ISO/IEC 11889-4:2015 contains C code that describes the algorithms and methods used by the command code in ISO/IEC 11889-3. The code in ISO/IEC 11889-4:2015 augments ISO/IEC 11889-2 and ISO/IEC 11889-3 to provide a complete description of a TPM, including the supporting framework for the code that performs the command actions.

Any code in ISO/IEC 11889-4:2015 may be replaced by code that provides similar results when interfacing to the action code in ISO/IEC 11889-3. The behavior of code in this ISO/IEC 11889-4:2015 that is not included in an annex is normative, as observed at the interfaces with ISO/IEC 11889-3 code. Code in an annex is provided for completeness, that is, to allow a full implementation of ISO/IEC 11889 from the provided code.

The code in ISO/IEC 11889-3 and this ISO/IEC 11889-4:2015 is written to define the behavior of a compliant TPM. In some cases (e.g., firmware update), it is not possible to provide a compliant implementation. In those cases, any implementation provided by the vendor that meets the general description of the function provided in ISO/IEC 11889-3 would be compliant.

The code in ISO/IEC 11889-3 and this ISO/IEC 11889-4:2015 is not written to meet any particular level of conformance nor does ISO/IEC 11889 require that a TPM meet any particular level of conformance.