Creating a Metadata Source Component (MDSC)
A data source component (DSC) can be a case data source component (CDSC), a metadata source component (MDSC), or both. This section provides information about writing a metadata source component (MDSC) to make proprietary metadata available through the UNICOM Intelligence Data Model.
Creating a read-enabled MDSC involves:
▪Creating a COM class to implement the IMetadataLoad interface of the
MDSC interface component.
▪Writing code to populate the MDM Document with information describing the proprietary data.
▪Registering the new MDSC so that it can be recognized by the UNICOM Intelligence Data Model.
This section provides detailed information about creating a read-enabled MDSC only. However, creating an MDSC that can write metadata and/or convert metadata involves similar steps, except that the COM class needs to implement the IMetadataSave and/or IMetadataConvert interfaces and you need to write code to create and save or convert the metadata.
It is possible to write an MDSC whose underlying proprietary data format is a database. The connection string is then a connection string to the database. The registration settings for the DSC specify whether its underlying format is a file, a directory, or a database.
This section assumes that you already have a good understanding of how the UNICOM Intelligence Data Model works. If you are new to the UNICOM Intelligence Data Model, see
Before you create a DSC for information about how to set about gaining that understanding.
See also