Metaformats
From Just Solve the File Format Problem
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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 or a spreadsheet format? Should [[TIFF]] and [[PDF]] be considered to be metaformats, given all the subformats of them that have been defined? | 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 or a spreadsheet format? Should [[TIFF]] and [[PDF]] be considered to be metaformats, given all the subformats of them that have been defined? | ||
| − | Another reasonable, but different, definition of ''metaformat'' is "a format that describes other formats". | + | Another reasonable, but different, definition of ''metaformat'' is "a format that describes other formats". For those formats, see [[Schema formats]]. |
| − | == | + | == List of formats == |
* [[Binary XML]] | * [[Binary XML]] | ||
* [[Boxes/atoms format]] | * [[Boxes/atoms format]] | ||
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* [[XML]] | * [[XML]] | ||
* [[ZIP]] | * [[ZIP]] | ||
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== Links == | == Links == | ||
* [http://www.w3.org/standards/webarch/metaformats W3C: Meta formats] | * [http://www.w3.org/standards/webarch/metaformats W3C: Meta formats] | ||
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Revision as of 16:23, 14 August 2017
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 or a spreadsheet format? Should TIFF and PDF be considered to be metaformats, given all the subformats of them that have been defined?
Another reasonable, but different, definition of metaformat is "a format that describes other formats". For those formats, see Schema formats.
List of formats
- Binary XML
- Boxes/atoms format
- EBML
- IFF
- ISO Base Media File Format
- JSON
- Microsoft Compound File
- ODL (NASA Object Description Language)
- RIFF
- RIFX
- SGML
- Softdisk Publishing UDF files
- XCDL (part of XCL project)
- XML
- ZIP
