Overview
ISO/IEC 10728:1993/Amd 1:1995 is an important amendment to the International Standard ISO/IEC 10728:1993 titled "Information technology - Information Resource Dictionary System (IRDS) Services Interface". This amendment introduces a C language binding to the IRDS Services Interface, expanding its usability and interoperability within C programming environments. The document adds Annex C, detailing the C language bindings, data structures, service function prototypes, and implementation guidelines that adhere closely to the original IRDS Services Interface definitions. This amendment supports international standardization efforts led by ISO and IEC, reinforcing consistent IT management practices globally.
Key Topics
- C Language Binding: Annex C presents the C language binding as a header file (
irds.h), implementing the IRDS interface functions and data types suitably for C programmers.
- Data Structures: It maps IRDS and SQL data types to equivalent C types, including strings (
pIrdsText), numerical types (float, double, short, int), date/time structures, and specialized IRDS identifiers.
- Service Interfaces: Function prototypes are provided for all major IRDS services, such as creating, opening, modifying, and deleting IRDS definitions, cursors, and working sets.
- Implementation Strategy: Guidelines address language constraints, such as the use of macros for constants and ensuring unique external names to avoid conflicts in C environments.
- Diagnostics and Return Codes: Services return status codes as defined by IRDS, allowing applications to handle errors or state information programmatically.
- Interoperability with Pascal Bindings: The amendment complements the existing Pascal language bindings, enabling cross-language interoperability within IRDS implementations.
Applications
- Information Resource Management: Facilitates structured organization, access, and management of IT resources via an internationally recognized framework.
- Software Development: Enables software developers to integrate IRDS services into C-based applications, supporting database and metadata management systems.
- Open Systems Interconnection: Supports open distributed processing by standardizing interfaces to metadata repositories across platforms.
- Data Interchange and Integration: Helps create consistent and standardized metadata dictionaries for data interchange in multi-vendor environments.
- Enterprise IT Services: Assists IT architects and system integrators in managing information resources systematically using a standardized interface in C programming environments.
Related Standards
- ISO/IEC 10728:1993 – The base standard defining IRDS services interface.
- ISO/IEC 9899:1990 – The C programming language standard required for conformant implementations.
- ISO/IEC 9075:1992 – SQL Database Language specification referenced for object naming conventions.
- ISO/IEC JTC 1 SC 21 – Subcommittee responsible for open systems interconnection, data management, and open distributed processing standards.
- Other Language Bindings – Including Pascal language bindings defined in the original ISO/IEC 10728 standard.
Keywords: ISO/IEC 10728 amendment, IRDS, Information Resource Dictionary System, C language binding, IRDS services interface, metadata management, C programming standard, information technology standards, open systems interconnection, data management, programming interface, ISO standards, IEC, software development, database metadata, IT resource management.