Book Review : ISO Standards for Computer Graphics : The First Generation Albert .1 . Bnnshaft IBM Corporation Arnold, D. B ., and D. A. Duce : ISO Standards for Compute r Graphics : The First Generation, Kent, England, Butterworths, 1990 , 253 pp . and index, ISBN-0-408-04017-3 . Computer graphics related standards affect most every perso n working in the many parts of our field . To my knowledge, thi s book is the first to address the full spectrum of internationa l standards, Considering the breadth of subject matter covered, th e material presented provides an effective overview of graphic s standards ; their history, evolution, basic concepts and current status . This is the first in a series of books on computer graphic s standards to be edited by Dr . Barry Shepherd and Dr . David Arnold . This volume provides the foundation upon which future, mor e detailed volumes on specific subjects will build . As the prefac e points out, the book's authors have over 20 years of combine d experience working on graphics standards . Content is clearl y oriented towards an international audience . In this regard, the fact that the authors have participated in standards making bot h internationally and in their respective countries, provides valuabl e perspective to the text . In Part I, "The Field," a brief history as well as architectura l framework and reference model are first presented . The author s tic in the important link to evolving graphics hardware and software architectures and technologies as they play a key role in drivin g the emergence, utility and ultimate longevity of standards . Th e second half of this part provides an overview of the many standards making bodies, on both international and national levels . In th e small section on industry standards bodies, no mention is mad e of industry efforts such as the X Consortium or Open Softwar e Foundation . Certainly in the U .S ., these bodies are beginning t o have a significant impact on the emergence and widesprea d adoption of new technologies . Part 2 is entitled "The Players ." It is in this largest sectio n of the book that the reader is provided a technical descriptio n of the current set of computer graphic standards . This section , in most cases, first explains a concept in a general fashion applicabl e to all of the standards discussed . The specific differences o r extensions unique to each standard are then discussed individuall y and the reasons for these differences are pointed out . Topics i n this section are explained quite clearly although a more consisten t use of figures to assist understanding might be suggested . Fo r example, although a five-page section on bitmaps contains fiv e figures, a 22-page section on input does not contain a single figur e or diagram . Part 3, "The Rules," provides the syntax within which th e concepts described in the previous part are imbedded . These ar e the language bindings for programming interfaces and encoding s for data exchange standards . Examples in the Fortran, Ada, Pasca l and C languages are used . The final portion of this section i s devoted to formal specification of graphics standards . Althoug h formal specification has not been used in standards to date, thi s section is provided to "encourage others to explore forma l description techniques and their application to graphics standards . " The fourth part of the book entitled "Refereeing" describe s efforts in the areas of validation and testing . Who performs suc h tests, how testing is approached and the current status of thes e activities are presented . Part 5, "The Result, " is the final section of the main text o f the book and is a snapshot of the status of ongoing standardizatio n efforts . This section will be the only one which is quickly outdated . It provides an excellent table, as of June 1989, of the status o f all international computer graphics standards projects includin g the appropriate document reference information . The final part of the book is entitled "The Reserves ." It contain s a bibliography, glossary of abbreviations, listing of standardizatio n bodies and an example of the formal specification of a portio n of GKS . The bibliography is particularly extensive and is a n excellent collection of reference materials . This is a well-written text which accomplishes its intent i n providing the reader a good overview of computer graphic s standards . One subject I feel should be emphasized is the delicat e balance which exists between the continual emergence of ne w technologies and the inherently time-consuming standards makin g process . PRIGS PLUS, IGES and X-Windows are all example s of systems in which the user community embraced a de facto standard which the official standards-making organization s essentially endorsed or are working to endorse years later . In all , I recommend this book to anyone looking for an overview an d introduction to computer graphics standards . Computer Graphics ¢ Volume 25 ¢ Number 1 ¢ January 1991/5

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