METADATA SYSTEMS - INTEGRATIVE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

Metadata systems are concerned with the management of data which descr ibes other data (datasets, catalogues or actual database management sy stems) and are presently the subject of intensive research. Metadata s ystems can be used to store richly detailed forms of information, perf orm seamless wide-ranging searches of information distributed across n etworks, and to integrate information stored in disparate repositories . Here we describe a model design and the methods of implementation de rived from the experience of the Leicester University Metadata Project . Our approach utilises the incorporation of semantic metadata in addi tion to resource metadata, resulting in a generally more powerful syst em than existing global directory services. A feature of the class of design presented here is flexibility of implementation, with the abili ty to provide a coherent metadata system functioning above heterogeneo us autonomous distributed databases.