Patent ID: 7272615

Claim:
A computer managed meta-data driven resource management system for limiting access to resource instances comprising: a resource non-specific database comprising a plurality of resource records corresponding to multiple different types of fixed or consumable collaborative resources, wherein said fixed or consumable collaborative resources is used in completing a task in a collaborative application; a metadata manager programmed to perform the step of: defining records within said database according to resource name and resource attributes for different resource types specified within metadata definitions of said different resource types, wherein each of said metadata definitions further specifies a resource hierarchy; a resource manager coupled to said metadata manager and said database, said resource manager comprising a configuration performing steps comprising of: creating, locating and reserving said resource instances based upon resource types stored in said database and defined within a corresponding metadata definition; and an access control manager coupled to said resource manager and configured to perform the step of: limiting access to individual ones of said resource instances based upon a specification of said resource containment hierarchy.