In plain language
It cleans or reshapes text, dates, numbers, and lists so the next system receives an acceptable value.
Example
A formatter converts “September 28, 2026” into the ISO date 2026-09-28 before an API request.
Related terms
Data Mapping · JSON · Payload
Common misconception
Formatting does not validate that a value is factually correct; it only changes its representation.
Implementation guidance
Preserve the original value for debugging, specify locale and time zone, handle blanks, and test boundary cases.