Interoperability refers to the capability for applications running on different computers to exchange information and operate cooperatively using this information.
Portability refers to the capability for software to run on different types of hardware.
Portability can further be broken down into binary portability and source code portability. Binary portability makes it possible to move an executable copy of a program from one machine to another. Source code portability requires a program to be recompiled when moving from one machine to another. The development of portable application software components depends on portability standards. Interoperability standards are necessary but not sufficient for a complete open systems environment.