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)