CURRENT_MEETING_REPORT_

Reported by David Crocker/Silicon Graphics

Minutes of the Structured Text Interchange Format BOF (STIF)

STIF is a proposal for a syntax to permit text-based specification of
labeled and hierachically-structured data.  It tries to serve the dual
goal of information interchange and easy human specification.  Personal
Contact Information (PCI) is a related specification which uses STIF for
encoding business-card (Rolodex) descriptions.  The Amsterdam BOF was
held to discuss IETF interest in pursuing such work.  Two
Internet-Drafts have been posted.  The BOF consisted mostly of
discussion about the nature of STIF and PCI, with some useful technical
comments offered by the audience, as well as the beginnings of a debate
about the alternatives.

There is clear interest in this realm of work.  The Application Area
Directors have expressed interest in pursuing only one out of several
alternatives, and discussions about the alternatives have begun.


Attendees

Chris Adie               C.J.Adie@edinburgh.ac.uk
Steve Alexander          stevea@lachman.com
Carsten Bormann          cabo@cs.tu-berlin.de
David Crocker            dcrocker@mordor.stanford.edu
Judith Grass             grass@cnri.reston.va.us
Gerd Holzhauer           Holzhauer1@applelink.apple.com
Per Jacobsen             p.h.jacobsen@usit.uio.no
Brewster Kahle           Brewster@wais.com
Neil Katin               katin@eng.sun.com
Jim Knowles              jknowles@binky.arc.nasa.gov
Pekka Kytolaakso         pekka.kytolaakso@csc.fi
Eliot Lear               lear@sgi.com
Steen Linden             steen.linden@uni-c.dk
John Lindsay             lindsay@kingston.ac.uk
Kent Malave              kent@bach.austin.ibm.com
Brian May                Brian.May@mel.dit.csiro.au
Michael Patton           map@bbn.com
Luc Rooijakkers          lwj@cs.kun.nl
David Sitman             a79vm.tau.ac.il
Simon Spero              simon_spero@unc.edu
Gregory Vaudreuil        gvaudre@cnri.reston.va.us



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