The SSI story what it is, and how it was stalled and eliminated in the International Standardization arena

Abstract SSI or Systems Software Interface is the name of a project once proposed by Japan to ISO/TC 97 (now ISO/IEC JTC 1) to standardize interfaces between application programs and various systems software, which are now commonly called application program interfaces (API), to accomplish portability of future applications. The proposal was not accepted as originally intended and ended up with a technical study conducted by ISO/IEC JTC 1 /TSG-1 (Interfaces for Application Portability), which has eventually triggered the recent international activity on OSE (Open System Environment). This article gives a background story of various efforts and reactions related to the SSI proposal, and tries to analyze why this apparently important proposal has failed. It also presents some issues to be considered in the present and future information technology standardization activities.