Meta Data Management
Tool developers can make use of Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000 Meta Data Services by adding meta data management support in products they provide. Meta Data Services provides a platform for building meta data management capability into dedicated tools or into add-on features of existing tools.
Shared meta data is a way to deploy data and application structures across heterogeneous platforms and development environments. It provides common definition so that tools and applications can interpret the same meta data definition and transform it into application-specific structures. Meta data is an integration point because it is abstract, containing essential details that remain constant regardless of the implementation strategy. This flexibility makes it ideally suited for design purposes because it allows you to separate design from implementation. When you work with predefined meta data, you can implement a specific design using the development tool that best serves your needs.
As you incorporate meta data into your information systems, you need tools that can keep track of the meta data you create, how it is used, and how it can be reused in subsequent projects.
Meta Data Services helps you manage meta data by providing a platform that enables you to:
- Store meta data constructs.
- Version meta data objects and relationships so that you can work with current and historical editions with equal ease.
- Allocate workspaces to isolate modifications to a specific set of objects.
- Import and export meta data structures in Extensible Markup Language (XML) format to work with your meta data in a variety of environments.