Standards are rules and guidelines that define properties and characteristics in order to define the state of the art on which manufacturers, dealers and users can rely.
Standards are created, maintained and published by various bodies in standards committees. German standards such as DIN and DIN VDE, European standards (EN), American standards (UL) and international standards (IEC) are common. A standard that has been ratified by these bodies then bears combinations of the abbreviations (DIN, EN, IEC).
Excerpt from the standards that are common for us: