A standard allows different computer technologies to communicate with one another.

 

So, for example, a computer is able to communicate with a printer because they use the standard protocols.

 

If they didn’t follow the same protocols the devices could not talk to each other.

 

One of the key features of technology and many other areas of manufacture is the idea of 'standards'. Standards have been with use since the industrial revolution began. Indeed it could be argued that without standards the industrial revolution and the rise of mass manufacture could not have happened. For instance, Henry Ford was the first car-maker to use standardised parts for making his Model-T Ford and it revolutionised the way people made all sorts of things. Standards brought about mass production. A standard is a set of rules and definitions that characterise some aspect of a product. For example the 'Kite mark' logo on a product indicates that it conforms to a specific British Standard - it reassures customers that the product is of high quality. Standards are also critical in defining scientific measurement such as the meaning of 1 second or 1 Kilogram, but this kind of standard is not the topic of this mini-web. In order to get a monitor developed by one manufacturer to work with a graphics card developed by another they must both follow the same standards. In much the same way, computers on a network must all have a way of being able to 'talk' or communicate with one another and they do this by following a protocol.