Atom Project: W3C Working Group
Charter
Mission Statement
The Working Group will be chartered to define Atom, a feed format for representing and a protocol for editing Web resources such as Weblogs, online journals, Wikis, and similar content. The feed format enables syndication; that is, provision of a channel of information by representing multiple resources in a single document. The editing protocol enables agents to interact with resources by nominating a way of using existing Web standards in a pattern.
Scope And Work Items
Architectural Constraints
Atom consists of:
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A conceptual model of a resource
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A concrete syntax for this model
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A syndication and archiving format (the Atom Feed Format) using this syntax
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An editing protocol using this syntax
The format must be able to represent:
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a resource that is a Weblog entry or article (e.g., it has an author, date, identifier, and content)
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a feed or channel of entries, with or without enclosed content
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a complete archive of all entries in a feed
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existing well-formed XML (especially XHTML) content
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additional information in an user-extensible manner
The editing protocol must enable:
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creating, editing, and deleting feed entries
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multiple authors for a feed
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multiple subjects or categories in a feed
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user authentication
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adding, editing, and deleting users
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setting and getting user preferences
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creating, getting and setting all types of web resources that can be represented with a URI. (@@to debate?@@)
The Working Group will use experience gained with syndication format as the basis for a standards-track document specifying the model, syntax, and feed format. The feed format will be used as the basis of work on a standards-track document specifying the editing protocol. If other submissions are made to the Working Group under terms accepted by the W3C, the working group may consider them as alternatives, inputs or additional materials for the community based upon their merits.
Technical Quality and Interoperability
The Working Group will also take steps to ensure interoperability, by:
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unambiguously identifying required elements in formats
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demonstrating interoperability between a large set of products (and maybe holding at least one interoperability event if the WG feels it's necessary)
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clearly nominating conformance levels for different types of software
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providing clear extensibility mechanisms (if needed) and constraints upon them
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describing how one migrates from the various RSS versions to the Atom syndication feed format
The Working Group's primary focus will be on delivering an interoperable syntax and corresponding API; it is expected that all but the most basic, generic metadata and functions will be accommodated through extensions, rather than in the core documents.
Tracking and Maintenance Items
(Not Optional - Björn Höhrmann comment)
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Collect errata and periodically publish new editions of Atom Syntax/API incorporating errata
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Gather requirements for any subsequent version of Atom Syntax/API
(Optional - might be removed)
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RDF Primer
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Monitoring of implementations for conformance to Atom Syntax/API, interoperability and quality. Publication of Implementation Reports.
Duration
This group will commence in July 2004 and will terminate in July 2006
Deliverables
The Working Group will follow the W3C Recommendation Track to produce:
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W3C Recommentation Track
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The Atom Syndication Format 1.0 Recommendation
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The Atom API 1.0 Recommendation
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Published on the Atom WG space
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Atom Format Test Suite
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Atom API Test Suite
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Implementation Report
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Atom Disposition of Comments document.
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Post-Recommendation work items: errata, implementation tracking, collecting requirements for future versions.
Legal Data
This Working Group operates under the W3C Patent Policy (5 February 2004 Version). To promote the widest adoption of Web standards, W3C seeks to issue Recommendations that can be implemented, according to this policy, on a Royalty-Free basis.
Relationship to other forums
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Semantic Web Activity
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The work of the Atom WG will be coordinated with this Activity to ensure Atom fits into the general framework for metadata on the Semantic Web.
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HTML and XForm Activities
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The work of the Atom WG, in particular the definition of the Atom syntax, will be coordinated with this Activity to ensure Atom integrates well with XHTML and XForms for Web content delivery.
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Internationalization Working Group
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The I18N WG will review the Atom Syntax to ensure it is adequately Internationalized.
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Web Services Activity
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The work of the Atom WG, in particular the definition of the Atom API, will be coordinated with this Activity to ensure Atom integrates well with Web Services and Protocols defined by W3C.
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W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
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The work of the Atom WG will be coordinated with the WAI project to ensure accessibility of Atom Syntax.
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Device Independence Activity
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The work of the Atom WG will be coordinated with this activity, in particular the Device Independence Working Group, to ensure that Atom Syntax/API can be universally accessed from any Web client.
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QA Activity
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The Atom WG will coordinate its QA work the Quality Assurance Working Group, with an appointed QA moderator as principal point of contact.
Participants
Chairs or Co-Chairs
The chair of the group will be @@. (Director's decision) The team contact will be @@.
The Working Group will utilize a public mailing list atom-syntax@imc.org archived at http://www.imc.org/atom-syntax/index.html and mirrored on the W3C Web site at @@@@. The public mailing list, with its wide audience, exists to promote openness and interoperability, and is the preferred channel of communication.
The Working Group will have a home page that records the history of the group, provides access to the archives, meeting minutes, updated schedule of deliverables, and relevant documents and resources. The page will be available to the public and will be maintained by the Chair in collaboration with the W3C Team contact.
In the event that consensus fails, a vote will be taken based on participants in good standing as described in the Process Document.
Member Representatives
Requirements for meeting attendance and timely response are described in the Process document. Participation (meetings, reviewing and writing drafts) is expected to consume time equal to 1 day per week for a period of one year.
Invited Experts
As decided on a case by case basis, chair and team contact decide on the participation of invited experts to the Working Group. For the duration of their participation, invited experts are encouraged to adopt the same requirements for meeting attendance and timely response as are required of W3C Members.
Team Contact
W3C Team will ensure that the mailing lists and Group page are adequately maintained and that public Working Drafts are made available on the Technical Reports page. W3C Team will post minutes of teleconferences to the Group mailing list and to the Group page. W3C Team are expected to adopt the same requirements for meeting attendance and timely response as are required of Working Group members.
Public Participation
Public participation is the norm, and the group will process and respond comments from all participants. The standard will be consensus, as defined in the W3C Process Document.
Comments
Karl, I would suggest that XHTML 2.0, i18n, XForms and RDF should also be listed for the purposes of working group coordination in a W3C Charter. -- BryanThompson
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Good Suggestions Bryan. It has been added. -- KarlDubost