In some instances, the object repository also stores and distributes components such as those defined by ActiveX or OpenDoc technology. Metadata repositories are simply another layer on top of the existing schema. In some cases, the metadata repository resides with the data inside the database. Databases themselves are becoming better at providing metadata services through the database alone. Data warehousing projects also rely on sophisticated metadata layers to let the end user make sense of the data and abstract datatypes.
Universal repositories provide the best of all worlds.
They provide developers and application architects with the ability to store and manage design information as well as application objects and metadata from one central unit of storage. The real value is the ability to share this vast amount of information across the entire organization. This is where we are heading today, but we are not there just yet. Evolution One of the best examples of a useful repository is found in Allegris from Intersolv Inc., the topic for the rest of this column. Intersolv began shipping version 1.0 of Allegris in January 1997.