conformance, compliance and compatibility

From: Esben Stien (executiv_at_online.no)
Date: 01/30/04

  • Next message: Kallol Biswas: "receive path with fragmented skbs" 
    To: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
Date:	30 Jan 2004 23:49:01 +0100

    I remember to have read that ISO has standardized on using
    conformance for everything that is conforming to a specific
    standard but I can't find it again. Anyone know where I could
    look?

    AFAIK, this is my understanding of these words

    Conformance has a deep root different meaning than compliance,
    but today that difference is not clear. However, ISO has
    standardized on using the word conformance and not compliance
    when saying something conforms to a standard.

    Compatibility is for hardware. You can say that a specific
    piece of hardware is compatible with another piece of hardware
    cause it speaks the same protocol. Compatibility is a way of
    saying that two components uses the same interfaces.

    You can not call a system unix today, cause unix today is a
    standard. The last unix was sysv. You can however say a system
    is conforming to unix (iso posix unix)(ieee 1003.1), so it is a
    unix conformant system. (to be technically correct).

    Is there any document that clarifies these words better. I'm
    looking for some official documentation from a standards body
    like ISO, IEC etc.

    I also see the words comformance and compliance used
    interchangably in RFC's, but to my knowledge I think I remember
    that RFC's where also supposed to be using conformance 

    -- 
b0ef
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  • Next message: Kallol Biswas: "receive path with fragmented skbs"

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