triple-s XML -: A standard within a standard

The triple-s standard defines a means by which both survey data and variables may be transferred between different survey programs running on different software and hardware platforms. It thus represents a first real attempt to resolve what should be a simple, but was previously a complex, process. This article gives a brief history of the development of the standard, outlines the formal aims of the original specification, and introduces key aspects of the standard and the revised version (1.1) published in 1998. The authors also look at the development of the Internet as a communication mechanism and the recent rise in the use of XML as a means of describing and categorizing the content of documents. The authors show how this aspect of XML leads to its logical choice as a metastandard for describing survey information and they describe the contents of the proposed triple-s XML standard.