scope:

This standard defines the general requirements and test methods for measuring conformance to ISO/IEC 9945-1 :1990 (IEEE Std 1003.1-1990) hereinafter referred to as "POSIX.1" {3}.¹ It also defines the test assertions for measuring conformance to POSIX.1 {3}.

This standard is intended for use by

- Developers of POSIX.1 {3} test methods;

- Implementors of POSIX.1 {3} implementations;

- Application writers for POSIX.1 {3} conforming implementations;

- POSIX.1 {3} testing laboratories; and

- Others interested in validating the conformance of a vendor-claimed POSIX.1 {3} implementation

The purpose of this standard is to specify the test assertions and related test methods for measuring conformance of an implementation to POSIX.1 {3}.

Testing conformance of an implementation to a standard includes testing the claimed capabilities and behavior of the implementation with respect to the conformance requirements of the standard. These test methods are intended to provide a reasonable, practical assurance that the implementation conforms to the standard. Use of these test methods will not guarantee conformance of an implementation to POSIX.1 {3}; that normally would require exhaustive testing, which is impractical for both technical and economic reasons.

The technical specifications for a POSIX System Application Program Interface are defined in POSIX.1 {3}. IEEE Std 2003.1-1992 defines a means of measuring conformance to the POSIX.1 {3} technical specifications. Any question of interpretation of those technical specifications arising from the use of this standard is a question of interpretation of POSIX.1 {3}.

¹The numbers in curly braces correspond to those of the references in 1.2.