an AIML object if it is well-formed, as defined in the XML specification, and if it is valid according to the AIML specification--that is, if it conforms to the data model described in this document

an XML document if it is well-formed , as defined in this specification

A discrete item of logical or physical data, such as an entity, table, attribute, instance, row, or index.

A data object can usually be thought of as a file, although it can also be a real-time data stream, or database binary large object. Also see the FAQ item

Computer programs involve operations on different kinds of symbolic entities, known as data objects or types. In POP-11 the data objects include numbers, words, booleans, and lists.

A data object is that portion of a data product that contains the actual data that is described in a data object definition within a PDS label. It is tangible, and can be physically accessed and manipulated. For example, if a PDS label contains the following lines, ^TABLE = "T142836.DAT" ... OBJECT = TABLE ROWS = 1028 ... END_OBJECT = TABLE the data object for this table is in the file T142836.DAT. The actual data object is often classified as a primary data object or a secondary data object.