standardan

Standardan is a proposed universal framework for describing and exchanging data across heterogeneous information systems. It aims to unify data models by providing a shared metadata schema, a compact serialization syntax, and a set of validation rules that can be extended by domain-specific vocabularies.

Core components of Standardan include a metadata model for resources, an abstract data-descriptor language, and a conformance mechanism. The framework defines core data types, identifiers, versioning, and provenance fields, along with a method to map these elements to existing formats such as JSON, XML, and YAML. By design, it supports modular vocabularies that can be layered to cover diverse domains while maintaining interoperability at the core level.

Governance and development of Standardan follow an open, collaborative process. Participating bodies sponsor working groups, public reviews, and incremental releases. Implementation guidance covers conformance testing, tooling, and governance of vocabularies to minimize fragmentation. The process emphasizes backward compatibility and clear migration paths between versions.

Adoption of Standardan remains limited, with several pilot deployments in areas such as digital libraries, research data management, and enterprise data integration. Proponents argue that it reduces interoperability frictions and accelerates data sharing, while critics point to the complexity of the framework, competing standards, and the challenge of achieving consensus on domain-specific vocabularies.

See also: data standardization, metadata, interoperability, schema, format mappings.