DATE REVISED: 22 AUGUST 1996
SECTION 2 INFORMATION PROCESSING STANDARDS
The purpose of this section is to specify the Joint Technical Architecture (JTA) government and commercial information processing standards the DoD will use to develop integrated, interoperable systems that directly or indirectly support the Warfighter.
Information processing standards support the objectives of reducing cost and time of development, easing software integration and maintenance, and improving interoperability. The primary mechanism is the concept of a Common Operating Environment (COE) that provides a reusable set of common software services via standard application program interfaces (APIs). By building modular applications that use a common software infrastructure accessed through a stable set of APIs, as well as a standard integration approach, developers will be able to "plug and play" their applications into a centrally maintained infrastructure. The use of the standard APIs allows the COE and mission applications to be quickly integrated, and updated relatively independent of each other. The COE concept allows developers to concentrate their efforts on building mission area applications rather than building duplicative system service infrastructure software. Common standards, such as SQL to communicate with relational database management systems and Computer Graphics Metafile (CGM) to store graphics, support the objective of interoperability. Systems developed to these standards will be able to share services (retrieve authorized data from each other's databases) and data (such as an overlay). The use and evolution of the COE concept and the JTA standards it embodies, will advance the goal of building systems that are compatible, while minimizing program costs through systematic software reuse.
This section applies to mission area, support application, and application platform service software. This section does not cover communications standards needed to transfer information between systems (refer to Section 3), nor standards relating to information modeling (process, data, and simulation), data elements, or military unique message set formats (refer to Section 4).
The COE Concept is described in the Integration and Runtime Specification (I&RTS), version 2.0, October 1995. The Defense Information Infrastructure (DII) COE is implemented with a set of modular software that provides generic functions or services, such as operating system services. These services or functions are accessed by other software through standard APIs. The DII COE may be adapted and tailored to meet the specific requirements of a domain. The key is that domain implementations adhere to the COE concept in that they provide standard modularized software services that are consistent with the Technical Architecture Framework for Information Management (TAFIM) Technical Reference Model (TRM) and that application programmers have access to these services through standard APIs.
The individual standards contained in this section and applicable appendices that will be used to implement a domain COE are presented within the framework of the TAFIM TRM. This reference model was intentionally generalized and does not imply any specific system architecture. Its purpose is to provide a "set of concepts, entities, interfaces, and diagrams that provides a basis for the specification of standards." The TAFIM TRM organizes software into two entities, an Application Software Entity and an Application Platform Entity. The Application Software Entity communicates with the Application Platform Entity through an API. The Application Platform Entity communicates with the external environment through the External Environment Interface (EEI). The TAFIM TRM decomposes these entities into sub-categories as shown in Figure 2-1. The application software entity and associated mandates are detailed in Section 2.2.1, while the Application Platform's seven major service areas and associated mandates are detailed in Section 2.2.2.1 . Section 2.2.2.2 defines the Application Platform Cross-Area Services and their associated mandates.
Figure 2-1. Detailed DoD TRM, Version 3.0
The DII COE, as defined in the DII COE I&RTS Version 2.0, is fundamental to a Joint Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) System Architecture (JCSA). In the absence of a JCSA, the JTA mandates that all Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4I) systems shall use the DII COE. All applications of a system which must be integrated into the DII shall be at least DII COE I&RTS level 5 compliant (software is segmented, uses DII COE Kernel, and is installed via COE tools) with a goal of achieving level 8.
The following sections provide the applicable mandates that shall be used in the selection of commercial or government off-the-shelf (GOTS) software or in the development of government software, to include the DII COE. Appendix B contains a table that summarizes the mandated standards from this section, as well as providing information on how to obtain the standards. The World Wide Web (WWW) version of Appendix B contains a link to the standard or to the organization that maintains the standard when one is available.
The Application Software Entity includes both mission area applications and support applications. Mission area applications implement specific user's requirements and needs (e.g., personnel, material, management). This application software may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS), GOTS, custom-developed software, or a combination of these.
Common support applications are those ( e.g., e-mail and word processing) that can be standardized across individual or multiple mission areas and are the first layer of the DII COE. The services they provide can be used to develop mission-area-specific applications or can be made available to the user. The TAFIM TRM defines six support application categories: Multimedia, Communications, Business Processing, Environment Management, Database Utilities, and Engineering Support. The definitions of these categories are found in the TAFIM, Volume 2, Section 2.4.2.
The Application Software Entity includes all DoD application software. The following mandate applies:
The Application Platform Entity is the second layer of the DII COE, and includes the common, standard services upon which the required functionality is built. The Application Platform Entity is used by the DII COE support applications and unique mission area applications software. The Application Platform Entity is composed of service areas and cross-area services. The definitions of these service areas are found in the TAFIM, Volume 2, Section 2.4.3 and 2.4.4 respectively. The corresponding mandates are provided in the following subsections.
The TAFIM TRM defines seven service areas within the Application Platform Entity: Software Engineering, User Interfaces, Data Management, Data Interchange, Graphics, Communications, and Operating System Services.
The software engineering services provide system developers with the tools that are appropriate to the development and maintenance of applications.
Language services provide the basic syntax and semantic definition for use by developers to describe the desired software function.
According to DoD 5000.2-R, it is DoD policy to design and develop software systems based on software engineering principles. Additional guidance is contained in DoD Directive (DoDD) 3405.1. This mandate does not include software that is developed and maintained commercially.
These services implement the Human-Computer Interface (HCI) style and control how users interact with the system. The JTA mandates either Common Desktop Environment (CDE) Version 1.0 based on X Window System and Open Software Foundation (OSF) Motif APIs, or the applicable native windowing Win32 APIs. The following standards are mandated:
Refer to Section 5 for HCI style guidance and standards.
Central to most systems is the sharing of data between applications. The data management services provide for the independent management of data shared by multiple applications.
These services support the definition, storage, and retrieval of data elements from Database Management Systems (DBMSs). Application code using Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) resources and COTS RDBMSs shall conform to the requirements of Entry Level SQL. The following standards are mandated for any system required to use an RDBMS.
The following API is mandated for both database application clients and database servers:
The data interchange services provide specialized support for the exchange of data and information between applications and to and from the external environment. These services include document, graphics data, geospatial data, imagery data, product data, audio data, video data, atmospheric data, oceanographic data, and compression interchange services.
Message interchange standards are covered in Section 4.
These services provide the specifications for encoding data and the logical and visual structure of electronic documents. The following standards are mandated for document interchange:
Table 2-1 identifies file formats for the interchange of common document types such as text documents, spreadsheets, and presentation graphics. Some of these formats are controlled by individual vendors, but all of these formats are supported by products from multiple companies. In support of the standards mandated in this section, table 2-1 identifies conventions for file name extensions for documents of various types. The following file formats are mandated, but not the specific products mentioned:
Table 2-1 - Document Interchange Formats
Document Standard/Vendor Recommended Reference
Type Format File Name
Extension
Plain ASCII Text .txt
Text
Compound Acrobat 2.0 .pdf Vendor
Document* HTML 2.0 .htm IETF
MS Word 6.0 .doc Vendor
Rich Text Format .rtf Vendor
WordPerfect 5.2 .wp5 Vendor
Briefing Freelance Graphics .pre Vendor
- 2.1
Graphic MS Powerpoint 4.0 .ppt Vendor
Presentation
Spreadsheet Lotus 1-2-3 .wk3 Vendor
Release 3.x
MS Excel 5.0 .xls Vendor
Database Dbase 4.0 .dbf Vendor
Note: * - Compound documents contain embedded graphics, tables, and formatted text. OLE linking complicates document interchange. Note that not all special fonts, formatting, or features supported in the native file format may convert accurately.
Note: Future versions of the JTA will address engineering and technical data standards such as Continuous Acquisition and Life-Cycle Support (CALS).
These services are supported by device-independent descriptions of the picture elements for vector and raster graphics. The ISO Joint Photographic Expert Group (JPEG) standard describes several alternative algorithms for the representation and compression of raster images, particularly for photographs. The standard does not specify an interchange format for JPEG images, which led to the development of the JPEG File Interchange Format (JFIF) format. JFIF is a de facto standard for exchanging images over the internet. The following standards are mandated:
For mapping, charting, and geodesy (MC&G) services, collectively known as geospatial services, the following standards are mandated:
The NITFS is a DoD and Federal Intelligence Community suite of standards for the exchange, storage, and transmission of digital imagery products. NITFS provides a package containing information about the image, the image itself, and optional overlay graphics. It was developed and mandated by ASD Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (C3I) for the dissemination of digital imagery from overhead collection platforms. Guidance on applying the suite of standards can be found in MIL-HDBK-1300A. The following standards are mandated for secondary imagery dissemination:
Communication protocols for transmission of imagery are specified in Section 3.
Product Data Interchange standards will be addressed in a later version of the JTA.
Formats for the exchange of stand-alone audio will be addressed in a later version of the JTA.
MPEG-1 audio is not a single compression algorithm but a family of three audio encoding and compression schemes called MPEG-Audio Layer-2, and Layer-3, all three of which are hierarchically compatible. The audio compression schemes are lossy, but they can achieve perceptually lossless quality. The following standards are mandated for audio in conjunction with MPEG-1 video:
MPEG-2 audio is intended to encode up to five full bandwidth channels (left, right, center, and two surround channels), and additional low-frequency enhancement channel, and up to seven commentary or multilingual channels. The following standards are mandated for audio in conjunction with MPEG-2 video:
MPEG-1 provides for a wide range of video resolutions and data rates but is optimized for single and double-speed CD-ROM data rates (1.2 and 2.4 Mbits/s). With 30 frames per second video at a display resolution of 352 x 240 pixels, the quality of compressed and decompressed video at this data rate is often described as similar to VHS recording. MPEG-1 is frequently used in applications with limited bandwidth, such as CD-ROM playback or Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) videoconferencing. The following standards are mandated:
MPEG-2 is designed for the encoding, compression, and storage of studio-quality motion video and multiple CD-quality audio channels at bit rates of 4 to 6 Mbits/s. MPEG-2 has also been extended to cover HDTV. The following standards are mandated:
Video Teleconferencing (VTC) standards are specified in Section 3.
The following formats established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Commission for Basic Systems (CBS) for meteorological data and published under the Manual for Codes, Volume 1, Part B, Binary Codes, WMO No. 306. The following standards are mandated:
Standard transfer formats are required for the pre-distribution of oceanographic information. WMO GRIB and the BUFR file transfer formats are used for this purpose. The GRIB and BUFR extensions include several extensions, including provision for additional variables, additional originating models, a standard method to encode tables and line data; a method to encode grids (tables) with an array of data at each grid point (table entry); and a method to encode multiple levels in one GRIB message. There is also a possible need to incorporate a method for vector product data. The following WMO CBS format for oceanographic data use is mandated:
General compression standards will be included in a later version of the JTA. See Section 2.2.2.1.4.4 for imagery compression standards.
These services support the creation and manipulation of graphics. They include device-independent, multidimensional graphic object definition, and the management of hierarchical database structures containing graphics data. The following standards are mandated for non-COTS graphics development:
These services support the distributed applications that require data access and applications interoperability in networked environments. The mandated standards are provided in Section 3.
These core services are necessary to operate and administer a computer platform and to support the operation of application software. They include kernel operations, shell, and utilities. The kernel controls access to information and the underlying hardware. These services shall be accessed by applications through either the standard Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX) or WIN32 APIs. Not all operating system services are required to be implemented, but those that are used shall comply with the standards listed below.
The following standards are mandated:
Note: * - The reference to C Language is part of the formal title of these standards. It denotes the language used to define the standard.
The TAFIM TRM defines four application platform cross-area services: Internationalization, Security, System Management, and Distributed Computing Services. See Figure 2-1.
The internationalization services provides a set of services and interfaces that allow a user to define, select, and change between different culturally related application environments supported by the particular implementation. These services include character sets, data representation, cultural convention, and native language support.
In order to interchange text information between systems, it is fundamental that systems agree on the character representation of textual data. The following character set coding standards, which build upon the ASCII character set, are mandated for the interchange of 8-bit and 16-bit textual information respectively:
These services assist in protecting information and computer platform resources. They must often be combined with security procedures, which are beyond the scope of the information technology service areas, to fully meet security requirements. Security services include security policy, accountability, and assurance. [Note: Security Service standards have been consolidated in Section 6.)
These services provide capabilities to manage an operating platform and its resources and users. System management services include configuration management, fault management, and performance management. Network Management mandated standards are provided in Section 3.2.1.1.1.5. There are no standards currently mandated for systems management.
These services allow various tasks, operations, and information transfers to occur on multiple, physically- or logically-dispersed, computer platforms. These services include, but are not limited to, global time; data, file, and name services; thread services; and remote process services. There are two categories of Distributed Computing Services, Remote Procedure Computing and Distributed Object Computing.
The mandated standards for remote procedure computing are identified in the OSF Distributed Computing Environment (DCE) Version 1.1. The mandated standards are:
The mandated standards for distributed object computing are identified within the Object Management Group (OMG) Object Management Architecture (OMA) as described in:
The standards listed in this subsection are expected to be elevated to mandatory status when implementations of the standards mature.
There are no emerging standards for software engineering services.
Within User Interface Services space, the Common Open Software Environment (COSE) attempted to unify the existing GUI standards under a common framework. The result was the COSE CDE Version 1.0. This framework provides not only mechanisms for graphical display of common objects, but it also provides standard interprocess communication mechanisms and a set of commonly-used desktop tools (e.g., file manager and mail tool) that are relevant to many domains. There are a number of vendors who have received X/Open Brands for CDE 1.0. The next version of the CDE technology is being sponsored under the OSF Prestructured Technology (PST) business model. The effort has been designated CDENext.
Within Data Management Services, standards for both RDBMS and Object-Oriented Database Management Systems (OODBMSs) will continue to evolve and mature. In the RDBMS domain, SQL3 is being developed by the ANSI X3H2 committee. In the OODBMS domain, the Object Database Management Group (ODMG) is evolving from the ODMG-93 specification to the ODMG-9x standard. SQL3 and ODMG-9x are being developed in parallel to ensure as much commonality as possible. Thus, an RDBMS that conforms to SQL3 will be able to access an OODBMS that conforms to ODMG-9x and vice versa. Both specifications are expected to be completed by mid-1997.
ISO 9075-3, 1995 Call Level Interface and DIS 9075-4, Database Language, Part 4: Persistent Stored Modules (SQL/PSM) are emerging standards for application programmer interface with DBMS servers. Open Data Base Connectivity (ODBC) 3.0 (once finalized) is expected to become the de-facto commercial standard for which vendors will build their products in the near future. However, since ODBC 3.0 is expected to support all of the ISO CLI standard, plus additional vendor extensions (not standard), it is an emerging standard for RDBMS procurement.
Within Data Interchange Services, wavelet techniques are being reviewed for inclusion in the NITFS imaging standard. The ISO 13818-4, MPEG-2 is an interchange format used for full motion video and associated audio data for data rates of 1.5 Mbits/s - 6.0 Mbits/s.
HTML 3.2 is currently in work within the WWW Consortium as the successor to HTML 2.0. HTML 3.2 includes many of the highly desired features such as tables, found in non-standard forms in many vendors' products.
Geospatial standards are migrating from Military Standards to Interface Standards or to Standard Practices, both of which do not require waivers for use. MIL-STD-2405, Datums, Coordinates and Grids is being revised as an Interface Standard in FY96; MIL-STD-600001, Accurace, is slated for conversion to Standard Practices. If either standard is used prior to conversion they will require a waiver.
Within Operating System Services, it is expected that the draft IEEE P1003.x POSIX standards will be adopted once they become final. The following POSIX drafts will be approved as standards soon:
P1003.1d Real-Time Extensions
P1003.1h Services for Reliable, Available, Serviceable Systems
P1003.1g Protocol Independent Interfaces
P1003.5b Ada Bindings for Real-Time
P1003.2l Real-Time Distributed Systems Communication
P1003.1j Advanced Real-Time Extensions
The X/Open Single UNIX Specification (SUS) (previously referred to as Specification 1170) is being updated to include POSIX real-time interfaces. Operating systems that conform to this specification and have received the UNIX brand from X/Open are on the market. For UNIX-based implementations, strong emphasis should be placed on acquiring systems that are SUS conformant over those that are not.