ISO/IEC 19503:2005（XMI）的主要目的是在分布式异构环境中，在应用程序开发生命周期工具（例如基于统一建模语言（UML）的建模工具、ISO/IEC 19501和基于元对象工具（MOF）的元数据存储库/框架、ISO/IEC 19502）之间轻松交换元数据。ISO/IEC 19503:2005整合了三个关键行业标准: XML，可扩展标记语言，W3C标准；UML，统一建模语言，OMG建模规范，现在是ISO/IEC 19501；MOF，元对象设施（ISO/IEC 19502）。 ISO/IEC 19503:2005提供了以下规范 一组XML模式定义（XSD）产生规则，用于将基于MOF的元模型转换为XML模式；一套用于编码和解码的XML文档产生规则MOF-基于元数据；基于XMI的模式和XML文档的设计原则；用于将XML DTD导入基于MOF的元模型的一组产生式规则。 ISO/IEC 19503:2005增强了分布式对象环境，特别是分布式开发环境中的元数据管理和元数据互操作性。虽然它解决了对象分析和设计领域中基于流的元数据互操作性，但ISO/IEC 19503:2005（部分原因是它基于MOF）同样适用于许多其他领域中的元数据。

The main purpose of ISO/IEC 19503:2005 (XMI) is to enable easy interchange of metadata between application development lifecycle tools (such as modeling tools based on the Unified Modeling Language (UML), ISO/IEC 19501, and metadata repositories/frameworks based on the Meta Object Facility (MOF), ISO/IEC 19502) in distributed heterogeneous environments. ISO/IEC 19503:2005 integrates three key industry standards:

• XML, eXtensible Markup Language, a W3C standard;
• UML, Unified Modeling Language, an OMG modeling specification which is now ISO/IEC 19501;
• MOF, Meta Object Facility (ISO/IEC 19502).

ISO/IEC 19503:2005 provides specifications for

• a set of XML Schema Definitions (XSD) production rules for transforming MOF-based metamodels into XML Schemas;
• a set of XML Document production rules for encoding and decoding MOF-based metadata;
• design principles for XMI-based Schemas and XML documents;
• a set of production rules for importing XML DTDs to a MOF-based metamodel.

ISO/IEC 19503:2005 enhances metadata management and metadata interoperability in distributed object environments in general and in distributed development environments in particular. While it addresses stream-based metadata interoperability in the object analysis and design domain, ISO/IEC 19503:2005 (in part because it is MOF based) is equally applicable to metadata in many other domains.