This part of ISO/IEC 19794 specifies a concept and data formats for representation of fingerprints using the fundamental notion of minutiae. It is generic@ in that it may be applied and used in a wide range of application areas where automated fingerprint recognition is involved. This part of ISO/IEC 19794 contains definitions of relevant terms@ a description of how minutiae are to be determined@ data formats for containing the data for both general use and for use with cards@ and conformance information. Guidelines and values for comparing and decision parameters are provided. NOTE Although ISO/IEC 19794-4 covers both finger and palm image data@ this part of ISO/IEC 19794 only covers finger minutiae and is not applicable to palms.