 1.3.4. And, in the CHANGE HISTORY section of uustat, in the specification, under Issue 4, the last sentence states "Presence of the utility mandated, even on systems where no communications are available." Our implementation contains a binary for uustat but it is merely a stub and does not perform the uustat functionality. Instead we have implemented the behavior which is described under APPLICATION USAGE it states:
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Review Information
Review Type |
TSMA Review |
Start Date |
null |
Completed |
null |
Status |
Complete |
Review Recommendation |
No Resolution Given |
Review Response |
We recommend this request be refused. Our logic is as follows... The uustat utility, SYNOPSIS section, is marked with the UN code. The uustat utility is marked with both the UN and EX codes. We believe the entire synopsis is marked because of the EX code. Section 1.7.1 of the XCU spec states If an entire SYNOPSIS section is shaded and marked with one EX, all the functionality described in that entry is an extension. We believe the UN code refers to the uustat options which are labeled as UNs. If the EX code were not present only these options would be marked in the SYNOPSIS. However, this same utility is not listed in the Table of Possibly Unsupportable utilities in section 1.3.4. And, in the CHANGE HISTORY section of uustat, in the specification, under Issue 4, the last sentence states "Presence of the utility mandated, even on systems where no communications are available." The fact that uustat is not listed in the table of possibly unsupported utilities supports our assertion. If the entire utility were unsupported it should be listed there. The CHANGE HISTORY is not a normative part of the spec (see below). under APPLICATION USAGE it states: ... "On systems where there are no available communications means (either temporarily or permanently), this utility will write an error message describing the problem and exit with a non- zero exit status." Although we can find no explicit statement anywhere in the spec. We believe through previous experience that the APPLICATION USAGE section, which this statement is quoted from, is not normative. It exists only to provide "advice to the application programmer about the way the utility should be used" We believe the APPLICATION USAGE paragraph quoted is advising programmers how to handle situations where no communication channels are configured on a machine, nothing more. Furthermore, we believe that all spec sections following APPLICATION USAGE are not normative either. This is the logic behind our deprecating the CHANGE HISTORY section reference above. Once we eliminate the non-normative portions of the spec from consideration there is no discrepency in the spec. uustat must be supported. We believe that, since uucp should be included in the Table of Possibly Unsupportable utilities, section 1.3.4 of the specification (see our previous Interpretation request for uucp: VSC1157), and since uustat requires uucp to do anything meaningful, uustat should also be included in the Table of Possibly Unsupportable utilities (section 1.3.4 of the specification), allowing it to be UNSUPPORTED in test suite. We have reccommended that X/Open refuse the referenced interpretation request and require that the IUT provide a working uucp which supports both a local and a remote system communications means. If this reccommendation is accepted a uustat which supports uucp must also be provided.
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Review Type |
Expert Group Review |
Start Date |
null |
Completed |
null |
Status |
Complete |
Review Resolution |
No Resolution Given |
Review Conclusion |
In an attempt to summarise, it looks as if we are agreeing that uustat may be legitimately be required to perform as specified purely on a local system. The implication is that they need not be required to operate on a remote system. This seems to be consistent with our failure to define any protocol for use by these commands. Based on this, the recommendation is that we grant a Temporary Waiver.
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Review Type |
SA Review |
Start Date |
null |
Completed |
null |
Status |
Complete |
Review Resolution |
Minor System Fault (MSF) |
Review Conclusion |
A Temporary Waiver is granted.
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Problem Reporting System Options:
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