Definition of open system - What it is, Meaning and Concept

It is known as system to an ordered module composed of elements that interact with each other and are interlinked.The word, however, can also refer to a group of notions or concrete objects (it is say, physical).

From this word, for example, the idea of ​​ open system has been formed, which is usually associated with computer systems .These are structures on which portability and the interoperability character can be applied (different software can operate simultaneously).systems, according to experts, use open standards .Moreover, the concept can refer to systems that allow free and unrestricted access by people or other systems.

The idea of ​​an open system in the field of informatica was developed at the end of 1970 and the beginning of the decade of '80 , with the advance of Unix .This type of system had programming interfaces and standardized peripheral interconnections, which promoted the development of software and hardware by third parties.

It is important to distinguish between an open system and open source software , since the second refers to computer programs that can be manipulated and modified by users.This particularity does not imply that they are interoperable with the rest of the systems.

Finally, it should be noted that an open standard constitutes a public specification that allows the development of a particular task.This specification, the specialists establish, demands to have been achieved after a process available at a general level and It must be able to be used without paying royalties.

The access and promotion of the standard allows compatibility and interoperability between different hardware and software components, since only technical knowledge is required to build new products.

In addition to all of the above, we can establish that we also use the term open system in the field of physics and chemistry.Specifically, in both areas, that is used to define a system that carries out a interrelation with other different chemical agents, that is, with a set of elements that are totally external.

In the same way, it should be stressed that this concept that now concerns us is also used to define a specific type of thermodynamic system that is that part of the Universe itself that separates or isolates from the rest to carry out its comprehensive study and analysis.

In this sense, we can establish that an open-type thermodynamic system is one that is characterized in that it involves a series of exchanges of energy and matter with what is the outside.So, for example, a clear example of this kind The system is a car since it experiences that change of matter when it is loaded with gasoline by the human being and it also has energy exchange when its engine releases heat when it is started up.

In contrast to that they are the closed system, which is the one in which there is only an exchange of energy with the outside, and also the isolated system.This last one in particular is one in which there is no exchange with the environment, nor of an energetic type no material.