The paper analyses and compares a set of international standards for safety-critical systems whose behavior depends on software. Various types of standards are selected, related to system functional safety in the domains of nuclear plants and transportation (avionics, railway, automotive), as well as software engineering-related standards with the role of reference, focused on process and product quality and on various software technologies. Examination criteria are introduced and discussed, and the standards are compared against such criteria. Some relevant issues are presented, deriving from the comparison, and potential users of the analysis are suggested. Key words: Standards, functional safety, safety-critical systems, software engineering, software quality.
