Implementing a Mature Platform

We have briefly already touched upon the essential role of platforms. It’s worth spending a bit more time on this discussion: the concept is an important part of achieving an open architecture. But we need to be precise in our use of the term, since the word ‘platform’ tends to get used (and abused) in different ways in different contexts. Let’s begin with a review of several viewpoints of how different characteristics of platforms can help us understand the breadth of their application.