
Data Management • 185
Metadata and the Metadata Repository
A repository is itself a database containing a complete glossary for all compo-
nents, databases, elds, objects, owners, access, platforms, and users within
the enterprise. e repository oers a way to understand what information
is available, where it comes from, where it is stored, the transformation per-
formed on the data, its currency, and other important facts about the data.
e repository describes the data structures and the business rules at
a level above a data dictionary. However, metadata has taken on a more
visible role among day-to-day knowledge workers. Today it serves as ...