In June 2005 the Ecma General Assembly approved ECMA-367, the first standard for the Eiffel programming language.

Eiffel is a method of software construction and a language for use in the analysis, design, implementation and maintenance of software systems. The ECMA-367 standard covers the language, with an emphasis on implementational aspects.

Originally designed by Eiffel Software under the leadership of Object Technology pioneer Bertrand Meyer, the Eiffel language is used worldwide by major corporations in mission-critical applications in finance, defence, aerospace, health care and many other fields.

Long-term value ? Eiffel standardisation brings to the Eiffel community a guarantee of total, line-by-line compatibility between different implementations and of long-term value of their investment. Through its product EiffelStudio ? a development environment covering the entire software lifecycle and the leading Eiffel implementation ? Eiffel Software is committed to fully supporting the Ecma Eiffel standard.

The Eiffel standard is available, free for copying and distribution, from Ecma and Eiffel Software?s websites. It has recently been submitted for ISO approval as part of Ecma's fast-track ISO status.