This groundbreaking resource offers you new insights for building and evolving open systems using the best mix of standards for your software development projects. Numerous books have been published that describe individual computer standards, but only Open Systems and Standards for Software Product Development presents a framework for distinguishing between them. The book provides comprehensive coverage of standards terminology, history, services, status, standards organizations, and URLs for products and technical support.This unique reference describes 12 categories of standards that include communications, data management, security, distributed computing, and the World Wide Web. You gain practical knowledge of significant standards shaping today's open systems and learn how to choose the best combination for your systems. Emerging standards are covered for such technologies as wireless networks, storage area networks (SANs), identity management, grid computing, and the Semantic Web. Moreover, this unique resource describes five major trends that guarantee the future of open systems and will help you keep pace with new developments. You also get an extensive list of links to Web sites with valuable information on related topics. There is no other book like it on the market today.