The SDMX standard has 12 different formats for transmitting statistical data:
Type | Version of the standard | Format | Currency |
---|---|---|---|
EDI | SDMX 1.0 | SDMX-EDI GESMES/TS EDIFACT data message | current |
XML | SDMX 1.0 / 2.0 | SDMX-ML Generic (time-series) data message | obsolete |
XML | SDMX 1.0 / 2.0 | SDMX-ML Compact (time-series) data message | obsolete |
XML | SDMX 1.0 / 2.0 | SDMX-ML Utility (time-series) data message | obsolete |
XML | SDMX 1.0 / 2.0 | SDMX-ML Cross-Sectional data message | obsolete |
XML | SDMX 2.1 | SDMX-ML Generic data messages for observations, time-series and cross-sectional data | current |
XML | SDMX 2.1 | SDMX-ML Structure-Specific data messages for observations, time-series and cross-sectional data | current |
XML | SDMX 3.0 | SDMX-ML Structure-Specific data message | current |
JSON | SDMX 2.1 | SDMX-JSON version 1 data message | current |
JSON | SDMX 3.0 | SDMX-JSON version 2 data message | current |
CSV | SDMX 2.1 | SDMX-CSV version 1 data message | current |
CSV | SDMX 3.0 | SDMX-CSV version 2 data message | current |
Many dating from SDMX versions 1.0 and 2.0 are effectively obsolete, however EDI remains in use.
The different formats suit some use cases better than others:
In the following units we’ll take a closer look at each of the formats in turn starting with XML which is the most commonly used.