Abstract syntax notation one

Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1) is a standard and notation that describes rules and structures for representing, encoding, transmitting, and decoding data in telecommunications and computer networking. The formal rules enable representation of objects that are independent of machine-specific encoding techniques. Formal notation makes it possible to automate the task of validating whether a specific instance of data representation abides by the specifications. In other words, software tools can be used for the validation.

ASN.1 is a joint standard of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector ITU-T, originally defined in 1984 as part of CCITT X.409:1984. ASN.1 moved to its own standard, X.208, in 1988 due to wide applicability. The substantially revised 1995 version is covered by the X.680 series. The latest revision of the X.680 series of recommendations is the 5.0 Edition, published in 2015.

A source of observation may generate data that is needed at another location for processing. For example, a radio telescope in outer space might produce voluminous signal data that cannot be processed locally. The recording and processing systems may be very different in nature, and may even be produced by different vendors. A consistent mechanism is needed to record, transmit, and receive data across diverse systems.

ASN.1 defines the abstract syntax of information but does not restrict the way the information is encoded. Various ASN.1 encoding rules provide the transfer syntax (a concrete representation) of the data values whose abstract syntax is described in ASN.1.

The standard ASN.1 encoding rules include:

ASN.1 together with specific ASN.1 encoding rules facilitates the exchange of structured data, particularly between application programs separated by networks, by describing data structures in a way that is independent of machine architecture and implementation language.

...
Wikipedia