XMPProfile

XMPProfile is a conceptual construct within the Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) that describes a formal set of metadata properties and rules used to describe digital assets. It is designed to facilitate interoperability by providing a repeatable, machine-readable specification of how metadata should be structured and interpreted across software.

A profile typically includes a name and version, one or more target namespaces, definitions of properties (with data types and cardinality), and validation or mapping rules. Profiles may also specify how metadata should be encoded, such as RDF/XML or JSON representations, and may indicate how to handle missing properties or conflicting values.

In practice, XMPProfile enables asset producers, publishers, and archiving systems to exchange metadata reliably. Tools can validate asset metadata against a profile, convert metadata between schemas, or generate user-facing forms from profile definitions. Profiles may be embedded within the XMP packet or distributed as separate documents linked via identifiers.

While XMP provides a flexible framework for metadata, XMPProfile as a formal construct is not universally standardized; its exact structure and semantics can vary by implementation. It is typically used in digital asset management, publishing workflows, and archival contexts to promote consistency and reuse of metadata definitions.