1. A method implemented in a computer infrastructure, comprising: defining an interface comprising one or more local data elements and one or more references to one or more common data elements, of a service, the one or more common data elements being defined in a library for a plurality of services; configuring a data definition file (DDF), the configuring comprising defining an optionality attribute for each of the one or more local data elements and the one or more common data elements is mandatory for the service; transferring the interface, the library, and the DDF to a consumer device; receiving the one or more common data elements in a service message from the consumer device, the service message including one or more virtual links between the one or more references to the one or more common data elements in the interface and the one or more common data elements defined in the DDF; and validating the one or more common data elements from the service message as mandatory for the service based on the interface and the configured DDF, wherein: the validating comprises determining that the one or more virtual links exists between the one or more references to the one or more common data elements in the interface and the one or more common data elements defined in the DDF; and the validating is performed in a reception layer of the service that receives the one or more data elements from a computing device.