Introduction to the Metadata Repository

The Metadata Repository (MDR) provides a repository or storage location for metadata definitions. Metadata is "information about information." A message format definition, for example, defines the format or structure of a message at the field level. In other words, a message format definition is information about the information contained in a message. It does not describe the actual values of fields within the message.

Metadata definitions allows uniform processing of messages. When such definitions are stored and externalized in the MDR, they can be accessed by other programs and products to parse or create messages, access fields in a message, convert messages, and manipulate messages.

The Metadata Repository stores definitions of:

Using the Directory Administrator, you can define these types of metadata:

XML EntitiesXML Document Type Definitions (DTDs) that define the structure of a XML Document.

XML Schemas
The latest W3C mechanism for defining the structure of XML Documents.

Raw Messages/Groups
Definitions of non-XML, or raw, message formats and the definitions of Groups used within a raw message. Raw message formats may be delimited, fixed width, contain ordered or unordered fields, arrays, and options fields, and have prefixes and suffixes. a Group is a sub-structure or group of fields within a Raw Message format. Groups may be used (shared) by multiple Raw Message format definitions and may be used for common structures in a number of message formats.

Shared Fields
Definitions of fields you define to be used (shared) within a raw message format or Group definition. Shared fields may be shared among many raw message formats and group definitions. Fields may also be defined "in-line" within the Raw Message/Group definition (and therefore, not here).

XML Documents
XML message format definitions. The XML document's structure may be defined by external entities (DTDs) or XML Schemas.

Conversion Map
(CASP Only) "Maps" for converting messages from a source message format to a target message format. Source and target message formats may be either raw or XML message formats.

Function Library
(CASP Only) Dynamically loaded libraries of user-defined functions used within conversion maps.
 

Getting Started

To access the metadata repository:

  1. Start the Directory Administrator and open the directory, LDIF, or local configuration file in which you want to work.

  2. Click on the Directory Organization tab.

The Directory Organization tab reflects the hierarchical structure of the metadata repository. At the root of the tree is the unnamed global namespace. All other namespaces, including any you create, are shown under this namespace.

A Metadata Repository icon is associated with each namespace. Under each Metadata Repository icon, objects in that namespace are created and displayed according to object type: XML External Entity, XML Schema, XML Document, Shared Field, Raw Message/Group.

When you select an item in the tree, its properties and other information about it are displayed in the table view in the right-hand panel.

 

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