Is XMP metadata a future-proof place to store user notes in image files?
Asked 8/6/2017
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2 answers
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I’m planning a FOSS photo diary app and would like to store user-written notes in XMP metadata, either embedded in the image file or possibly in sidecar files. The data could be valuable long term, so I’m trying to judge whether XMP is a reasonably future-safe choice.
How durable is XMP as a standard, and is it likely to remain readable for a long time? I’m mainly considering JPEG and PNG files.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
9y ago
2 Answers
1
Only God really knows that... ;-)
Actually Extensible Metadata Platform was introduced in 2001 (16 years ago) and today it can be located in several file types and is supported by tens of freeware or proprietary programs.
That makes it very likely to be readable in the future - probably longer than your application could be executed (the build for current platforms) or even compiled (programming language standards change).
Another point: XMP is an XML document and can be also stored in a sidecar file. Thousands of programs use XML format so the XMP will be very likely parseable in the future.
Hope this helps.
Originally by user26970. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user26970
9y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
No format is guaranteed forever, but XMP is generally a reasonable long-term choice.
XMP has been around since 2001 and is widely supported across many free and commercial applications, which makes it likely to remain readable for a long time. A big advantage is that XMP is XML-based, so even if specific photo apps disappear, the metadata should still be parseable with generic XML tools.
It can also be stored in sidecar files, which can improve portability and recovery if embedding metadata in a file is awkward or unsupported.
That said, “future-safe” is never absolute. The long-term risk is often less about XMP itself and more about whether future software continues to preserve embedded metadata when files are edited, converted, or exported.
So: XMP is a sensible, durable option for storing notes, especially if you document your schema clearly and consider sidecar support as a backup strategy.
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