The sad part about standards is that there are (at least) two type of standards: absolutely necessary to guarantee interoperability (think: nuts and bolts and other types of hardware, networking, software, electrical characteristics of components etc) and the ones that usually are regulatory requirements, things like ISO27000 or ISO9000. And then there are absolutely open (and free) standards.<p>Standards that are necessary for basic interoperability should be all free (at least in the software space, maybe that&#x27;s why I see standards that get &quot;promoted&quot; from IETF RFC-s and other less bureaucratic sources to ISO as regressions). And the ones that are usually used in regulatory processes, can be paid for, as those who insist on or desire conformance usually have monetary incentives involved.<p>Now, charging for &quot;standards&quot; that contribute to &quot;public safety and security&quot; (what MANY C programs are, for sure) is something that does not fit into either category.<p>But true, the MISRA prices are reasonable (if the content is indeed worth any money for purposes other than compliance).