Glossary
- application-level interoperability
- Interoperability among ICT systems established through means other than by adherence to a data format or communications protocol specification, for example where knowledge about another ICT system's interface for a given interchange of information is not fully and publicly specified and such information must be obtained through collaboration among developers or through non-collaborative techniques such as litigation, legislation, or reverse engineering. Another variant of application-level interoperability requires the use of an application's programming interfaces in lieu of writing directly to a file format or communications protocol. JTC 1 Directives, Annex I, prohibits standards and technical regulations from enabling only application-level interoperability by requiring that international standards in the ICT sector "clearly and unambiguously specify the conformity requirements essential to achieve the interoperability." The Agreement on Government Procurement has the effect of extending that requirement to technical (procurement) specifications.
See also: document-level interoperability, under-specification
