X/Open

Article summary

X/Open group (also known as the Open Group for Unix Systems and incorporated in 1987 as X/Open Company, Ltd. ) was a consortium founded by several European UNIX systems manufacturers in 1984 to identify and promote open standards in the field of information technology. More specifically, the original aim was to define a single specification for operating systems derived from UNIX, to increase the interoperability of applications and reduce the cost of porting software. Its original members were Bull, ICL, Siemens, Olivetti, and Nixdorf—a group sometimes referred to as BISON. Philips and Ericsson joined in 1985, at which point the name X/Open was adopted. The group published its specifications as X/Open Portability Guide, starting with Issue 1 in 1985, and later as X/Open CAE Specification. In 1987, X/Open was incorporated as X/Open Company, Ltd. By March 1988, X/Open grew to 13 members: AT&T, Digital, Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, Unisys, NCR, Olivetti, Bull, Ericsson, Nixdorf, Philips, ICL, and Siemens. By 1990 the group had expanded to 21 members: in addition to the original five, Philips and Nokia from Europe; AT&T, Digital, Unisys, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, NCR, Sun, Prime Computer, Apollo Computer from North America; Fujitsu, Hitachi, and NEC from Japan; plus the Open Software Foundation and Unix International.…

Key claims

1. date of foundation: 1984 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. members: 13 members — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. members: 21 members — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
4. publication date: 1985 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
5. release date: 1991 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of foundation is "1984". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the members is "13 members". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the members is "21 members". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. The record states that the publication date is "1985". What evidence would count against this claim?
6. The record states that the release date is "1991". What evidence would count against this claim?
7. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
8. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1357376492