Formatusformatum

Formatusformatum is a hypothetical data-serialization specification designed to encode data and its presentation schema within a single container, enabling both human readability and machine processing. It emphasizes a self-describing structure, versioning, and portability across software platforms.

Etymology and history: The name derives from Latin roots formatus (formed) and formatum (format). The term was coined in theoretical discussions to illustrate ideas about unified data and schema formats and to contrast fixed and self-describing containers. It has no official standardization.

Structure and features: A typical instance consists of a header with metadata, a manifest of the contained blocks, an optional schema block that defines allowed fields and types, and one or more data blocks. Blocks may be text, binary, or structured data. The schema enables validation and schema versioning.

Encoding and interoperability: Text-based encodings use UTF-8 for broad accessibility and can be represented in JSON-like, YAML-like, or custom syntax. Implementations may integrate compression or encryption as separate layers, while preserving a separate, verifiable schema reference.

Adoption and usage: In practice, formatusformatum is primarily a conceptual tool in theoretical discussions and experimental tooling, rather than a widely adopted production format. Advocates cite improved traceability and resilience to schema drift; critics point to complexity and lack of consensus.

See also: Data format, Self-describing data, Schema language, JSON, XML, YAML.