machine-readable format

noun
UK /məˈʃiːn ˈriːdəbl ˈfɔːmæt/
US /məˈʃiːn ˈriːdəbl ˈfɔːrmæt/

A way of saving information so a computer can read and understand it.

The weather data is stored in a machine-readable format so the app can show the forecast.

SYNONYMS

computer-readable formatdigital formatstructured data formatelectronic format

RELATED WORDS

data fileencodingfile formatparsingmetadata

OTHER MEANINGS

2. A file layout that software can process automatically without human help.

The report was converted into a machine-readable format for the analysis tool.

3. A standard way of organizing text or numbers so programs can sort and search them.

CSV is a common machine-readable format for spreadsheets.

4. Data arranged with clear tags or rules instead of free-form writing.

The library put its catalog in a machine-readable format.