Apple and Microsoft have both defined standards for their respective systems to accommodate video, namely quicktime, and the Multimedia PC architecture. However, in both cases, they are more concerned with defining a usable API so that program developers can generate applications that interwork quickly and effectively. Thus, Video for Windows and Quicktime both specify the ways that video can be displayed and processed within the framework of the GUI systems on MS-Windows and Apple systems. However, neither specifies a specific video encoding. Rather, they assume that all kinds of encodings will be available through hardware CODECs or through software and thus they provide meta-systems that allow the programmer to name the encoding, and provide translations.