IEEE and The Open Group Okay 'FreeBSB Project' to Incorporate Material from the POSIX Standard.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

PISCATAWAY, N.J. & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 1, 2004

The IEEE and The Open Group have granted permission to the FreeBSD Project to incorporate material from the joint IEEE 1003.1(TM) POSIX(R) standard and The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 6.

This step will allow developers of the FreeBSD Platform to gain a better understanding of how to write portable programs utilizing IEEE 1003.1, "Standard for Information Technology: Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX)". The POSIX standard, which also forms the core volumes of Version 3 of The Open Group's Single UNIX(R) Specification, defines a set of fundamental services needed for the construction of portable application programs. IEEE and The Open Group have granted permissions for reuse of material covering over 1400 interfaces from the standard including the headers, system interfaces and utilities.

"Conforming to operating systems standards, and particularly POSIX, has been a high priority for us," said Jacques Vidrine, Security Officer with the FreeBSD Project. "We want FreeBSD to be an excellent target for portable applications, as well as a favored platform for developing standards-compliant software. Thanks to the generosity of the IEEE and The Open Group, we will be able to incorporate the POSIX documentation, giving system and application developers the accurate and complete information needed to create great software and avoid portability pitfalls."

"We're seeing a good uptake of the latest standard within the software development community and are very pleased to assist community efforts such as the FreeBSD Project," said Andrew Josey, Director of Certification at The Open Group and Chair of the Austin Group.

About the FreeBSD Project

FreeBSD is a widely used, high-performance network-centric open source operating system derived from BSD 4.4 Lite. It was developed and is maintained by a large team of individuals worldwide who are referred to as the FreeBSD Project. FreeBSD is distributed under the Berkeley open source license, which encourages broad commercial and non-commercial re-use in both open and closed source products. FreeBSD is used across a broad spectrum of products, from embedded storage and network appliances to the foundation for commercial workstation and server operating systems. Further information about FreeBSD can be found at: http://www.freebsd.org/

About The Open Group

The Open Group is a vendor-neutral and technology-neutral consortium, whose vision of Boundaryless Information Flow(TM) will enable access to integrated information within and between enterprises based on open standards and global interoperability. The Open Group works with customers, suppliers, consortia and other standard bodies. Its role is to capture, understand and address current and emerging requirements, establish policies and share best practices; to facilitate interoperability, develop consensus, and evolve and integrate specifications and open source technologies; to offer a comprehensive set of services to enhance the operational efficiency of consortia; and to operate the industry's premier certification service, including UNIX certification. Further information on The Open Group can be found at http://www.opengroup.org.

About the IEEE Standards Association 

The IEEE Standards Association, a globally recognized standards-setting body, develops consensus standards through an open process that brings diverse parts of an industry together. These standards set specifications and procedures to ensure that products and services are fit for their purpose and perform as intended. The IEEE-SA has a portfolio of more than 870 completed standards and more than 400 standards in development. Over 15,000 IEEE members worldwide belong to IEEE-SA and voluntarily participate in standards activities. For further information on IEEE-SA see: http://www.standards.ieee.org/.

About the IEEE

The IEEE has more than 360,000 members in approximately 175 countries. Through its members, the organization is a leading authority on areas ranging from aerospace, computers and telecommunications to biomedicine, electric power and consumer electronics. The IEEE produces nearly 30 percent of the world's literature in electrical and electronics engineering and in computer science. This nonprofit organization also sponsors or cosponsors more than 300 technical conferences each year. Additional information about the IEEE can be found at http://www.ieee.org.

Notes to editors:

The Open Group is a trademark of The Open Group.

UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the US and other countries.

POSIX is a registered trademark of the IEEE, Inc.