Abstract: A novel object called the Data Object is used to represent different information types in a system in a singular way in an object-oriented programming environment. The Data Object stores the value of the information and a reference to an object that handles that specific type of information. All requests on the Data Object are forwarded to this handler. The interface allows programmers to query the structure of the information, place constraints on values and names of the parts. This makes it possible to write code that performs a service that adapts itself to whatever Data Object it gets. The use of a Data Object significantly minimizes the coupling between modules and make reusable code easier to develop because each object class in the object-oriented software system is now coupled only to the Data Object class.