Catalog

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A Catalog is a managed collection of Catalog Entries that describes and enables discovery of identified subjects.

A Catalog can describe:

• Organizations
• Communities of Interest
• Users
• Roles
• Nodes
• Node Sets
• Deployment Targets
• Test Definitions
• Test Environments
• Test Runs
• Test Results
• Baselines
• Artifacts
• Executable Artifacts
• Resources
• Operational Resources
• Other identifiable subjects

A Catalog can provide capabilities for:

• Identifying subjects
• Describing subjects
• Classifying subjects
• Discovering subjects
• Searching for subjects
• Filtering subjects
• Comparing subjects
• Locating subjects
• Selecting subjects
• Retrieving references to subjects
• Determining subject availability
• Determining subject status
• Determining applicable Versions
• Identifying relationships among subjects

A Catalog can identify:

• Its identity
• Its name
• Its description
• Its Catalog type
• Its Version
• Its owner
• Its administrator
• Its governing Authority
• Its applicable scope
• Its applicable Governance Domain
• Its applicable Community of Interest
• Its entry requirements
• Its classification scheme
• Its supported search and discovery capabilities
• Its applicable interfaces
• Its applicable Endpoints
• Its applicable access controls
• Its applicable Policies
• Its applicable Governance Policies
• Its Provenance
• Its Traceability

A Catalog can contain descriptive information directly or reference descriptive information maintained by another system.

A Catalog can reference a subject without containing or storing the subject itself.

managed collection of Catalog Entries that describes and enables discovery of identified subjects

Adapted from:

• DIDO Reference Architecture
• DIDO Reference Implementation Conceptual Model
• DIDO-TE draft Requirements Register
• Catalog Entry

This definition establishes Catalog as the general concept from which specialized catalogs can derive.

A Catalog differs from a Catalog Entry:

• A Catalog is the managed collection
• A Catalog Entry describes and references one identified subject or a defined grouping of subjects

A Catalog differs from the subjects it describes. Adding, changing, or removing a Catalog Entry does not necessarily add, change, or remove the described subject.

A Catalog differs from a Repository:

• A Catalog describes subjects and enables their discovery
• A Repository stores and manages Artifacts or other retained content

A Catalog can reference subjects stored in a Repository. The same system can provide both Catalog and Repository capabilities when it satisfies both definitions.

A Catalog differs from a Registry:

• A Catalog describes subjects and enables their discovery
• A Registry records subjects under an identified registration authority and registration process

A Registry can provide Catalog capabilities. A Catalog does not necessarily provide authoritative registration.

A Catalog differs from an Inventory:

• A Catalog describes subjects that users can discover or select
• An Inventory records subjects held, controlled, allocated, available, or otherwise accounted for within a defined scope

A Catalog can describe subjects that are not currently possessed, deployed, or available. An Inventory ordinarily reflects subjects accounted for within its defined scope.

A Catalog is not necessarily:

• Authoritative
• Complete
• Public
• Centrally managed
• Stored in one location
• Limited to one subject type
• A Repository
• A Registry
• An Inventory

A Catalog can be:

• Centralized
• Distributed
• Federated
• Public
• Private
• Organization-specific
• Community-specific
• Domain-specific
• System-specific

A federated Catalog can provide discovery across multiple independently governed Catalogs while preserving the ownership and governance of their Catalog Entries.

A Catalog Entry should identify the exact subject and applicable Version when multiple Versions exist.

A Catalog should preserve Traceability among:

• The Catalog Entry
• The described subject
• The applicable Version
• The source of the descriptive information
• The governing Authority
• The applicable Policies
• The applicable Provenance

A DIDO-TE Test Definition Catalog contains Catalog Entries describing approved Test Definitions.

Each Catalog Entry identifies:

• The Test Definition identity
• The Test Definition Version
• The test purpose
• The applicable Test Items
• The applicable Test Environment requirements
• The applicable Validation Criteria
• The approving Authority
• The approval status
• The applicable Governance Policies
• The Repository location
• The applicable content digest
• The applicable Provenance
• The applicable Traceability

The Test Definition Catalog enables a User acting in the Test Operator Role to discover and select an approved Test Definition.

The Catalog Entry references the Test Definition stored in an Artifact Repository. The Catalog describes and locates the Test Definition but does not need to contain the Test Definition itself.