NDIHX

NDIHX is a fictional open standard for data interoperability created as a hypothetical example to illustrate how such standards are described in reference materials. It is not associated with any real organization or production deployment.

Purpose and scope: The project envisions a modular stack that enables secure, scalable data sharing across diverse domains such as enterprise systems, cloud services, and the Internet of Things. It emphasizes privacy-by-design, role-based access control, and auditable data trails, with support for consent management.

Architecture: NDIHX defines a core data model with extensible schemas and a transport layer that can operate over standard APIs including REST and GraphQL. It uses a service registry for discovery and supports identity and integrity features such as cryptographic signatures and optional verifiable credentials for data provenance.

Governance and licensing: Described as an open-source, community-led effort, NDIHX is intended to be governed through a lightweight RFC process and a permissive license. Development typically occurs in public repositories with transparent issue tracking and discussion.

Adoption and reception: As a fictional concept, NDIHX has no real-world deployments. In academic and instructional contexts, it is used to demonstrate interoperability challenges, potential benefits of standardization, and trade-offs between security, performance, and complexity.

Criticism and challenges: Critics point to risks of fragmentation if multiple competing schemas proliferate, the overhead of governance, and the burden of aligning with existing standards and legacy systems.

Related topics include JSON-LD, REST and GraphQL APIs, privacy-preserving data exchange standards, and W3C Verifiable Credentials.