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I was going to do a quick search for "open standard" systems to try and pull out the gems that really are good to help prove the point - but I realized I wasn't
by RyanZAG 11y ago
I was going to do a quick search for "open standard" systems to try and pull out the gems that really are good to help prove the point - but I realized I wasn't entirely sure on which systems fit as 'open standard' and which don't. It's more of a spectrum of openness.
Anyway, the best example of an open system that is better than other system designs controlled by single companies is extremely obvious: UNIX.
I'd say it's closer to perfect than all the other OSes that are heavily controlled by single organizations. Or does UNIX not fit as an open standard from it's origins? If so, Javascript, css, etc come from similar origins (Netscape?).
- ATsch 11y agoI would disagree about the UNIX standard being a) comunity developed, as the UNIX the specification describes was mostly developed by AT&T/Bell Labs and b) being an open specification, as it is owned by Novell, who only allows usage of the UNIX trademark after verification and a large sum of money. That said most moden NIXes are community developed and although they are arguably superior to non-NIX systems, they are (again, arguably) about as much of a mess as HTML.
- skissane 11y agoWhile what you have said is true about the origins of UNIX, the current reality has changed. The current UNIX standard is developed in an open fashion - anyone can contribute (https://www.opengroup.org/austin/ https://www.opengroup.org/austin/). Novell no longer owns the UNIX trademark - it now belongs to the not-for-profit industry consortium The Open Group. You don't need to pay any license fees to read or implement the standard, only to access the official test suite and use the trademark. Those fees go to The Open Group to pay for the maintenance of the standard and test suite; to the best of my knowledge, none of that money goes to Novell.