Standards make up the most important issue in the computer field. As an unregulated industry, we have wound up with thousands of data formats and languages, but few standards that are universally used. This subject is as heated as politics and religion to vendors and industry planners. In order to truly understand this industry, it is essential to understand the categories for which standards are created.

No matter how much the industry talks about compatibility, new formats and languages appear routinely. The standards makers are always trying to cast a standard in concrete, while the innovators are trying to create a new one. Even when standards are created, they are violated as soon as one vendor adds a proprietary extension.

The Future

After 50 some years of computing, we've managed to create thousands of languages, formats and interfaces in this business. While many become bona fide standards endorsed by recognized standards organizations such as ANSI and the IEEE, some of the most widely used are de facto standards. Intel and Microsoft standards are the most obvious examples.

While the Internet is helping immensely, it will by no means solve all issues. As we forge ahead with new technologies, there is some point where we can no longer cling to the old designs for compatibility. At that time, the new has to break from the past, as the previous infrastructure only holds us back. It's no different than constructing a new building on top of a weak foundation. It seems to be the way of things. See standards bodies.