Understanding the SAS Java Metadata Interface

How the SAS Java Metadata Interface Works

The SAS Java Metadata Interface consists of the following:

an object factory for creating and controlling the life cycles of objects in the client
object stores that serve as work unit containers for storing object instances and for grouping object instances that need to be persisted to the SAS Metadata Server as a unit
Java interfaces that correspond to objects in the SAS Metadata Model

The object factory provides an environment for managing Java objects that represent SAS metadata object instances.

The object store serves as a container for Java objects that users create to add or modify metadata objects in the SAS Metadata Server. The following figure illustrates the relationship between the objects in an object store.

Relationship Between Objects in an Object Store

[Relationship Between Objects in an Object Store]

A SAS Open Metadata Interface metadata object is defined by two types of properties:

a set of attributes that describe the characteristics of the metadata object instance, including its name, description, date it was created, and any unique characteristics
associations that describe its relationships with other metadata objects

Using the SAS Java Metadata Interface, you create a metadata object on the SAS Metadata Server, or you modify an existing metadata object's attributes, by creating a Java object representing its SAS metadata type. You then persist the new or modified Java object to the SAS Metadata Server. A metadata type refers to one of the metadata types defined in the SAS namespace of the SAS Metadata Model. Metadata objects live in the SAS Metadata Server. The Java objects in the object store act as proxies for the metadata objects in the SAS Metadata Server.

Information about associations is managed separately from information about attributes. Associations are managed by creating AssociationList objects. An AssociationList object stores information about how two metadata objects are related to each other through an association name. To determine the associations defined for a specific metadata type, see the "Alphabetical Listing of SAS Namespace Metadata Types" in SAS Metadata Model: Reference.

In Relationship Between Objects in an Object Store, the squares named Object represent metadata objects, and the squares named AssociationList represent the associations between the metadata objects. Every relationship in the SAS Metadata Model is a two-way association. That is, there are two sides to each relationship, and each side has a name. For example, if the metadata objects in the figure represented a PhysicalTable and a Column, the PhysicalTable object would have a Columns association to the Column object. The Column object would have a Table association to the PhysicalTable object. For more information about associations, see "Understanding Associations" in SAS Metadata Model: Reference.

For an overview of the interfaces used to create the factory, stores, and other objects, see Interfaces and Classes Summary.

For information about how to write a SAS Java Metadata Interface client that reads and writes metadata, see Overview of Creating a SAS Java Metadata Interface Client.

For documentation about specific classes and methods, see the SAS Java Metadata Interface at support.sas.com/92api.

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