Modelling generic infrastructure with modular e-Framework

Steve Bennett & Dr Nick Nicholas

“Modelling generic infrastructure with modular e-Framework”

© Copyright University of Southern Queensland. Licensed as CC-BY-SA 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

This talk is not about TARDIS

It’s about a novel way of using the e-Framework to model generic, recurrent infrastructure in e-Research and the e-Humanities by using slightly malformed UML component diagrams to bridge the gap between non-technical “service usage models” and more traditional service oriented architectures at decreasing levels of abstraction… using TARDIS as an example.

(And I’m not Steve Androulakis)


The problem

• Identify recurrent infrastructure services

• Describe once. Only.

• Refer to these solutions wherever helpful.

• Examples:– Annotation– Searching– Moderation

• Not domain specific!


e-Frameworkfor education and research

• Models information infrastructure, in terms of services (service-oriented approach)

• Describes services and service usage models (bundles of related services to perform a

function)


TARDIS, briefly

A registry of crystallography datasets

1. You upload an experiment “manifest”.

2. Admins approve your experiment.

3. Now anyone can view the metadata.

4. Links to data on your system.

5. Bonus: Persistent identifier from ANDS.


Requirements

Business processes

SUMs (blocks of functionality expressed in SOA)

Data sources

Other services


SUM diagrams• Req’ts BPs services/SUMs• Are good for early planning,

brainstorming. (Ask Lyle!) • Are vague about service-data source

relationships

SUM composition diagrams• Spell out:

– What business objects a service operates on

– What parts of a SUM are used– Which services are exposed

• Good for discussing implementation


SUM Composition Diagram(UML component diagram)


Service genres are abstract

Service genres:

• Well-defined descriptions of categories of service.– Behaviour, semantics.

• Independent of technology, protocol, etc.• Provide a common vocabulary.

– RSS is an example of “Syndicate”.– So is OAI-PMH.


Expression level

Binds the SUM’s elements to technologies and protocols

(Not normally bound to a specific instance)

Genre-level Expression-level

Technology

Service name



Service Expressions = Interoperability

• Interfaces between institutions are fully specified:

• Within trust boundaries they’re not:

TARDIS

Research institution

TARDIS

TARDIS© Copyright University of Southern Queensland. Licensed as CC-BY-SA 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Modular SUMs• Re-usable chunks of

functionality• Use and/or expose

several services• Customised as needed

X

XX


Modular SUMs

• Searchable Collection• Annotation• Moderation• Persistent Identifiers• Validation


Online Heritage Resource Manager



Lessons/pitfalls

• e-Framework works best as a communication/brainstorming tool

• Many modelling decisions are arbitrary:– Grouping business processes– Create or Add? Read or Obtain? Doesn’t really

matter.• Choose your level of rigour wisely.

– Too permissive: anything is possible, nothing is certain.

– Too rigorous: everything is hard, nothing is quick.• Don’t spend weeks writing artefacts.


Education

Modelling generic infrastructure with modular e-Framework