Amal,
More recent information is in the public Accellera web docuemnts:
http://www.accellera.org/apps/group_public/documents.php?wg_abbrev=vhdl
As an Accellera approved document, vendors are working on supporting
it now. To further motivate them, please request that they support
the features (they are user/market driven).
WRT becoming an IEEE standard, we are waiting on it being implemented
and used some before we push it into IEEE standardization. This way
allowing updates to happen before it is cast in stone as an IEEE
standard. On the IEEE side, the ballot group has been formed and we
will be ready to go into ballot shortly after we receive an approved
document from the Accellera TSC.
WRT the next stuff. Work is continuing on the next set of
revisions - adding verification features, classes, randomization
(ala SystemVerilog), functional coverage, ... Some of this is in
the DATE presentation.
WRT joining working groups. Accounts other than your company email
address require additional scrutiny. We would not want a SPAMMER
signing up in a working group. As a result, if you use a non-corporate
address, you can expedite the process by identifying the company you
are with and/or somehow demonstrate that you are an engineer,
that you have a vested interest in VHDL, and your nationality
(my appologies, but big brother does not people who are waring
with us to play in the sandbox).
Jim,
Given VHDL's IEEE roots and the Accellera/IEEE collaboration being
sanctioned by the IEEE, it would be good to understand more about what
the IEEE and the US Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets
Control (OFAC) permits.
Your statement on exclusions based on countries the United States is
"waring with" is overly simplified and inaccurate. The United States
has sanctions on interactions with certain countries, but these
sanctions are not necessarily based on a state of war. Further, the
IEEE has a license from OFAC for the development of standards and
joint works. People and entities in sanctioned countries may
participate in standards development.
In a letter to the IEEE, I call your attention to the following
section that highlights the IEEE's ability to collaborate on
standards.
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New General License Applicable to Standards Development and Joint
Works
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With respect to your request for guidance on matters relating to
standards development and collaboration on joint works, please be
advised that the activities that you describe in your letter
appear
to fall within the scope of those activities authorized under the
General Licenses issues by OFAC on December 17, 2004. Please
contact us with any questions that you may with respect to how
the General Licenses might apply to IEEE's activities.
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http://www.ieee.org/portal/cms_docs/about/ofac/OFAC_letter_to_IEEE_050905.pdf
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The IEEE has online information that you can review to understand this
in more detail as well. The summary this information
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IEEE & OFAC - Information Update
Summary:
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In January 2002, IEEE informed members residing in Cuba, Iran,
Libya
and Sudan -- countries sanctioned by OFAC -- that, because of OFAC
regulations, those members would not be able to take advantage of
member benefits and services except for print subscriptions to
IEEE
publications. Certain aspects of publishing manuscripts submitted
to IEEE publications also were affected by these regulations.
After
many months of discussions and providing information to OFAC,
on 30 Sept. 2003, OFAC informed IEEE that most of the publishing
activities are entirely "exempt" from the Iranian embargo rules
but that IEEE could need a license for editing. On 6 Oct. 2003,
IEEE appealed to OFAC to concur with our reasons for an exemption
or to grant a license to enable IEEE to resume the normal
publication
process, including copy and style editing. IEEE's efforts were
rewarded on 2 April 2004, when we received the decision that the
entire scholarly publishing process was exempt from restrictions.
IEEE gained additional ground in its ongoing mission to resolve
embargo-related membership issues when OFAC agreed in May 2005
that IEEE could recognize its section in Iran -- which was formed
in 1970 before embargoes were enacted -- as an official geographic
unit of the IEEE, as long as IEEE did not provide funds or
services.
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http://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/about/ofac.html
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Since OFAC's license it general in that it does not apply to the IEEE
only, ALL scientific, technical and medical publishers, such as
Accellera, are covered.
-Dennis
Cheers,JimLewis
SynthWork VHDL Training,
IEEE VASG Chair,
Accellera VHDL TSC participant
VHDL Evangelist
-- Amal
