open system

Definition 1

Computing: Non-proprietary system based on publicly known standard set of interfaces that allow anyone to use and communicate with any system that adheres to the same standards. Open system standards have four basis requirements (1) they must be defined fully, so that vendors can work within the same framework, (2) be stable over a reasonable length of time, so that the vendors have fixed targets to aim at, (3) they must be fully published, so that their interfaces are publicly available, and (4) they are not under the control any one firm or vendor.

Definition 2

Systems: Flexible system that can adapt and change by interacting with its external environment and, therefore, can defy the effects of entropy. Open systems (such as living organisms, markets, economies) take inputs from the environment, process and transform them, and send them back to the environment as output or waste.