Yes I like standards... Standards are great... Of course you should not exaggerate it, but yeah standard base are a good thing for linux.
So take a look at the Linux Standard Base ( aka LSB). It is a specification of what rules all linux distribution should respect.
For example, it specifies the executable and linking format: ELF, as well as specifying a number of useful libraries: libc, libm, lipthread, libgcc_s, librt, libcrypt, libpam and libdl. Some util libraries are also specified: libz, libncurses, libutil.
It also specifies a number of commandline command ( see the standard on this subject)
