Introducing OMAR

• Tony Graham, Sun Microsystems

What is OMAR?

OMAR is the next-generation, standards-based open-source ebXML Registry/Repository implementation from the freebXML.org. It implements all the required features and nearly all optional features defined in the OASIS ebXML Registry specifications version 3.0.

This paper introduces the features and capabilities of OMAR.

OMAR, which stands for Object Metadata and Repository, includes multiple clients for accessing the registry server: a browser-based thin client; a Swing-based client; and a command-line administrative tool. The server itself implements both SOAP and HTTP interfaces, as well as a "embedded" mode where the server (registry) runs within the JAXR provider JVM process.

Additional features of the ebXML registry include: role-based access control; automated cataloging of any content; content-based event notification; cooperating registries; registry-managed version control; and parameterized stored queries.

To put it more simply, OMAR provides multiple ways of getting your data, and metadata about your data, into the registry, multiple ways of working with the data when it's in the repository, and multiple ways of getting your data (and metadata) out of the registry. Each of these aspects is covered in one of the following sections, but first a few words about OMAR and ebXML.

Putting It In

There are multiple ways of getting your data into the registry, including:

• A JSF-based Web UI that runs within your browser.
• A Swing-based Java UI that you can launch locally or from a server using JNLP.
• A command-line utility analogous to ftp for loading multiple files and directories from the local file system.
• Any program that uses the JAXR API for accessing registries.
• A SOAP interface for using the registry as a Web Service.
• A batch utility for loading static data.

<SubmitObjectsRequest xmlns="urn:oasis:names:tc:ebxml-regrep:xsd:lcm:3.0"
 xmlns:rim="urn:oasis:names:tc:ebxml-regrep:xsd:rim:3.0">
  <rim:RegistryObjectList>
    <rim:ClassificationScheme lid="urn:oasis:names:tc:ebxml-regrep:classificationScheme:AssociationType"
        id="urn:oasis:names:tc:ebxml-regrep:classificationScheme:AssociationType"
        isInternal="true" nodeType="urn:oasis:names:tc:ebxml-regrep:NodeType:UniqueCode">
      <rim:Name>
        <rim:LocalizedString charset="UTF-8" value="AssociationType"/>
      </rim:Name>
      <rim:Description>
        <rim:LocalizedString charset="UTF-8"
             value="This is the canonical ClassificationScheme for pre-defined association types"/>
      </rim:Description>
...

  <target name="loadAssocTypes">
    <echo message="Loading AssociationType taxonomy as RegistryOperator"/>
    <antcall target="runSOAPSender">
      <param name="req" value="${samples}/minDB/SubmitObjectsRequest_AssociationTypeScheme.xml"/>
    </antcall>
  </target>

Structuring It Any Way You Like

There are many OMAR features that support you working with your data any way you like, including:

• Modelling your data and its associations using the extensible ebXML Registry Information Model (ebRIM).
• Annotating your objects with additional information that is as structured or as unstructured as you want it to be.
• Classifying your objects according to one or more classification schemes.
• Associating any two of your objects using any of the pre-defined assocition types or using an association type that you've created.
• Automatically cataloging your objects when they're submitted or updated to, for example, add metadata based on the content of your data.
• Automatically validating your objects when they're submitted or updated.
• Deprecating your objects when, for example, they're superseded by a later version.
• Adding links to external objects and adding additional identifiers for your objects.
• Controlling who can view, modify, or delete your objects.
• Automatically sending notifications to others whenever you add, change, or delete any objects.

Getting It Out Again

Storing your data in a standards-based registry gives peace of mind, and being able to do many things with the data is a bonus, but neither is much use unless you can also get the data back out again, especially since most registries have many more users of their data than they have data creators. It should not surprise you to know that OMAR provides multiple ways to both view and extract your data, including:

• Browser-based web interface for discovering, modifying, exporting, and deleting your objects.
• Swing-based Java UI for discovering, modifying, exporting, and deleting your objects.
• Any JAXR-based program that you write for accessing the registry.
• Using the SOAP endpoint to access the registry as a Web Service.

Conclusion

Biography

Tony Graham

Staff Engineer, Sun Microsystems

Tony Graham is a current member of the W3C XML Protocol Working Group and a past member of the W3C XSL Working Group and the OASIS Web Services Reliable Messaging TC. He is also the principal author of the xmlroff XSL formatter and the author of "Unicode: A Primer" and numerous articles and conference presentations on XML, XSL, XSLT, and Unicode.