Overview - ISO/IEC 10035-2:1995 (PICS proforma for connectionless ACSE)
ISO/IEC 10035-2:1995 specifies the Protocol Implementation Conformance Statement (PICS) proforma for the connectionless Association Control Service Element (ACSE) protocol defined in ITU‑T Rec. X.237 / ISO/IEC 10035‑1. The standard provides the required questionnaire-style template and completion instructions that suppliers must use to declare the capabilities, options and conformance status of their ACSE protocol implementations. It follows conformance guidance in ITU‑T Rec. X.296 / ISO/IEC 9646‑7 and preserves the published item numbering and structure for unambiguous conformance assessment.
Key topics and technical requirements
- PICS proforma structure: A standardized, table-driven questionnaire with item numbering, status and support columns to record implementation choices and mandatory capabilities.
- Identification and corrigenda: Fields to uniquely identify the supplier, implementation, implemented protocol version(s) and any corrigenda applied to the proforma.
- Completion rules and notation: Guidance on prerequisite predicates, multi-column layouts, item referencing, status values and allowed support answers for consistency across implementations.
- Protocol-specific detail tables: Annex A contains tables for ACSE-specific items including support for UD APDU (Unit Data Application Protocol Data Unit) and supported parameter lists (subclauses A.6, A.7).
- Global conformance statement: A required high-level statement confirming that the implementation conforms to ITU‑T Rec. X.237 / ISO/IEC 10035‑1 and that the PICS is completed per the proforma instructions.
- Normative references: Links to the OSI Reference Model and related standards (e.g., ISO/IEC 7498‑1, ISO/IEC 9646 series) which define terminology and conformance testing methodology.
Practical applications and who uses it
- Protocol implementers and vendors complete the PICS proforma to declare which ACSE features and options they support - essential for product documentation and compliance claims.
- Conformance and interoperability test labs use the completed PICS to select relevant test suites and parameters, and to verify implementations against ITU‑T/ISO specifications.
- Procurement and QA teams reference PICS data to compare vendor capabilities, validate requirements and reduce integration risk for systems using OSI ACSE services.
- Standards bodies and system integrators use the standardized proforma to maintain traceability between protocol specifications and implementation choices.
Related standards
- ITU‑T Rec. X.237 / ISO/IEC 10035‑1 - Connectionless ACSE protocol specification
- ITU‑T Rec. X.296 / ISO/IEC 9646‑7 - Guidance for PICS and implementation conformance statements
- ISO/IEC 7498‑1 and other OSI service definitions referenced for terminology and service semantics
Keywords: ISO/IEC 10035-2:1995, PICS proforma, connectionless ACSE, ITU‑T X.237, protocol implementation conformance, OSI, UD APDU, conformance testing.