What is standard?

- A Word Definition From the Webopedia Computer Dictionary

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Term of the Day Last modified: Thursday, October 31, 2002
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A definition or format that has been approved by a recognized standards organization or is accepted as a
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de facto standard by the industry. Standards exist for programming languages, operating systems, data
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formats, communications protocols, and electrical interfaces.
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From a user's standpoint, standards are extremely important in the computer industry because they allow
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the combination of products from different manufacturers to create a customized system. Without
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standards, only hardware and software from the same company could be used together. In addition,
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standard user interfaces can make it much easier to learn how to use new applications.
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Most official computer standards are set by one of the following organizations:

● ANSI (American National Standards Institute)

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● ITU (International Telecommunication Union)

talk to us ● IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers)

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Suggest a Term ● ISO (International Standards Organization)
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● VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association)
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IEEE sets standards for most types of electrical interfaces. Its most famous standard is probably RS-
International 232C, which defines an interface for serial communication. This is the interface used by most modems,
Internet Lists and a number of other devices, including display screens and mice. IEEE is also responsible for
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designing floating-point data formats.
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Linux/Open Source While IEEE is generally concerned with hardware, ANSI is primarily concerned with software. ANSI
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has defined standards for a number of programming languages, including C, COBOL, and FORTRAN.
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xSP Resources ITU defines international standards, particularly communications protocols. It has defined a number of
Search internet.com standards, including V.22, V.32, V.34 and V.42, that specify protocols for transmitting data over
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In addition to standards approved by organizations, there are also de facto standards. These are formats
E-mail Offers that have become standard simply because a large number of companies have agreed to use them. They
have not been formally approved as standards, but they are standards nonetheless. PostScript is a good
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example of a de facto standard.

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 What is standard? - A Word Definition From the Webopedia Computer Dictionary

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Computer and communication standards index

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Extensive collection of links to computer and communication standards
information available on the Web, including committees, protocols,and GPRS
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ANSI Catalog and Standards Information
Contains links to ANSI standards documents and home pages of IEEE
international and regional standards organizations
IETF

ANSI standards resource page

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Contains an index of U.S. and national standards organizations,
committees, associations, and other related links.
ISO

European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)

ITU
Home page of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute
(ETSI). Look here to find out current standardization projects, ETSI MGCP
publications, papers on the challenges of standardization, and other
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IEEE 1284 Parallel Port information page Web Standards Project

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page.

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What is standard? - A Word Definition From the Webopedia Computer Dictionary

IEEE Standards home page webopedia

This site hosts the IEEE SPAsystem, a set of information technologies Give Us Your
intended to streamline the IEEE standards development process. Here, you Feedback
can find links to FAQs, announcements, information on development
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Network Standards Organizations
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Overview of formal standards
Describes what a telecommunications standard is and gives an overview
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Standardization - ANSI
Explains why there is a need for ANSI and standardization.

Standards and standards organizations

Provides a collection of links to standards organizations, consortia, and
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Structured Cabling Standards

Provides standards related to structured cabling. This page is hosted by
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VESA home page

The VESA site contains association and membership information, news
and events, published standards, committee activities, and technical
support.

Yahoo!'s computers and Internet standards page

Yahoo!'s directory of computer and Internet standards.

Yahoo!'s Internet Standards page

Yahoo!'s directory of Internet Standards.

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What is standard? - A Word Definition From the Webopedia Computer Dictionary

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