Subformats

Subformats are variant forms of a broader data format, defined to meet different use cases while sharing a common structure. A subformat imposes additional constraints or enables specific features, such as a restricted set of metadata, a particular encoding, a given color space, or a targeted interoperability profile. Subformats are typically described in formal standards, vendor specifications, or extension documents, and are signaled to software by profiles, brands, or subtype identifiers within the format.

Their existence allows formats to adapt to needs such as archival reliability, professional printing, streaming efficiency, or platform compatibility, without creating entirely separate formats. Subformats help ensure that data can be exchanged and interpreted under defined rules while preserving core compatibility with the base format.

Examples across domains illustrate how subformats function. The PDF format includes subformats such as PDF/A for long-term archiving and PDF/X for high-quality printing, each with rules on encryption, color management, and metadata. TIFF files may employ subformat features such as SubIFD to support multiple image entries or alternate data. The ISO base media file format (used by MP4 and related containers) uses brands or subformats like isom and mp41 to denote feature sets and compatibility. In medical imaging, DICOM encodes data with different transfer syntaxes to indicate the encoding and compression of pixel data, effectively creating subformats within the same file type.

Impact and considerations: subformats facilitate interoperability and feature specialization but can complicate processing when software supports only a subset. Clear documentation and conformance testing aid reliable interchange.