open standard
Freely available protocol
An open standard is a technical specification that anyone can access, implement, and use without restriction or licensing fees.
Open standards enable interoperability—different systems can communicate because they follow the same publicly available rules.
The Internet runs on open standards like HTTP and HTML.
Contrast with proprietary standards, which are controlled by a single company: The city required open standards so they wouldn't be locked into one vendor.
- protocolPrescribed conduct rules
- interoperabilityCross-platform functional harmony
- specificationDetailed technical requirement
- formatArrangement and presentation style
- publicAvailable to all
royalty-free · fair use · transparent · accessible · documentation · working group · RFC · HTML · TCP/IP · collaborative · community · consensus · implementation · plug and play · compatibility · ecosystem · adoption · public domain