A collection of (probably heterogeneous) automATa whose distribution is transparent to the user so thAT the system appears as one local machine. This is in contrast to a network, where the user is aware thAT there are several machines, and their locATion, storage replicATion, load balancing and functionality is not transparent. Distributed systems usually use some kind of client-server organisATion. Distributed systems are considered by some to be the "next wave" of computing. Distributed Computing Environment is the {Open Software FoundATion}' s software architecture for distributed systems. . (1994-12-06)