Metaformats

File Format
Name	Metaformats
Ontology	Electronic File Formats Metaformats

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)

Links

• W3C: Meta formats