The Design and Implementation of a Metadata Repository

Abstract. We present a tool which handles all the metadata created and used throughout a large-scale enterprise software project. The tool is used to visually create and edit different metadata specification documents, such as data entities, visual forms, queries, interfaces, transactions and so forth, and then automatically generate code from them. This enables a faster development process, as well as the design of a broad technical framework which fully separates the business logic code from technical concerns. The repository uses a unique unified data model and type system, allowing us to define and edit any level of metadata – from meta-metadata models to actual applicative data – using the same tool. This paper describes both the tool's design as well as the development process which it supports and improves.