News Release: W3C and OASIS Jointly Issue New Web Standard for Industrial Graphics

Today W3C and OASIS have published WebCGM 2.0, a new industry  
standard for technical illustrations in electronic documents. WebCGM,  
which is widely deployed in the defense, aviation, architecture, and  
transportation industries, has reached new levels of interoperability  
thanks to this joint effort between OASIS and W3C. For more  
information please contact the W3C or OASIS Communications staff  
person in your region, as listed below.

W3C and OASIS Jointly Issue New Web Standard for Industrial Graphics
Cooperation brings broad expertise to WebCGM 2.0

Web resources

	WebCGM 2.0
		W3C Recommendation: http://www.w3.org/TR/2007/REC-webcgm20-20070130/
		OASIS Standard: http://docs.oasis-open.org/webcgm/v2.0/OS/webcgm- 
v2.0-index.html

	This press release
		In English: http://www.w3.org/2007/01/webcgm-pressrelease.html.en
		In French: http://www.w3.org/2007/01/webcgm-pressrelease.html.fr
		In Japanese: http://www.w3.org/2007/01/webcgm-pressrelease.html.ja


http://www.w3.org/ -- 30 January 2007 -- Today W3C and OASIS have  
published WebCGM 2.0, a new industry standard for technical  
illustrations in electronic documents. WebCGM, which is widely  
deployed in the defense, aviation, architecture, and transportation  
industries, has reached new levels of interoperability thanks to this  
joint effort between OASIS and W3C.

"Today, industrial designers reap the benefits of the cooperative  
work between W3C and OASIS," announced Dr. Steve Bratt, CEO of W3C.  
"When the developer and designer communities asked for new features  
and improvements in this critical technology, our organizations  
combined efforts and expertise, and provided WebCGM 2.0. "

"WebCGM demonstrates the benefits that can be realized when standards  
organizations work together for the good of the marketplace," said  
Patrick Gannon, president and CEO of OASIS. "The result of this  
collaboration between OASIS and W3C is a single open standard for CGM  
on the Web that has been approved by the membership of both our  
organizations. This degree of endorsement assures implementers around  
the world that they can adopt WebCGM with confidence."

WebCGM Provides Industrial-Grade Web Graphics

Computer Graphics Metafile, or CGM, is an ISO standard for a tree- 
structured, binary graphics format that has been adopted especially  
by the technical industries (defense, aviation, transportation, etc)  
for technical illustration in electronic documents. As the Web  
emerged as the environment for sharing and creating documents, it  
became apparent that the best way to use CGM on the Web needed to be  
clarified, particularly for interactivity such as hyperlinks and  
hotspots.

WebCGM finds significant application especially in technical  
illustration, electronic documentation, and geophysical data  
visualization. It unifies potentially diverse approaches to CGM  
utilization in Web document applications, and therefore represents a  
significant interoperability agreement amongst major users and  
implementers of the ISO CGM standard.


For W3C
Contact Americas, Australia --
     Janet Daly, <janet@w3.org>, +1.617.253.5884 or +1.617.253.2613
Contact Europe, Africa and the Middle East-
     Marie-Claire Forgue, <mcf@w3.org>, +33.492.38.75.94
Contact Asia --
     Yasuyuki Hirakawa <chibao@w3.org>, +81.466.49.1170

For OASIS
Contact Worldwide –
     Carol Geyer, <carol.geyer@oasis-open.org> +1.978.667.5115 or  
+1.978.284.0403



OASIS and W3C Work Together to Build WebCGM 2.0

W3C published the first WebCGM Recommendation, Version 1.0, in 1999.  
CGM Open, an independent group created to advance adoption of WebCGM,  
was incorporated into OASIS not long afterward. As users began  
demanding more features and improvements, it became apparent that  
there was both interest and support for a WebCGM 2.0. To get that  
work formally underway, OASIS and W3C signed a Memorandum of  
Understanding, making it possible for both organizations to work  
together on the creation of a new standard. This also allowed for the  
best range of participation from both the OASIS WebCGM Technical  
Committee and W3C WebCGM Working Group.

WebCGM 2.0 Provides New API, and Fulfills Goals

WebCGM 2.0 adds a DOM (API) specification for programmatic access to  
WebCGM objects, and a specification of an XML Companion File (XCF)  
architecture, for externalization of non-graphical metadata. WebCGM  
2.0 also builds upon and extends the graphical and intelligent  
content of WebCGM 1.0. The design criteria for WebCGM aim at a  
balance between graphical expressive power on the one hand, and  
simplicity and implementability on the other. A small but powerful  
set of standardized metadata elements supports the functionalities of  
hyperlinking and document navigation, picture structuring and  
layering, and enabling search and query of WebCGM picture content.

WebCGM 2.0 has been approved as an OASIS Standard and as a W3C  
Recommendation, signifying the highest level of ratification within  
both organizations.

About OASIS

OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information  
Standards) is a not-for-profit, international consortium that drives  
the development, convergence, and adoption of e-business standards.  
Members themselves set the OASIS technical agenda, using a  
lightweight, open process expressly designed to promote industry  
consensus and unite disparate efforts. The consortium produces open  
standards for Web services, security, e-business, and standardization  
efforts in the public sector and for application-specific markets.  
Founded in 1993, OASIS has more than 5,000 participants representing  
over 600 organizations and individual members in 100 countries. For  
more information see http://www.oasis-open.org
About the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C]

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international consortium  
where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work  
together to develop Web standards. W3C primarily pursues its mission  
through the creation of Web standards and guidelines designed to  
ensure long-term growth for the Web. Over 400 organizations are  
Members of the Consortium. W3C is jointly run by the MIT Computer  
Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL) in the  
USA, the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics  
(ERCIM) headquartered in France and Keio University in Japan,and has  
additional Offices worldwide. For more information see http:// 
www.w3.org/

Received on Tuesday, 30 January 2007 15:07:59 UTC