Open architecture is a type of computer architecture

Computer architecture

In computer science and engineering, computer architecture is the practical art of selecting and interconnecting hardware components to create computers that meet functional, performance and cost goals and the formal modelling of those systems....

 or software architecture

Software architecture

The software architecture of a system is the set of structures needed to reason about the system, which comprise software elements, relations among them, and properties of both...

 that allows adding, upgrading and swapping components. For example, the IBM PC

IBM PC

The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...

 and Apple IIe

Apple IIe

The Apple IIe is the third model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The e in the name stands for enhanced, referring to the fact that several popular features were now built-in that were only available as upgrades and add-ons in earlier models...

 have an open architecture, whereas the Apple IIc

Apple IIc

The Apple IIc, the fourth model in the Apple II series of personal computers, was Apple Computer’s first endeavor to produce a portable computer. The end result was a notebook-sized version of the Apple II that could be transported from place to place...

 and Amiga 500

Amiga 500

The Amiga 500 - also known as the A500 - was the first “low-end” Commodore Amiga 16/32-bit multimedia home/personal computer. It was announced at the winter Consumer Electronics Show in January 1987 - at the same time as the high-end Amiga 2000 - and competed directly against the Atari 520ST...

 computers have a closed architecture. In a closed architecture, the hardware manufacturer chooses the components, and they are not generally upgradable by the end user.

Open architecture is also beginning to be pushed to extend into the context of Architectural Design of Buildings by the group Architecture for Humanity

Architecture for Humanity

Architecture for Humanity is a charitable organization that seeks architectural solutions to humanitarian crises and brings professional design services to communities in need...

. The group has developed a project called the Open Architecture Network

Open Architecture Network

Open Architecture Network is a free online, open source community dedicated to improving global living conditions through innovative and sustainable design. It was developed by Architecture for Humanity after one of its founders, Cameron Sinclair, won the 2006 TED Prize from the Technology...

 which aims to bring the discipline of Architecture away from the closed format which is promoted by firms that choose not to share their work.

Open architecture allows potential users to see inside all or parts of the architecture without any proprietary constraints. Typically, an open architecture publishes all or parts of its architecture that the developer or integrator wants to share. The open business

Open business

Open business represents a concept of doing business in a transparent way by intimately integrating an ecosystem of participants, collaborating in public space....

 processes involved with an open architecture may require some license agreements between entities sharing the architecture information.

See also

• Open network architecture
  Open network architecture
  In telecommunications, and in the context of Federal Communications Commission's Computer Inquiry III, Open network architecture is the overall design of a communication carrier's basic network facilities and services to permit all users of the basic network to interconnect to specific basic...
  
   for equal-access requirements in telecommunications
• Open system (computing)
  Open system (computing)
  Open systems are computer systems that provide some combination of interoperability, portability, and open software standards. The term was popularized in the early 1980s, mainly to describe systems based on Unix,...
  
   for interoperability, portability and standards
• Open implementation
  Open implementation
  In computing, open implementation platforms are systems where the implementation is accessible. Open implementation allows developers of a program to alter pieces of the underlying software to fit their specific needs...
  
   for software with tailorable architecture
• Open source software for software that can be modified and rebuilt
• Open Source Architecture
  Open Source Architecture
  Open-source architecture is an emerging paradigm describing new procedures for the design, construction and operation of buildings, infrastructure and spaces...
  
  
• Proprietary hardware
  Proprietary hardware
  Proprietary hardware is computer hardware which is owned by the proprietor.Historically, most early computer hardware was designed as proprietary until the 1980s, when IBM PC changed this paradigm...
  
  
• Vendor lock-in
  Vendor lock-in
  In economics, vendor lock-in, also known as proprietary lock-in or customer lock-in, makes a customer dependent on a vendor for products and services, unable to use another vendor without substantial switching costs...