IRDS - skrusche63/OASIS-ebXML-RegRep-v4.0 GitHub Wiki

The OASIS ebXML Standards is a suitable tool to support data integration in a heterogeneous data environment.

IRDS is short for Information Resource Dictionary System and describes a framework to organize, control and document the information resources of an enterprise.

An Information Resource Dictionary System contains 4 interrelated information layers that may be used to unambiguously represent application data and their respective models or schemas in a single framework. The image below introduces these 4 layers and their dependencies:

Information Resource Dictionary System

Application Data (Layer 1)

This layer is used to hold the application data that are described by a certain Application Model.

Application Model (Layer 2)

This layer is used to hold the data descriptions (applications model, schemas etc.) for the application data, i.e. is used to embed the respective data. In traditional data storage systems Application Models are directly mapped to the Meta Meta-Model provided by the chosen database system.

Different databases or database systems use different and independently generated data descriptions, although the meaning (or semantics) of certain tables, object classes, edges and vertices may overlap.

This way of thinking is the origin of heterogeneous data silos and, as a consequence, generates the necessity of cost-intensive data integration methods.

Meta Model (Layer 3)

This layer represents data descriptions to consistently and unambiguously describe application data descriptions (or application models, schemata etc.).

Meta Models are best suited to embed different Application Models in parallel thereby providing the opportunity to interrelate these application data descriptions in a single database system.

A Meta Model is a good candidate to build Multi Model Systems, e.g. for data integration purposes. From the IRDS perspective of view the OASIS ebXML Registry Information Model (ebRIM) is a Meta Model. This implies that the OASIS ebXML Standard is a suitable tool to support data integration in a heterogeneous data environment.

Meta Meta-Model (Layer 4)

This layer represents a model that usually comes with a certain database system. A Meta Meta-Model is used to embed a certain Meta-Model. Actually the following Meta Meta-Models are most relevant:

  • Key Value Model
  • Graph Model
  • Relational Model
  • Object-oriented Model

From an IRDS perspective of view a database such as Cassandra (Key Value), OrientDB (Graph Model) or PostgreSQL (Relational Model) are providers of Meta Meta-Models.