Data File Categories
Data files come in two broad categories: open and closed.
Closed data file formats Closed data (frequently referred to as proprietary format files) files have their metadata data elements hidden, obscured or unavailable to users of the file. Application developers do this to discourage users from tampering with or corrupting the data files or importing the data into a competitor's application.
Open data file formats Open data files have their internal structures available to users of the file through a process of metadata publishing. Metadata publishing implies that the structure and semantics of all the possible data elements within a file are available to users.
Examples of open data files include XML formats such as HTML for storing web pages or SVG for storing scalable graphics.
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