Creating Objects

You can create metadata objects by using the methods in the MdFactory interface. You must create a Java object instance for every new and existing metadata object that you want to read, update, or delete in a SAS Metadata Repository. You must create an object store in which to hold the metadata objects. The object store maintains a list of the metadata objects that need to be persisted to the SAS Metadata Server with a single request.

The following code creates a new PhysicalTable object, a new Column object, and a new Keyword object. The code creates associations between these objects. After the metadata objects are created, they are persisted to the SAS Metadata Server.

Notes:

/**
    * The following statements create a table, column, and keyword on the column.
    * The objects are created in the user's My Folder folder.
    * @param repository CMetadata object with id of form:  A0000001.A5KHUI98
    */
   public void createTable(CMetadata repository)
   {
      if (repository != null)
      {
         try
         {
            System.out.println("\nCreating objects on the server...");
            
            // We have a repository object.
            // We use the getFQID method to get its fully qualified ID.
            String reposFQID = repository.getFQID();

            // We need the short repository ID to create an object.
            String shortReposID = reposFQID.substring(reposFQID.indexOf('.') + 1, 
                                    reposFQID.length());

            // Now we create an object store to hold our objects.  
            // This will be used to maintain a list of objects to persist
            // to the SAS Metadata Server.
            MdObjectStore store = _factory.createObjectStore();
            String tableName = "TableTest";
            String tableType = "Table";
            
            // The getUserHomeFolder method retrieves (or creates, if necessary)
            // the user's My Folder folder.  If the folder does not 
            // exist, the method automatically creates it.
            // This is the folder in which we will create the table.
            Tree myFolder = _factory.getOMIUtil().getUserHomeFolder(store, "", 
                  MdOMIUtil.FOLDERTYPE_MYFOLDER, "", 0, true);
            
            // Before creating any objects, we must verify that the Table does 
            // not already exist within the parent folder.  The table cannot be
            // created if it is not unique within the folder.
            if (!isUnique(myFolder, tableName, tableType))
            {
               // Create a PhysicalTable object named "TableTest".
               PhysicalTable table = (PhysicalTable) _factory.createComplexMetadataObject
                  (store,
                        null,
                        "TableTest",
                        MetadataObjects.PHYSICALTABLE,
                        shortReposID);
   
               // Set the PublicType and UsageVersion attributes for the table.
               table.setPublicType("Table");
               table.setUsageVersion(1000000.0);
               
               // Add the table to the user's "My Folder" location.
               table.getTrees().add(myFolder);
              
               // Create a Column named "ColumnTest".
               Column column = (Column) _factory.createComplexMetadataObject
                  (store,
                        null,
                        "ColumnTest",
                        MetadataObjects.COLUMN,
                        shortReposID);
   
               // Set the attributes of the column, including PublicType and
               // UsageVersion.
               column.setPublicType("Column");
               column.setUsageVersion(1000000.0);
               column.setColumnName("MyTestColumnName");
               column.setSASColumnName("MyTestSASColumnName");
               column.setDesc("This is a description of a column");
   
               // Use the get"AssociationName"() method to associate the column with  
               // the table. This method creates an AssociationList object for the table
               // object. The inverse association will be created automatically.
               // The add(MetadataObject) method adds myColumn to the AssociationList.
               table.getColumns().add(column);
   
               // Create a keyword for the column named "KeywordTest".
               Keyword keyword = (Keyword) _factory.createComplexMetadataObject
                  (store,
                        null,
                        "KeywordTest",
                        MetadataObjects.KEYWORD,
                        shortReposID);
   
               // Associate the keyword with the column.
               column.getKeywords().add(keyword);
   
               // Now, persist all of these changes to the server.
               table.updateMetadataAll();
            }
            
            // When finished, clean up the objects in the store if they
            // are no longer being used.
            store.dispose();
         }
         catch (MdException e)
         {
            e.printStackTrace();
         }
         catch (RemoteException e)
         {
            e.printStackTrace();
         }      
      }
   }

   /**
    * isUnique() is a private method that determines whether an object is unique 
    * within a given folder.
    * @param folder is the name of the parent folder
    * @param name is the Name value of the object
    * @param type is the PublicType value of the object
    * @return true if an object with the specified name and type exists within 
    * the folder.
    */
   private boolean isUnique(Tree folder, String name, String type) 
      throws RemoteException, MdException
   {
      // Now, retrieve the objects in the folder and make sure that the folder doesn't 
      // already contain this table. The object's Name and PublicType attribute values
      //  are used to determine if it is unique.
      List members = folder.getMembers();
      for (Iterator iter = members.iterator(); iter.hasNext(); )
      {
         CMetadata meta = (CMetadata) iter.next();
         if (meta instanceof PrimaryType)
         {
            // Verify that the types and object names match
            // A case-insensitive match should be used when comparing the names.
            if (type.equals(((PrimaryType) meta).getPublicType()) &&
                name.equals(meta.getName()))
            {
               // We found a match.
               return true;
            }
         }         
      }
      return false;
   }