The IEEE and The Open Group today launched a new program to certify products to the 2003 edition of IEEE 1003.1-2001, “Standard for Information Technology” Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), which incorporates the IEEE 1003.1 Corrigendum.

Under the “POSIX: Certified by the IEEE and The Open Group Program,” suppliers can substantiate claims of conformance to POSIX based on defined test suites so buyers gain assurance that products they specify and procure meet the standard and are warranted by the vendor to do so. POSIX certification complements certifications for other products that draw on the POSIX standard, such as those for the UNIX system, the COE Platform and LSB.

The POSIX certification program is a voluntary program, but is required of suppliers who wish to use the POSIX trademark. POSIX certification is open to any product meeting the conformance requirements and is not restricted to any particular operating system implementation. The program includes a product standard for each type of product that can be certified within the POSIX Certification Program. In this initial iteration of the certification program these are as follows:

• 1003.1-2003 Base Product Standard: This is a profile product standard that comprises the mandatory functionality from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition. It is comprised of two component product standards.
• 1003.1-2003 System Interfaces Product Standard: This is a component product standard for the mandatory system interfaces and headers related functionality from IEEE Std 1003.1.
• 1003.1-2003 Shell and Utilities Product Standard: This is a component product standard for the mandatory shell and utilities related functionality from IEEE Std 1003.1.

A product can be certified against one or more product standards and the program allows for two levels of certification: Platform Specific Certification, which applies to a single defined hardware and software environment, and Product Family Certification, which applies to all members of a binary-compatible family.

IEEE-SA will license the POSIX trademark for use with certified products. The Open Group is the certification authority and administers the web-based certification system and the two test suites needed for certification.

The POSIX trademark can be optionally licensed for use in association with certified products meeting the 10003.1-2003 Base Product Standard. The POSIX certification system is a web-based workflow system designed to lead applicants through the process to submit a product for certification. The two POSIX Conformance test suites, VSX-PCTS2003 and VSC-PCTS2003, are freely available to organizations that register to apply for certification.

More information about the program, including all supporting documentation is found at IEEE Website.

 
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