StatDataML:: An XML format for statistical data

In order to circumvent common difficulties in exchanging statistical data between heterogeneous applications (format incompatibilities, technocentric data representation), we introduce a new data exchange format for statistical data called StatDataML. Because it seems natural for complex data structures to separate the raw data from its logical structure, we base StatDataML on XML, the Extensible Markup Language. In addition, our design borrows from the language S, such that data objects are basically organized as recursive and non-recursive structures, and may also be supplemented with meta-information. Besides a detailed presentation of the language elements, the paper includes a comparison with other data concepts as well as some examples illustrating the StatDataML format and its practical use.