Camera film always fits in your camera, and loose-leaf paper bought at the drugstore fits in your binder. Libraries catalog books according to a standard system, so that once you learn it, you can walk into any library and find the books you need. On the contrary, things that don't conform to standards can make your life miserable. Standards are just as important in the computer and networking world. Without open standards, only computers from the same vendor could talk to one another, creating an electronic Tower of Babel.
Cooperation is a major ingredient to interoperability.
The Internet nervous system does not have a central brain, such as a powerful supercomputer that controls its operation by feeding it commands and directing its limbs to perform key functions. Rather, all the networks and computers act as peers in the exchange of information and communication. Fundamentally, the Internet revolves around the concept of a packet , a basic building block or a digital brick. All information and communication transmitted on the Internet are broken into packets, each of which is considered an independent entity. The packets are then individually routed from network to network until they reach their destination, where they are reassembled and presented to the user or computer process.