Structured Data

Structured data is information organized according to a predefined schema with consistent fields, data types, and relationships between records. A property listing with fields like price, bedrooms, location, and sqft is structured data - each field has a defined type and meaning.

APIs return structured data in formats like JSON, enabling clients to reliably extract and use specific fields. Structured data is the foundation of databases, analytics systems, and machine learning pipelines - all of which require data that conforms to a known schema.

Contrast with unstructured data (free text, images, documents) which has no predefined schema. Property descriptions or product reviews embedded in API responses are unstructured data within an otherwise structured response.