Open architecture

Open architecture refers to a hardware specification or design that is publicly released. With an open specification or design, other manufacturers can produce similar products that are compatible and usually compliant with one another. An example of open architecture is IBM compatible computers that allow anyone to purchase a product from any manufacturer because they know it's compatible with their computer. For example, a PC video card works on any IBM compatible computer that meets the video cards system requirements.

Architecture, Clone, Closed architecture, Hardware terms