[microformats-discuss] Definition of "microformat"?

[DuCharme, Bob (LNG-CHO)]

I was surprised at how difficult it was to find a good definition of the
word "microformat". Most attempted explanations, like
<http://microformats.org/about/> http://microformats.org/about/,  reads more
like marketing literature discussing its philosophy. Saying that it's "a way
of thinking about data" or that it's "an evolutionary revolution" doesn't
give many clues to help determine whether a given format qualifies as a
microformat.
 
The Wikipedia definition echoes the microformats.org/about one by calling
microformats a "set of data formats", but I can't find a definition of what
constitutes membership in that set--that is, a definition of the singular
form of the term. 
 
Here's my attempt: A microformat is the extension of a subset of a popular
XML schema to incorporate semantic information for a particular domain,
thereby allowing the use of information from that domain with tools built
around the popular schema.  
 
Corrections? Revisions? 
 
thanks,
 
Bob DuCharme   www.snee.com/bob <http://www.snee.com/bob>        <bob@  
snee.com> weblog on linking-related topics: 
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/au/1191
<http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/au/1191> 
 
 
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