De facto

De facto is a Latin expression that means "in fact" or "in practice". It is commonly used in contrast to de jure (meaning "by law") when referring to matters of law, governance, or technique (such as standards), that are found in the common experience as created or developed without or against a regulation.

De facto standards

A de facto standard, for instance, is a technical or other standard that is so dominant that everybody seems to follow it like an authorized standard. The de jure standard may be different: one example is the act of speeding found on highways. Although the de jure standard is to drive at the speed limit or slower, the de facto standard is to drive at the speed limit or a speed slightly faster than it.

Related Topics:
Standard - De jure

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In addition, there is no law preventing one from adding a twenty-seventh letter such as Þ (thorn) to the alphabet. Letters were added centuries ago without much difficulty, but one is prevented from doing so today by the practical difficulties involved. Thus there is a de facto limit on modifications to the alphabet.

Related Topics:
Þ - Alphabet

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A de facto standard is sometimes not formalized and may simply rely on the fact that someone has come up with a good idea that is liked so much that it is copied. Typical creators of de facto standards are individual companies, corporations and consortia.

Related Topics:
Companies - Corporations - Consortia

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In computing, de facto standards can sometimes become de jure standards due to market superiority. For example, JavaScript by Netscape (standardized as ECMAScript) and parts of DOM Level 0 (stardardized in DOM Level 1/2 HTML Specification).

Related Topics:
JavaScript - Netscape - ECMAScript - DOM

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