Meaning – The term open system, refers to a system whose characteristics comply with standards made available throughout the industry and that therefore can be connected to other systems complying with the same standards.
An open system, in the context of computing, is a computer system that combines portability and interoperability and makes use of open software standards. It typically refers to a computer system that is interoperable between different vendors and standards, allowing for modularity so that hardware and software need not be attached to a single vendor or platform.
Before the popularity of the Windows OS and the PC, open systems used to refer to computer systems with Unix-like operating systems that accepted any modules or programs from any third party that used the same standard, as opposed to that era’s closed systems such as IBM computers.
Example of usage – “An open system typically refers to a computer system that is interoperable between different software and hardware that adhere to the same open standard.”
