The global application of the Crystallographic Information Framework (CIF) to the molecular structure domain has been successful over the past 20 years. It is used widely by molecular science journals and databases for submission, validation and deposition. This paper will give an overview of the CIF implementation, highlighting its particular successes and occasional failures. It will also recommend criteria for the application of an ontology-based data management system to any information domain. The paper will conclude with some details of the latest STAR data definition language and the importance of methods to the preservation of derivative data items.