Q.What are open standards? Distinguish between open standards and open-source software, and give two examples of each.

The answer should define open standards and then carefully separate a publicly available rule/format from a program whose source code is open.

What open standards are. As Section l explains, a standard is an agreed, published set of rules or specifications that everyone can follow, so that products from different makers can work together (are compatible / interoperable). An open standard is a standard that is publicly available to everyone, free (or nearly free) to use, and not controlled by any single company. Because anyone may use it, products from many vendors can work together. The Internet itself is built on open standards such as TCP/IP and HTML, which is why it works across every kind of computer. Its opposite is a proprietary (closed) standard, owned and controlled by one company and often needing payment or permission to use.

Open standards versus open-source software. These two ideas are related but different:

• An open standard is a publicly available rule or file format that anyone may follow. It is about compatibility — making sure different products can exchange data. Examples: HTML (for web pages), ODF (Open Document Format), PDF, and Unicode (a code for the characters of almost every language, including Odia and Hindi).
• Open-source software is a program whose source code (the human-readable instructions) is made freely available so that anyone may study, use, modify, and share it, usually free of cost. It is about freedom over the program itself, and its opposite is proprietary (closed-source) software. Examples: many operating systems and web browsers are available as open-source software.

Do not treat 'open standard' and 'open source' as the same thing. An open standard is a publicly available rule or format (like HTML or ODF); open-source software is a program whose source code is open (like an open operating syst …