[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 119 (Wednesday, June 22, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-15188]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: June 22, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[Docket No. 940550-4150]
RIN No. 0693-AB28

 

Proposed Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) For SQL 
Environments

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This proposed FIPS defines general purpose profiles that can 
be used by both vendors and users to specify exact requirements for how 
various products will fit into an SQL environment. An SQL environment 
is an integrated data processing environment in which heterogeneous 
products, all supporting some aspect of FIPS 127, SQL, are able to 
communicate with one another and provide shared access to data and data 
operations and methods under appropriate security, integrity, and 
access control mechanisms.
    The profiles in this proposed FIPS will enable Federal agencies to 
specify a subset of FIPS 127 to provide limited SQL access to legacy 
databases, or to support SQL gateways to specialized data managers such 
as Geographic Information Systems, full-text document management 
systems, or object database management systems.
    Prior to the submission of this proposed FIPS to the Secretary of 
Commerce for review and approval, it is essential to assure that 
consideration is given to the needs and views of manufacturers, the 
public, and State and local governments. The purpose of this notice is 
to solicit such views.
    This proposed FIPS contains two sections: (1) An announcement 
section, which provides information concerning the applicability, 
implementation, and maintenance of the standard; and (2) a 
specifications section. Only the announcement section of the standard 
is provided in this notice. Interested parties may obtain copies of the 
specifications section from the Standards Processing Coordinator (ADP), 
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Technology Building, 
room B64, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, telephone (301) 975-2816. An 
electronic version of this specification is available using Internet 
anonymous FTP protocols.

Internet Node: speckle.ncsl.nist.gov
User name: ftp
Password: @
Change Directory to: isowg3/FIPSdocs
Get File: fipseri.ps  --Postscript version

An ASCII text version of this document is also available in the same 
directory as above, but with file name ``fipseri.txt''.
    You will receive some sign-on messages. If these messages confuse 
your FTP client, you can turn them off when you sign-on again by 
preceding your password with a hyphen (-).

DATES: Comments on this proposed FIPS must be received on or before 
September 20, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Written comments concerning the proposed FIPS should be sent 
to: Director, Computer Systems Laboratory, ATTN: Proposed FIPS for SQL 
Environments, Technology Building, Room B154, National Institute of 
Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.
    Written comments received in response to this notice will be made 
part of the public record and will be made available for inspection and 
copying in the Central Reference and Records Inspection Facility, Room 
6020, Herbert C. Hoover Building, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and 
Constitution Avenues, NW., Washington, DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Leonard J. Gallagher, National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, 
telephone (301) 975-3251.

    Dated: June 17, 1994.
Samuel Kramer,
Associate Director.

Federal Information Processing Standards Publication XXX

(Draft--April 1994)

Announcing the Standard for SQL Environments

    Federal Information Processing Standards Publications (FIPS 
PUBS) are issued by the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology after approval by the Secretary of Commerce pursuant to 
Section 111(d) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services 
Act of 1949 as amended by the Computer Security Act of 1987, Public 
Law 100-235.
    1. Name of Standard. SQL Environments (FIPS PUB XXX).
    2. Category of Standard. Software Standard, Database.
    3. Explanation. An SQL environment is an integrated data 
processing environment in which heterogeneous products, all 
supporting some aspect of the FIPS SQL standard (FIPS PUB 127), are 
able to communicate with one another and provide shared access to 
data and data operations and methods under appropriate security, 
integrity, and access control mechanisms. Some components in an SQL 
environment will be full-function SQL implementations that conform 
to an entire level of FIPS SQL and support all of its required 
clauses for schema definition, data manipulation, transaction 
management, integrity constraints, access control, and schema 
information. Other components in an SQL environment may be 
specialized data repositories, or graphical user interfaces and 
report writers, that support selected portions of the SQL standard 
and thereby provide a degree of integration between themselves and 
other products in the same SQL environment.
    This FIPS PUB is the beginning of a continuing effort to define 
appropriate conformance profiles that can be used by both vendors 
and users to specify exact requirements for how various products fit 
into an SQL environment. The emphasis in this first FIPS for SQL 
Environments is to specify general purpose, SQL external repository 
interface (SQL/ERI) profiles for non-SQL data repositories. These 
profiles specify how a subset of the SQL standard can be used to 
provide limited SQL access to legacy databases, or to support SQL 
gateways to specialized data managers such as Geographic Information 
Systems (GIS), full-text document management systems, or object 
database management systems. All of the profiles specified herein 
are for server-side products, that is, products that control 
persistent data and provide an interface for users access to that 
data. Subsequent versions of this FIPS PUB may specify SQL 
environment profiles for client-side products, that is, products 
that access data and then present that data in graphical or report-
writer style to an end user, or process the data in some other way 
on behalf of the end user.
    4. Approving Authority. Secretary of Commerce
    5. Maintenance Agency. Department of Commerce, National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, (Computer Systems Laboratory)
    6. Cross Index.

--Federal Information Resources Management Regulations (FIRMR) 
subpart 201.303, Standards, and subpart 201.39.1002, Federal 
Standards, April 1992.
--FIPS PUB 127-2, Federal Information Processing Standards 
Publication--Database Language SQL, adoption of ANSI SQL (ANSI 
X3.135-1992) and ISO SQL (ISO/IEC 0975:1992) for Federal use, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and 
Technology, June 2, 1993.
--ANSI/ISO/IEC 9579, International Standard for Remote Database 
Access (RDA), Part 1: Generic RDA and Part 2: SQL Specialization, 
ISO/IEC 9579-1:1993 and ISO/IEC 9579-2:1993, published December, 
1993.
--ANSI/ISO/IEC CD 9075-3, (Committee Draft) International Standard 
for Database Language SQL, Part 3: Call Level Interface (SQL/CLI), 
JTC1 Committee Draft (CD), document SC21 N8436, February 1994.
--ANSI/ISO/IE CD 9075-4, (Committee Draft) International Standard 
for Database Language SQL, Part 4: Persistent Stored Modules (SQL/
PSM), JTC1 Committee Draft (CD), document SC21 N8438, March 1994.

    7. Related Documents. SQL Environment specifications will often 
depend upon existing Database Language SQL standards (see Cross 
Index above) and upon emerging SQL and SQL Multimedia standards. The 
following items identify formal ISO/IEC international standards 
projects for which preliminary specifications and base documents 
exist, but where the development effort has not yet reached a 
complete and stable stage (i.e. the Committee Draft (CD) stage). As 
these specifications mature and move through the standards process, 
they can referenced more reliably in procurement requirements.

(Working Draft) Database Language SQL (SQL3)

Part 1: Framework
Part 2: Foundation--including Abstract Data Types and Object SQL
Part 3: Call Level Interface--extensions to ISO/IEC CD 9075-3 
identified above.
Part 4: Persistent Stored Modules--extensions to ISO/IEC CD 9075-4 
identified above.
Part 5: Language Bindings--extensions to the binding clauses of ISO/
IEC 9075:1992.
Part 6: Encompassing Transactions--to support X/Open XA-interface.

(Working Draft) SQL Multimedia (SQL/MM)

Part 1: Framework and General Purpose Facilities
Part 3: Spatial

    Other Parts: Reserved for other SQL/MM sub-projects with no 
current base document (e.g., images, photographs, motion pictures, 
sound, music, video, etc.).
    For information on the current status of the above Working 
Drafts, contact NIST personnel working on SQL Standardization at 
301-975-3251. For document references to the above and for 
additional related documents, see the References section of the SQL/
ERI Server Profiles specification.
    8. Objective. The primary objective of this FIPS PUB for SQL 
Environments is to specify SQL profiles that can be used by Federal 
departments and agencies to support integration of legacy databases 
and other non-SQL data repositories into an SQL environment. The 
intent is to provide a high level of control over a diverse 
collection of legacy or specialized data resources. An SQL 
environment allows an organization to obtain many of the advantages 
of SQL without requiring a large, complex, and error-prone 
conversion effort; instead, the organization can evolve, in a 
controlled manner, to a new environment.
    9. Applicability. This standard is applicable in any situation 
where it is desirable to integrate a client-side productivity tool 
or a server-side data repository into an SQL environment. It is a 
non-mandatory standard that may be invoked on a case-by-case basis 
subject to the integration objectives of the procuring department or 
agency. It is particularly suitable for specifying limited SQL 
interfaces to legacy databases or to specialized data repositories 
not under the control of a full-function SQL database management 
system. It can be used along with other procurement information to 
specify SQL interface requirements for a wide range of data 
management procurements.
    One special area of application envisioned for this standard is 
Electronic Commerce, a National Challenge Application area of the 
National Information Infrastructure. The primary objective of 
Electronic Commerce is to integrate communications, data management, 
and security services in a distributed processing environment, 
thereby allowing business applications within different 
organizations to interoperate and exchange information 
automatically. At the data management level, electronic commerce 
requires a logically integrated database of diverse data stored in 
geographically separated data banks under the management and control 
of heterogeneous database management systems. An over-riding 
requirement is that these diverse data managers be able to 
communicate with one another and provide shared access to data and 
data operations and methods under appropriate security, integrity, 
and access control mechanisms. FIPS SQL provides a powerful database 
language for data definition, data manipulation, and integrity 
management to satisfy many of these requirements. It is unrealistic 
to expect that every data manager involved in electronic commerce 
will conform to even the Entry SQL level of the FIPS SQL standard; 
however, it is not unrealistic to require that they support a 
limited SQL interface, even a read-only interface, provided by one 
of the SQL/ERI Server profiles. New procurements to add components 
to the National Information Infrastructure, or to upgrade existing 
components, can define the necessary SQL schemas and point to 
appropriate SQL/ERI Server profiles as procurement requirements.
    This standard may also be applicable, on a case-by-case basis, 
in many of the following areas:

Legacy databases
Full-Text document databases
Geographic Information Systems
Bibliographic information retrieval
Object database interfaces
Federal data distribution
Operating system file interface
Open system directory interface
Electronic mail repositories
CASE tool repositories
XBase repositories
C++ sequence class repositories
Object Request Broker interface repository
Real-time database interface
Internet file repositories

    Further detail on each of these potential application areas can 
be found in Section 8, ``Applicability'', of the FIPS specification 
of SQL Environments.
    10. Specifications. See the Specifications for SQL 
Environments--SQL External Repository Interface (SQL/ERI)--Server 
Profiles (Affixed).
    11. Implementation. Implementation of this standard involves 
four areas of consideration: the effective date, acquisition of 
conforming implementations, interpretation, and validation.
    11.1  Effective date. This publication is effective immediately 
upon publication. Since it is a nonmandatory specification, based on 
the established FIPS SQL standard, and used at the discretion of 
individual Federal procurements, no transitional period or delayed 
effective date is necessary.
    11.2  Acquisition. All conforming implementations of a specific 
SQL/ERI profile will support some aspects of the FIPS SQL standard. 
However, such implementations will not normally be full function 
database management systems and conformance will often be dependent 
upon SQL schema definitions and other requirements provided as part 
of each individual procurement. In most cases, a procurement will 
not be able to simply point to an SQL/ERI profile and demand 
conformance to it. Instead, successful procurements will normally 
use an appropriate SQL/ERI profile, together with an application-
specific schema definition, as one aspect of overall procurement 
requirements. In many cases, vendors of products that provide a 
limited SQL interface will define their interfaces in terms of a 
fixed SQL schema definition. In those cases, procurements can point 
to the vendor-provided schema definition and to an appropriate SQL/
ERI profile as a procurement requirement. In some cases, especially 
in those situations where schema definitions and requirements are 
not known in advance, a request for a proposal (RFP) many require 
that an SQL schema, and adherence to one of the SQL/ERI Server 
profiles, be presented as part of the response proposal.
    11.3  Interpretation. NIST provides for the resolution of 
questions regarding specifications and requirements of the FIPS for 
SQL Environments, and issues official interpretations as needed. 
Procedures for interpretations are specified in FIPS PUB 29-3. All 
questions about the interpretation of FIPS SQL Environments should 
be addressed to:

Director, Computer Systems Laboratory, Attn: SQL Environments, 
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 
20899, Telephone: (301) 975-2833

    11.4  Validation. Implementations of the FIPS for SQL 
Environments may be validated in accordance with NIST Computer 
Systems Laboratory (CSL) validation procedures for FIPS SQL (FIPS 
PUB 127). Recommended procurement terminology for validation of FIPS 
SQL is contained in the U.S. General Services Administration 
publication Federal ADP & Telecommunications Standards Index, 
Chapter 4 Part 2. This GSA publication provides terminology for 
three validation options: Delayed Validation, Prior Validation 
Testing, and Prior Validation. The agency may select the appropriate 
validation option and may specify appropriate time frames for 
validation and correction of nonconformities.
    Implementations may be evaluated using the NIST SQL Test Suite, 
a suite of automated validation tests for SQL implementations. 
Although this test suite was designed to test conformance of full-
function SQL database management systems, it can be modified to 
accommodate testing of SQL/ERI Server implementations. The results 
of validation testing by the SQL Testing Service are published on a 
quarterly basis in the Validated Products List, available from the 
National Technical Information Service (NTIS).
    Current information about the NIST SQL Validation Service and 
the status of validation testing for SQL Environments is available 
from:

National Institute of Standards and Technology, Computer Systems 
Laboratory, Software Standards Validation Group, Building 225, Room 
A266, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, (301) 975-2490.

    12. Where to Obtain Copies. Copies of this publication are for 
sale by the National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department 
of Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161, telephone 703-487-4650. When 
ordering, refer to Federal Information Processing Standards 
Publication XXX (FIPSPUBXXX), SQL Environments. Payment may be made 
by check, money order, or deposit account.

[FR Doc. 94-15188 Filed 6-21-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-CN-M