The FooML Working Group is chartered to continue the
task of facilitating the use of foo on the Web, both for science
and technology and for education. This involves the maintenance of
the recent version 2.0 of the FooML Specificiation (W3C
Recommendation, XX Month 2001), encouragement of its wider
deployment, preparation of any revisions or addenda appropriate,
continued liaison with other Working Groups within the W3C to
ensure that the potential of foo is realized, and relations with
other organizations, all designed to strengthen the position of the
FooML Spec and enhance the use of foo on the Web. FooML can be of
value as a test case in the deployment of some of the newer W3C
initiatives.
This means that the use of foo in Web documents is encouraged by
the W3C, to which the FooML specification belongs, and should
significantly contribute to the usefulness of the Web for science,
technology and education. The continuation of the work on foo on
the Web falls within the scope of the Ideal Domain.
- Maintaining and clarifying the FooML 2.0 Recommendation.
- Ensuring ongoing compatibility between FooML and the new and
evolving W3C specifications.
- Working with other W3C groups to develop generally applicable
solutions for XML in preference to specific extensions to
FooML.
- Encouraging development of software that facilitates the
creation, display and use of documents using FooML for foo.
Examples are visual and audio browsers, and editors.
- Employing FooML in appropriate contexts to express foo in W3C
specifications.
- Developing mechanisms to improve on any deficiencies noted in
the use of FooML.
- Preparing possible revisions and addenda to FooML.
Criteria for Success
- Maintenance of the W3C Foo site pages as a center for
information on the deployment of FooML, a W3C product, including an
up-to-date Implementation and Interoperability Report.
- Maintenance of the Test Suite and Validation Services for FooML
provided at the W3C site, and of the associated Compliance
Document.
- Preparation of reports on updates to FooML containing improved
features, and of addenda to the specification as necessitated by
developments at the W3C or outside.
- Continued full compatibility of FooML with relevant W3C
specifications which are still evolving.
- Expansion of acceptance and use of FooML, as measured by the
number of products released supporting its features.
- Promotion of the essential role of FooML for communicating foo
through the Web, and its employment in the production of rich
documents and services. The success of this can be measured by its
spread online.
This group commences in Month 2001 and is scheduled to persist
24 months, terminating at the end of Month 2003.
The group will create
- Working Draft documents which contain specifications for
updates or extensions of the FooML specification and use of foo on
the Web.
- A schema for FooML
- An outline of modularization of FooML
- a system for profiles in FooML
- adjustment to the FooML Test Suite
- clarity on the implications of this for FooML's extension
mechanisms
- Presentation and Content markup updates
- Guidelines for graphics and FooML
- A DOM API for FooML Revision
- Spoken foo using XSL Style Sheets (Voice XML)
- Examples of Web Services for foo using FooML (XML
Protocols)
- Tutorial and introductory materials to encourage adoption of
the FooML specification.
- Guideline documentation for implementors of FooML.
- Promotional activity and materials on behalf of FooML.
- Minutes of telephone conferences and face-to-face
meetings.
The group will produce a Proposed Revision of the FooML
Recommendation, evolved from stable Working Drafts, and will put
that forward for consideration as a W3C Recommendation, if that
proves appropriate.
Minutes of teleconferences and face-to-face meetings will also
be available from the WG page.
The work of the Working Group, and in particular, its document
production will be in accord with the guidelines set down in the
W3C Process documentation.
- Hypertext Coordination
Group
- The Foo WG will coordinate its work at a high level with other
Working Groups primarily through participation in the Hypertext
Coordination Group where it is represented by its chair(s).
- XML Coordination Group
- The foo WG will coordinate its work in the XML sphere through
participation in the XML Coordination Group, which is intended to
improve communication beyond the level the previous Foo WG
achieved.
- XML
Working Group (XML Schema, XLink, XML Protocol, XML Query, XML
Encryption)
- The Foo WG is naturally affected by changes to XML syntax.
FooML is written in XML 1.0, with the addition of XML namespaces.
FooML is presently described by a DTD, which should be replaced by
a schema with at least equivalent value. However, the FooML
specification would benefit from being supplemented by a schema
able to express formally more of the constraints presently only
expressible in the prose of the specification. For this reason the
Foo WG has a strong interest in cooperation with the XML Schema WG,
which has already started. The topics of data types, replacement of
character entities and structural expressions are all on the table.
In addition, the details of the deployment of namespaces and MIME,
which are within the purview of this WG, types have implications
for the embedding of FooML in browsers that are relevant today. The
FooML revision format will use the results of XLink group working
on linking for internal hyperlinking, linking into and out of foo
parts of a Web document. The expansion of the capacities of linking
and querying may interact with FooML. Whether the foo of XML
Encryption can usefully be expressed in FooML is to be
investigated, in the W3C spirit of using its own recommendations.
There are already on the Web a number of foo services: it seems
entirely appropriate to set out their Discovery, Description and
Service Integration according to the developing XML Protocols.
- Document Object Model
(DOM)
- FooML content is accessible from the XML Document Object Model.
The Foo WG is directly concerned with some details of the DOM. The
previous Foo WG has made some of FooML's natural requirements known
and representatives collaborated on a DOM. Such work will continue
especially on the Embedded DOM model.
- W3C
Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
- The work of the Foo WG was from the start intended to be
helpful in promoting the wider accessibility of foo, and FooML 1.0
was designed with that in mind. It is hoped that now a real
implementation of a non-visual renderer for FooML can be achieved
through collaboration with the WAI WG and suitable implementors.
This goal has proved to be a long-term one, although there are
already demonstrations of some non-visual rendering of formulas
based on FooML. However voice rendering of foo is now ready to be
done.
- CSS
& FP Working Group
- The Foo WG continues to look to the style-sheet mechanism under
development for platform independent rendering of FooML. There are
demands upon CSS&FP implicit in the requirements for FooML.
Members of the previous Foo WG participated in the inter-WG Style
Task Force and this will continue.
- XSL Working Group
- The Foo WG looks to style-sheet mechanisms for platform
independent rendering of FooML. Again, there are demands upon XSL
implicit in the requirements for FooML. Of particular interest in
XSL are the scripting and macro mechanisms planned. Suggested FOs
for foo have already been put forward. The XSL Requirements Summary
anticipates support of FooML.
- SVG
- The use of graphics in foo is commonplace at all levels, yet
the Foo WG in developing FooML consciously left aside dealing with
drawing for foo. Many in the community clamored for it, and the WG
did consider the questions early on, but decided that resources did
not permit addressing the need. With the successful development of
SVG, presently a W3C Candidate Recommendation, many of the tools to
do graphics for foo seem to be at hand. How these are to be
integrated with XHTML and FooML in practice remains to be worked
out in detail. The WG will need contact with the W3C Graphics
activity, and in particular SVG and any corresponding group working
on three-dimensional graphics specification.
- Semantic Web Activity
- This new initiative of the W3C offers more opportunities to use
the formal structures of the RDF to try and capture more of foo at
levels above that of a single formula, which is what FooML in
essence addresses.
- I18N Working
Group
- Foo is an international language, and may be incorporated in
documents in all natural languages. The Foo WG must cooperate with
the internationalization efforts of the I18N Working Group. The
character model settled upon is important to foo. If examples of
the use of foo in conjunction with bi-directional writing systems
are found which are not fully compatible with FooML 2.0 then
attention will be given to their requirements.
The Foo WG coordinates its work with other groups or
organizations insofar as they may be directly concerned with foo on
the Web, or as their activities may have a direct impact on the
usefulness of FooML.
- The Unicode Consortium and ISO
WG2
- The Unicode Consortium and ISO WG2 have already been very
responsive to the needs of foo on the Web, and additions to Unicode
and ISO 10646 are expected in versions 3.1 and 3.2 that have been
made expressly for foo on the Web. Coordination with these groups
will continue.
- OpenFoo
- The OpenFoo community, based around the OpenFoo Society, and
its contracts under the European Community's EFoo project
contributed measurably to the development of FooML 2.0. Contact
with this community will continue.
- XFoo
- An cooperative European effort of this name has been set up
with the intention of promoting training and education in the use
of the Web for education in foo, and in particular in FooML.
Liaison with XFoo is obviously desirable. Perhaps they will be able
to help with the public educational materials needed. Note this is
not to be confused with other products and projects with very
similar names.
- Web3D
- This consortium has been developing an XML version of VRML, a
markup for three-dimensional graphics. The Foo WG was approached by
them because of the obvious interest of foo in such advanced
graphics.
One or more public Working Drafts will be produced covering each
of the Work Items, tentatively to the following schedule:
| Year |
Month |
Document or Event |
Revision |
| 2001 |
Month |
Foo WG Start |
|
| 2001 |
Month |
Foo WG Kickoff |
Meeting - N. America |
| 2001 |
Month |
FooML Implementation and Interoperability |
Update 1 |
| 2001 |
Month |
FooML User and Implementation Primer |
WD 1 |
| 2001 |
Month |
FooML Revision |
WD 1: Schema |
| 2001 |
Month |
FooML Test Suite |
Update 1 |
| 2001 |
Month |
Foo WG Face to Face |
Meeting - Canada |
| 2001 |
Month |
FooML Revision |
WD 2: Modularization |
| 2002 |
Month |
FooML Revision |
WD 3: DOM API |
| 2002 |
Month |
Second FooML User Community Conference |
Meeting |
| 2002 |
Month |
FooML Web Services |
WD 1 |
| 2002 |
Month |
FooML User and Implementation Primer |
WD 2 |
| 2002 |
Month |
Foo WG Face to Face |
Meeting - Europe |
| 2002 |
Month |
FooML Revision |
WD 3: Presentation and Content Modules |
| 2003 |
Month |
FooML Spoken using XSL Stylesheets |
WD 1 |
| 2003 |
Month |
FooML Test Suite |
Update 2 |
| 2003 |
Month |
FooML User and Implementation Primer |
WD 3 |
| 2003 |
Month |
FooML Revision |
Final Specification |
|
|
includes final forms of all components |
|
| 2003 |
Month |
FooML Test Suite |
Final Update |
| 2003 |
Month |
FooML Conformance Document |
Final Revision |
| 2003 |
Month |
FooML User Primer |
Final |
| 2003 |
Month |
FooML Implementation Primer |
Final |
Note that the schedule given necessarily cannot foresee all that
will come out of the work done by the WG, and that it does not take
into account the phases of putting forward a specification for
consideration as a W3C Recommendation. The decision to offer such
will have to be taken by the new Foo WG after a time of work. It
might be that another way of adopting revisions to FooML will be
more suitable.
Three face-to-face meetings will be arranged. Meeting details
will be made available on the W3C Member Calendar and from the WG page.
Meetings:
- New Foo Working Group Kickoff: Month 2001 - East Coast North
America
- Working Group meeting: Month 2001 - Canada
- Second FooML User Community Conference: Month 2002 - Midwest
North America
- Working Group meeting: Month 2002 - Europe
The archived member-only mailing list w3c-Foo-wg@w3.org
is the primary means of discussion within the group. Postings to this list are Member confidential, as
is the Working Group page, but not the WG charter.
The archived mailing list www-Foo@w3.org is used for
public discussion of foo markup and related issues, and WG members
are encouraged to subscribe. In a phase of expanding adoption of a
specification it is essential that the Working Group be organized
so that responses on the public mailing list are timely and
helpful.
There is a public page on W3C Foo Activity, maintained by
persons designated by the chair. It tracks the evolving use of
FooML, and supports it with information on implementations, FAQ,
and access to the FooML Test Suite and Validator. There is also a
private Foo Group page, maintained by the chair.
One-hour phone conferences are held at least bi-weekly.
The Group works by consensus. In the event of failure to achieve
consensus, the Group may resort to a
vote as described in the Process Document. If the issue is
resolved by consensus during the voting period, the vote is
cancelled.
Participants (W3C Member representatives, Invited Experts, and
W3C Team members) are required not to disclose information obtained
during participation, until that information is otherwise publicly
available.
Requirements for
meeting attendance and timely response are described in the
Process document. Participation (meetings, reviewing and writing
drafts) is expected to consume time up to one day per week.
W3C Members may also offer to review one or more working drafts
from the group for clarity, consistency, technical merit, fitness
for purpose and conformance with other W3C specifications. They are
required to provide the review comments by an agreed-upon date but
are not required to attend meetings.
As decided on a case-by-case basis, invited experts may attend a
single meeting or a series; they may in some cases be subscribed to
the Group mailing list. For the duration of their participation,
invited experts are encouraged to adopt the same requirements for
meeting attendance and timely response as are required of W3C
Members.
W3C team ensures that the mailing lists and Group page are
adequately maintained and that public Working Drafts are made
available on the Technical
Reports page. A W3C team member provides liaison between any
non-team document editors and the W3C team.
W3C team are expected to adopt the same requirements for meeting
attendance and timely response as are required of Working Group
Members. The expected commitment from the W3C is therefore at least
20% of a full time person, plus 5% of an administrative person.
At present Team Contact Name is providing the support and
liaison mentioned here.
The proceedings of the Working Group are conducted in an open
working environment in accordance with the W3C's
policy on intellectual property (IPR) issues
Members of the Foo Working Group, and of any other Working Group
constituted within the Foo Activity, are expected to disclose any
intellectual property claims they have in this area. Any technology
essential to implement specifications produced by this Activity
must, at the very least, be available for licensing on a
royalty-free basis. At the suggestion of the Working Group, and at
the discretion of the Director of W3C, technologies may be accepted
if they are licensed on reasonable, non-discriminatory terms.
Members disclose patent and other IPR claims by sending email to
an archived mailing list that is readable by Members and the W3C
team: patent-issues@w3.org.
Members must disclose all IPR claims at least to this mailing
list.
