data specification
A data specification is a specification of a data structure that can hold a categorical, textual or numeric variable, or that has such variables or other data structures as component parts.
A data standard, may be defined as a data specification, but a data specification isn't necessarily a formal or de-facto data standard - it would have to be sanctioned by a community of users and developers to take on that status.
Damion Dooley
data representational model
requires discussion