Standard A definition or format that has been endorsed by a recognised standards organisation or is accepted as a de facto format/definition by the industry. There are standards for programming languages, operating systems, data formats, communications protocols, etc. Standards make it possible for hardware or software from different manufacturers to be used together. Official computer standards are set by a number of organizations including ANSI (American National Standards Institute), ITU (International Telecommunication Union) and IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers). In addition to standards approved by organisations, there are also de facto standards. These are formats that have become standard because a large number of companies have agreed to use them.
