Metaformats
From Just Solve the File Format Problem
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Dan Tobias (Talk | contribs) (Some of the stuff from "Metadata" really belongs in "Metaformats", I think.) |
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A '''metaformat''' (or '''meta format''') is a generic low-level file format used as a basis for defining high-level file formats. | A '''metaformat''' (or '''meta format''') is a generic low-level file format used as a basis for defining high-level file formats. | ||
Revision as of 22:06, 28 September 2013
A metaformat (or meta format) is a generic low-level file format used as a basis for defining high-level file formats.
Whether a format is a metaformat is ultimately a judgment call. There are no definitive answers to questions like: What is the difference between a container format and a metaformat? Or a serialization format and a metaformat? Is CSV a metaformat, or is it a database format? Should TIFF and PDF be considered to be metaformats, given all the subformats of them that have been defined?
Formats
- DFDL (Data Format Description Language) - a file format for describing file formats (how meta can you get?)
- IFF
- ODL (NASA Object Description Language)
- RIFF
- SGML
- XMDP (XHTML Meta Data Profiles)
- XML
- XML Schema Definition
- XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform)
