Appendix D. The NIST and NIST Documents
The U.S. National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) has been in existence for more than 100 years under a variety of names. For some time now, it has been part of the U.S. Department of Commerce and, until recently, was called the National Bureau of Standards (NBS). NIST's purpose is “to develop and promote measurement, standards, and technology to enhance productivity, facilitate trade, and improve the quality of life” [NIST].
The aspect of NIST of interest to us is its publication of Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). In principle, FIPS are binding only on agencies and other parts of the U.S. government. In practice, they are very influential and commonly become the definitive description ...
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