Data elements are what the toolkit uses to hold data in a structure that enables toolkit entities, processes, and services to add, update, and delete the data during runtime. Formatters provide a way of transforming the data from one format to another so that various entities, processes, and services can use it.

Data elements, such as Date, ProductNumber, and Monday represent specific business objects. These data elements, called typed data elements, have behavior that reflect the business rules that pertain to the business object they represent. For more information about these kinds of data elements, see Typed data elements. The value of a data element's property descriptor determines whether a data element is typed or not.