---
type: Domain Concept
title: Data Product
description: The provider-neutral meaning of data and its normalized versioned contract.
tags: [catalog, semantics, data-contract]
visibility: public
---

# Meaning

A Data Product answers **what the data represents**, such as temperature, wind,
aircraft, or earthquakes. It is independent of the organization or endpoint
that supplies the data.

# Owns

- The normalized, versioned data contract.
- Semantic catalog presentation such as name, description, and icon.
- Provider-neutral layer defaults that are safe to apply when creating a new
  layer.
- The ordered set of compatible [Providers](provider.md) and their defaults.

# Does not own

- Acquisition adapters, endpoints, or provider credentials.
- Channel-specific delivery and refresh behavior.
- Presentation saved on an existing [Layer](/presentation/layer.md).
- Map composition or access control.

# Compatibility

A Provider can replace another Provider only within the same Data Product and
contract version. Existing maps retain their resolved Provider and Channel
identities when catalog defaults change.

# Runtime authority

The Postgres catalog is authoritative for the current Data Product inventory,
contracts, publication state, and defaults. This document defines the durable
concept, not a snapshot of that inventory.