The Object Management Group has formed a Common Facilities Task Force to look for services that can be used by various applications, including a common document architecture, a spell-checker and electronic mail. The task force will endorse an Object Request Broker-conformant IDL Interface Definition Language-based mechanism for application interoperability. The technology will sit above the Common Object Request Broker Architecture and the Object Group’s other object services, and is needed before other interoperability issues can be settled, says the Object Group, referring to the Corba 2 submissions process. Like other standards bodies, the Object Group has felt the need to establish a Request for Comment process with it says will put the group’s technology adoption process on a fast track. A Request for Comment is an internal Object Group technical committee process for speeding adoption of technology that is deemed unlikely to have competition in the marketplace. A Request for Comment proposal can be submitted by firms that think their technology fits the bill. Object Group members and others will be invited to comment – if there are any dissensions, the fast track becomes the slow track of the normal adoption process. As expected, the Object Group has also created a special interest group within its technical committee for the European Portable Common Tools Environment software engineering standard. The group will provide information to foster Common Tools Environment compliance with Object Group standards, the convergence of interoperable software engineering environments, and fine grain repository tools for the evolution of the Common Tools Environment.
