refs #5601, #5603 - host collections - updates to support cli

This commit contains a couple of minor changes to help
support the cli host-collection update, add-content-host
and remove-content-host commands.  They will also be useful
for API users.
Fixes #5659 - String Extract
Merge pull request #4067 from bkearney/bkearney/string_extract

Fixes #5659 - String Extract
Merge pull request #4065 from bbuckingham/issue-5601

refs #5601, #5603 - host collections - updates to support cli