Re: Questions on RIM and RS.

[Len Gallagher <LGallagher@nist.gov>]

Sanjay,

I think I can partially answer your questions (see in-line below).

-- Len



At 04:40 PM 4/10/01 , Sanjay Cherian wrote:
>Hi,
>
>Here are a few more questions I had. I would be
>grateful if someone could clarify them. The first 2
>are significant enough that they are holding up my
>POC implementation.
>
>[RIM-0.60:276]
>If ExtrinsicObject captures metadata for content whose
>type is unknown to the Registry and ExternalLink
>stores the URI
>to content that is external to the Registry, what
>interface in RIM captures metadata for content which
>is stored in the
>Registry and whose type is known to the Registry?


This is an important question that could lead to some RIM modifications in
Phase 2. But for now, notice that any "content" whose type is known to the
Registry is a subtype of ImplicitObject, which in turn is a subtype of
RegistryEntry (RIM Figure 2, line 356) and notice that each of these known
implicit object types, e.g. ClassificationNode, Package, etc. are listed in
Section 7.3.2 as Pre-Defined Object Types (top of page 18).  Thus their
metadata can be retrieved by query on RegistryEntry!

See the examples of <RegistryEntryQuery>'s between lines 1171 and 1200 in
the Registry Services document.


>[RS-0.88:1795-97]
>This definition of ExtrinsicObject contradicts
>Registry.dtd. 

The method for returning a repository item has already been identified as
an Issue that needs to be resolved. I was the author of lines 1795-1797,
but I'm not knowledgeable about how MIME objects typically get transmitted
in XML syntax.

I'd like to make sure, however, that any solution to this issue doesn't
depend on characteristics of the message transport mechanism (e.g. SOAP) as
I think it is desirable that our query synatx be independent of message
transport.


>A more fundamental question: is it a
>good idea to return
>repository content within the body of the XML response
>rather than including such content as MIME body parts
>in the
>output document? 

This is the issue! Solutions solicited.

>After all, when registry content is
>input into the Registry, it is contained in MIME body
>parts,
>together with the SOAP:Envelope header and the
>SubmitObjectsRequest.
>
>[RS-0.88:1782-85]
>What purpose was RegistryPackage, WithdrawnObject and
>ExternalItem meant to serve? These are not present in
>RIM.

RegistryPackage is meant to be the same as Package in RIM. There is a
pending proposal to use the term "RegistryPackage" in RIM instead of just
"Package" because the word "Package" is so overloaded. Certainly RIM and
line 1782 in RS need to be made consistent.

ExternalItem should be replaced by ExternalLink to make it consistent with
RIM and that change has already been approved by last Friday's teleconference.

WithdrawnObject is meant to identify a repository tem that used to be
registered, but has since been deleted from the Registry (this was made
possible in Vancouver). It's RegistryEntry may still exist in the Registry,
so it has an ID and it's possible to use this ID to ask for the
corresponding repository item -- but it's not there anymore. This element
gets returned in its place.

Note! Nikola has already asked that this treatment be put on the Issues
list, and it has been.


>[RS-0.88:1790]
>How is repositoryURL different from contentURI (in
>ExtrinsicObject, as defined on 2760)?

It's not!  Last Friday's teleconference already approved changing line 1789
(not 1790!) to be "contentURI" instead of "repositoryURL".



>Thanks,
>Sanjay.
>
>
>=====
>Sanjay J. Cherian
>Software Architect
>Sterling Commerce
>Irving, TX
>
>(469)524-2753
>
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Len Gallagher                             LGallagher@nist.gov
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