From Andrew.Martin@comlab.ox.ac.uk Fri Oct 25 11:32:19 2002
Date: Fri, 25 Oct 2002 11:30:50 +0100 (BST)
From: Andrew Martin <Andrew.Martin@comlab.ox.ac.uk>
To: czt-project@comlab.ox.ac.uk
Subject: CZT: Progress


Hello to everyone on the CZT list.

My `to-do' list has had CZT on it for a long time, so I thought it
time for me to should send an update around.

It's a little over a year since I first proposed CZT.  There has been a
modest amount of discussion, and I think about three pieces of development
are currently `live'.  This isn't the progress I might have hoped for
(what were *your* expectations when joining the list?), but it is
progress.

There are one or two people talking about sources of funding to take the
initiative forward, but nothing is iminent.  Without that, some of the
following could help to develop the initiative:

1. A descriptive/speculative paper about CZT ideas for ZB2003.
   I'd like to see something about CZT at that meeting.  Steve, would the
   PC chair entertain such a paper?

2. A more detailed (journal?) paper, describing an open architecture
   for collaborating Z tools and interfaces.

3. A centralized repository of:
	* code fragments that might be useful
	  (Java code and interface definitions, XML, XML DTD/Schema,
          XSLT...)
	* example specifications in multiple formats (a proto-test-suite)
	* working systems waiting to be integated with each other :-)
   with clear licence terms (where appropriate) of the author's choosing,
   of course.

Who would like to offer material for these?  Please feel free to suggest
other incremental developments that people could contribute to.

Above all, I think the goal must be that anyone who does some work
on Z tools that they would be able to put into the public arena is able to
draw on the work others have done.  This requires (a) a modicum of design
and (b) education about what's been achieved.

I don't think we're in danger of running out of things to do, and maybe by
not being too ambitious we avoid running out of steam.   What do others
think?


Best regards


Andrew.












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