scope:

An ISO/IEC 11179 metadata registry (MDR) is a tool for the management of shareable data; a comprehensive, authoritative source of reference information about data. It supports the standardization and harmonization processes by recording and disseminating descriptions of data, which facilitates data sharing among organizations and users. It provides links to documents that refer to specific data elements, value domains, and classification schemes and to information systems where those objects are used. When used in conjunction with a database, the registry enables users to understand any information obtained from the database better. A registry does not contain data itself. It contains the metadata that is necessary to clearly describe, inventory, analyse, and classify data. It provides an understanding of the meaning, representation, and identification of units of data. This International Standard identifies the information elements that need to be available for determining the meaning of data to be shared between systems.