Adobe’s Extensible Metadata Platform (File Extension XMP) is a labeling technology that allows you to embed data about a file, known as metadata, into the file itself. With File Extension XMP, desktop applications and back-end publishing systems gain a common method for capturing, sharing, and leveraging this valuable metadata opening the door for more efficient job processing, workflow automation, and rights management, among many other possibilities. With File Extension XMP, Adobe has taken the heavy lifting out of metadata integration, offering content creators an easy way to embed meaningful information about their projects and providing industry partners with standards-based building blocks to develop optimized workflow solutions.
I have found a forum and one of them named Ken Papai response to what is an XMP file is: As someone who deals a lot with various XML files, XMP are simply “XML for Photos”, hence its name. It’s really that simple. XMP’s simple encode the data transformations made in processing your Raw files to the photo editing tool’s workspace. One of the most difficult challenges that the average user may have to take up is dealing with these file extensions, especially when the user lacks knowledge of these files, including their purpose for being on the operating system, how removing such files can affect the operations of the programs associated with them or even the operating system itself and how to properly deal with these files in the event that they become corrupt or otherwise need to be replaced or removed.
