Metadata Web Application

Release Notes

This document covers any changes to the use of the Metadata Registry Web Application for a given release. A somewhat itemized list of changes can be found on the Release Changes page.

Release 3.0.0

This release includes the authentication and authorization capabilities.

Authentication

Users have to log in using JPL username and password to gain the privilege to add, modify, and remove metadata objects. For search and browsing the metadata registries, users shall proceed as usual.

Once the user logged in, the SSL (HTTPS) session appears. All web pages will be presented under the SSL environment until the user logs out.

The Metadata Service authorization is a simple user-based authorization. All users are permitted to the search and browse functions. A user must login in order to add, modify, and remove metadata objects. Users can only modify and remove their metadata objects.

Release 2.1.0

This release includes the Remote Method Interface (RMI) support and permissable values enhancement.

RMI Interfaces

In addition to the CORBA protocol, the Metadata Registry also supports the RMI protocol. The syntax for all HTTP interfaces stay unchanged except for the server name. Usually, the CORBA server is named "urn:eda:corba:JPL.EDM.MetadataRegistry" and the RMI server is named "urn:eda:rmi:JPL.EDM.MetadataRegistry".

Permissible Values Enhancement

In the previous version of the Element Registry, the users could only enter a vector of values as the element's permissible values. This release allows the users to setup the enumerated permissible values in which each value may be associated with a meaning and a description for the value.

To register a new data element or modify the existing data element, the Data Element Registry Form has been revised. The Permissible Values field is no longer a text area for one value per line. It is changed to a button. By clicking on it, a new window pops up with a tool that allows the capability to manage the values, value meanings, and value descriptions. In the pop-up window, it allows the users to set up the permissible values. Click on "Finish" button once all the desired attributes are entered.

To import a dictionary file, please check out the data dictionary schema, dataDictionary.dtd or dataDictionary.xsd, for its xml syntax to add the value meanings and descriptions to your data dictionaries.

The following text contains an example for a data element, 'Document State', from JPL Core Metadata traslated and represented in MDR dictionary XML syntax:

...
<permitVal>
<value>0</value>
<valueMeaning>In Preparation</valueMeaning>
<valueDesc>insert description for this value here</valueDesc>
</permitVal>
<permitVal>
<value>1</value>
<valueMeaning>Invisible draft</valueMeaning>
<valueDesc>insert description for this value here</valueDesc>
</permitVal>
<permitVal>
<value>2</value>
<valueMeaning>Draft</valueMeaning>
<valueDesc>insert description for this value here</valueDesc>
</permitVal>
...

Release 2.0.0

This release adds the user interfaces to allow the version control and general manipulation for dictionary registry and schema reg istry. There is no change to the element registry. The description scope here is limited to the Metadata Registry Web Application. Please see the release notes for the Metadata Registry Service for detail operations.

New Metadata Attribute

An attribute, "Version", is added to the Dictionary Registry and Schema Registry Form to allow the users to label their version of the registry.

New Interfaces

This table lists the new interfaces that provide the general manipulation capabilities.

Interface	Description
Remove	This interface can be found in the schema or dictionary search result pages. A "Remove" button is provided below the metadata section. Its purpose is to clean up the registration of dictionaries or schemas by mistake.
Modify Metadata	This interface can be found in the schema or dictionary search result pages. A "Modify Dictionary/Schema Metadata" button is provided below the metadata section. Its purpose is to serve correction to typing mistake. Note that a few attributes can not be modified after a successful registration. These include "Identifier", "Version", and "Status". In order to change those restricted attributes, users may consider to remove the registry and register it again.
Promote	This interface can be found in the schema or dictionary search result pages. A "Promote" button is provided below the metadata section. It allows users to promote or release a dictionary or schema registered. The newly added attribute "Status" is changed to "RELEASED" from "REGISTERED" to distinguish if the registry is published as an official document.
Validate Schema	This interface can be found in the Schema Registry Main page. A "Validate Schema" button is provided as one of the options. This capability allows users to validate an instance xml file against a dtd or xml schema reference embedded in the file. This capability does not validate dtd, xsl, xsd, or etc..

Web Directory Hierarchy

This feature allows web accessible to all versions of a registered schema or dictionary file in an organized directory hierarchy. The directory structure depends on the metadata attributes, "Identifier", "Registry Identifier", and "Version".

Users can organize their directory hierarchy for a schema or dictionary file through attributes "Identifier" and "Version". The Metadata Service first looks at attribute "Identifier" and considers symbol "." as "/" to create subdirectories. Then, it creates a subdirectory with the text from attribute "Version" and places a copy of the schema or dictionary there. Then, the attribute "URI" is set to this location.

For example, given "Identifier" with value of "MDR.Dictionary.DTD", "Version" with value of "1.0", and file name of "dataDictionary.dtd", the Metadata Service generates a web directory hierarchy with URI set to "http://metadata/schema/MDR/Dictionary/DTD/1.0/dataDictionary.dtd".

In case of the attribute "Version" is left blank by the user, the subdiretory with value of "Version" is not created. The URI is set to the directory path composed with "Registry Identifier" instead. With the above example, the URI is set to "http://metadata/schema/MDR/Dictionary/DTD/33/dataDictionary.dtd" given "Registry Identifier" is assigned to 33.

When the user decides to promote the schema or dictionary registry, the registry reference points at a higher level of the web directory hierarchy depending only on attribute "Identifier". With the above example, the URI is set to "http://metadata/schema/MDR/Dictionary/DTD/dataDictionary.dt d".