Information Catalog Manager Administration Guide
To organize your information resources in the information catalog, you
create object types.
An object type is a classification for objects that is used to
reflect a type of business information, such as a table, report, or
image. For example, you might create an object type called Image (Figure 2), which describes a set of objects that are digital
bitmap images. For each object type, you define a set of
properties, which describe the characteristics of the object
type.
For an object type that is called Image, you might define properties such as
Resolution, Size, and Color.
Figure 2. The characteristics of an information resource become properties of the Information Catalog Manager object type
Every object type must belong to the Information Catalog Manager
category. An object type's category affects how the
Information Catalog Manager handles it. Except for the Program and
Attachment categories, you can create object types in any of the following
Information Catalog Manager categories:
- Category
- Definition
- Grouping
- Object types that can contain other object types.
- Elemental
- Non-Grouping object types that are the building blocks for other
Information Catalog Manager object types.
- Contact
- Object types that identify a reference for more information about an
object. More information might include the person who created the
information that the object represents, or the department responsible for
maintaining the information.
- Program
- A Programs object type that identifies and describes applications capable
of processing the actual information that is represented by the Information
Catalog Manager objects types. The only object type belonging to the
Program category is the Programs object type, which is defined when you create
an information catalog.
- Dictionary
- Object types that define terminology that is specific to your
business.
- Support
- Object types that provide additional information about your information
catalog or enterprise.
- Attachment
- A Comments object type that identifies additional information attached to
another Information Catalog Manager object. The only object type
belonging to the Attachment category is the Comments object type, which is
defined when you create an information catalog.
Table 9 summarizes the relationships among the Information Catalog
Manager's object-type categories.
Table 9. Information Catalog Manager category relationships
| Category
| Can contain/ contained by
| Links with
| Contacts associated
| Comments attached
| Programs launch from
|
| Grouping
| Contains other Grouping or Elemental objects
| Other Grouping or Elemental objects
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|
| Elemental
| Contained by any Grouping object
| Other Grouping or Elemental objects
| Yes
| Yes
| Yes
|
| Contact
| None
| None
| No
| Yes
| Yes
|
| Program
| None
| None
| No
| Yes
| No
|
| Dictionary
| None
| None
| No
| Yes
| Yes
|
| Support
| None
| None
| No
| Yes
| Yes
|
| Attachment
| None
| None
| No
| No
| Yes
|
You can establish object types for your information catalog in any of three
ways:
- Use the object types that come with the Information Catalog Manager in the
sample information catalog. (See Appendix B, Predefined Information Catalog Manager object types for information about creating the sample information
catalog and a description of the object types it includes.)
- Modify the object types that come with the Information Catalog Manager to
fit your organization's needs (see Updating an object type for information about modifying an object type).
- Create your own object types.
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