THERE is more to the debate about open standards than the UNIX operating system - but nothing that encapsulates the intense struggle between commercial rivals to establish de facto industry standards quite so well.
Five years ago, two of the industry's most powerful standards lobby groups were formed in direct competition with each other in a quest to define a single UNIX operating system: UNIX International (UI) and the Open Software Foundation (OSF).
The two organisations - the chief protagonists in the battle for UNIX dominance - have remarkably similar objectives.
But despite continued discussions about a possible merger at various times over the years, they have been unable to get past seemingly irreconcilable differences.
It is those differences that led to the formation recently of the COSE group (Common Open Software Environment).
But even with the formation of the new COSE group, it appears unlikely that OSF and UI will close shop in deference to the new group. Representatives from both organisations say they still have an important role to play.
Not too surprisingly, both organisations now sing the praises of the similarities that exist between them, rather than the vast differences.