0010 Base model¶
The base model is the starting point for the open metadata type model.
OpenMetadataRoot entity¶
OpenMetadataRoot is the root entity for all open metadata entity types.
Referenceable entity¶
Referenceable is the super type for many of the open metadata entity types. A Referenceable entity is something that is important enough to be assigned a unique (qualified) name within its type. This unique name is called the qualifiedName and may be set to the unique identifier value used outside the open metadata ecosystem. Alternatively, it is often set to a concatenation of an element's type name along with a number of its properties to create a unique string.
Referenceable also has provision for storing additional properties. This is a set of name-value pairs (i.e. a map) where the values are all strings.
Asset entity¶
An Asset is a metadata entity that describes a resource (either physical or digital) that is of value and so needs to be managed and governed. Infrastructure, Process, DataStore, DataFeed, DeployedAPI, DataSet and RunnableSoftwareComponent are subtypes of Assets.
Asset is a subtype of Referenceable. It adds three attributes to the Referenceable type:
- name is the identifier of the asset. It relates to the name of the resource.
- versionIdentifier extends the name with a version identifier. For example, a process may create a new file every month containing the sales figures for that month. In this case, the name could be
"MonthlySalesFigures.csv"and the versionIdentifier could be"july2022". The name and versionIdentifier are useful values for constructing the qualifiedName. - description provides a description of the resource.
Deprecated attributes
The Asset entity has the following deprecated attributes. Their values have been moved to classifications as shown in the table below. Many Assets are created by their hosting technology and locked read-only to the broader metadata ecosystem (see external metadata provenance for more detail). By moving the governance related information to a classification, it can be maintained by a different service to the Asset's creator.
| Deprecated attribute | Moved to classification |
|---|---|
owner (type string) |
Ownership |
ownerType (type AssetOwnerType enum) |
Ownership |
zoneMembership (type array<string>) |
AssetZoneMembership |
latestChange (type string) |
LatestChange |
The values set in an Asset entity tend to be focused around the implementation of the resource. The SupplementaryProperties relationship allows a more business-oriented description to be attached.
More information on assets can be found in the Metadata Manager overview.
Infrastructure entity¶
Infrastructure represents both the physical and digital assets that the organization runs its business on. ITInfrastructure is a subtype of Infrastructure describing Information Technology (IT) infrastructure that runs IT services. There is more information on the different types of ITInfrastructure in:
- 0030 Hosts and platforms
- 0035 Complex hosts
- 0037 Software server platforms
- 0040 Software servers
- 0042 Software capabilities
Process entity¶
Process describes a well-defined set of processing steps and decisions that drive a particular aspect of the organization's business. Most processes are automated with software (see DeployedSoftwareComponent) but they may also be a manual procedure. An automated process can be invoked from a remote server through a DeployedAPI.
Processes have an advanced lifecycle. They can have the following instance statuses.
- Draft
- Proposed
- Approved
- Active
- Deleted
The formula attribute can describe its behaviour, formulaType describes the notation language used to describe the formula.
DataSet entity¶
DataSet represents a collection of related data. This data does not need to be stored together. The formula property describes the logic used to populate the DataSet, formulaType describes the notation language used to describe the formula, and deployedImplementationType describes the technology supporting the implementation of the technology.
See DataStore for the Asset that represents a physical store and the DataContentForDataSet relationship links the DataSet to the asset(s) that describe the data sources.
SampleData relationship¶
The SampleData relationship links an Asset entity describing a collection of sample data that originates from the resource represented by the Referenceable entity.
Anchors classification¶
The Anchors classification is used internally by the open metadata ecosystem to optimize the lookup of the entity at the root of a cluster of elements that represents a larger object. Currently, there is support for objects uniquely "owned" by an entity to store the GUID of that entity.
Further information on the use of Anchors
Memento classification¶
Finally, the Memento classification identifies that the Referenceable entity it is attached to, refers to a real-world asset/artifact that has either been deleted or archived offline. The entity has been retained to show its role in the lineage of other assets/artifacts. The properties in this classification identifies the archive processing and any information that helps to locate the asset/artifact in the archive (if applicable).
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