Colectica Repository

Colectica Repository is a centralized storage system for managing data resources, enabling collaborative workflows, and providing automatic version control.

Client applications such as Colectica Designer and Colectica Portal interact with Colectica Repository using standard communications protocols. Although Colectica Repository is not accessed directly by end-users, it is the backbone of the Colectica platform.

Storage

Repository items can be submitted by authorized clients. Items are submitted by sending the DDI3 serialization of the item along with some identifying information. Items can be retrieved by authorized clients by querying for the object by its unique identifier. In order to provide complete versioning and audit functionality, repository items may not be deleted. If an item is no longer needed it may be deprecated. Search requests can indicate whether they wish to include deprecated items in the results.

Versioning

The Colectica Repository provides full support for item versioning.

History

Every version of an item committed to the repository is saved, allowing clients to retrieve a full version history of any item in the repository. Each version includes additional information:
  • the authenticated user who committed the version
  • the date and time the version was committed
  • an optional message describing the reason for the version

Tagging

A specific version of any item or set of items may be tagged. A tag is simply a name given to the version so it can be easily referenced in the future. Tagging can be used to mark milestones such as publication.

Search

The Colectica Repository offers advanced faceted search functionality. Items may be queried through a fast full text search.

Annotations

Users with the appropriate role may annotate items stored in the Colectica Repository in a number of ways. Plaintext comments may be added to repository items. Users may indicate their approval of a repository item.

Agency Management

The Colectica Repository may be designated as the authoritative source for one or more agencies. An agency is an entity responsible for a particular piece of data or metadata. Colectica DDI Resolver can be used to discover the authoritative repository for a particular agency.

Security

User Authentication

The Colectica Repository supports user profiles. Users must provide username and password credentials in order to access the repository.

Role-based Access Control

Users may be assigned one or more roles. The roles determine whether the user may search, submit, retrieve, and annotate items in the repository.

Encryption

The Colectica Repository communicates over a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connection.