Common Warehouse Metamodel
Encyclopedia
The Common Warehouse Metamodel (CWM) defines a specification for modeling metadata
for relational, non-relational, multi-dimensional, and most other objects found in a data warehousing
environment. The specification is released and owned by the Object Management Group
, which also claims a trademark in the use of "CWM".
the active version of the CWM specification is v1.1 with a supplementary specification, Common Warehouse Metamodel (CWM) Metadata Interchange Patterns (MIP), which further refines the requirements for tools to inter-operate smoothly.
CWM models enable users to trace the lineage of data – CWM provides objects that describe where the data came from and when and how the data was created. Instances of the metamodel are exchanged via XML Metadata Interchange
(XMI) documents.
Initially, CWM contained a local definition for a data translation facility. It is not clear how the QVT
final adopted specification will affect CWM.
Questions about compliance are addressed within the specification itself. Chapter 18 in both the 1.0 and 1.1 specification list required and optional compliance points.
The Object Management Group has a list of CWM implementations, but it is unclear how this list is maintained.
Metadata
The term metadata is an ambiguous term which is used for two fundamentally different concepts . Although the expression "data about data" is often used, it does not apply to both in the same way. Structural metadata, the design and specification of data structures, cannot be about data, because at...
for relational, non-relational, multi-dimensional, and most other objects found in a data warehousing
Data warehouse
In computing, a data warehouse is a database used for reporting and analysis. The data stored in the warehouse is uploaded from the operational systems. The data may pass through an operational data store for additional operations before it is used in the DW for reporting.A data warehouse...
environment. The specification is released and owned by the Object Management Group
Object Management Group
Object Management Group is a consortium, originally aimed at setting standards for distributed object-oriented systems, and is now focused on modeling and model-based standards.- Overview :...
, which also claims a trademark in the use of "CWM".
the active version of the CWM specification is v1.1 with a supplementary specification, Common Warehouse Metamodel (CWM) Metadata Interchange Patterns (MIP), which further refines the requirements for tools to inter-operate smoothly.
Overview
The Common Warehouse Metamodel specifies interfaces that can be used to enable interchange of warehouse and business intelligence metadata between warehouse tools, warehouse platforms and warehouse metadata repositories in distributed heterogeneous environments. CWM is based on three standards:- UMLUnified Modeling LanguageUnified Modeling Language is a standardized general-purpose modeling language in the field of object-oriented software engineering. The standard is managed, and was created, by the Object Management Group...
- Unified Modeling Language, an OMGObject Management GroupObject Management Group is a consortium, originally aimed at setting standards for distributed object-oriented systems, and is now focused on modeling and model-based standards.- Overview :...
modeling standard - MOFMOFMOF can mean:*The Museum of Flight*Managed Object Format, a textual representation of the Distributed Management Task Force Common Information Model...
- Meta Object Facility, an OMGObject Management GroupObject Management Group is a consortium, originally aimed at setting standards for distributed object-oriented systems, and is now focused on modeling and model-based standards.- Overview :...
metamodeling and metadata repository standard - XMI - XML Metadata Interchange, an OMGObject Management GroupObject Management Group is a consortium, originally aimed at setting standards for distributed object-oriented systems, and is now focused on modeling and model-based standards.- Overview :...
metadata interchange standard
CWM models enable users to trace the lineage of data – CWM provides objects that describe where the data came from and when and how the data was created. Instances of the metamodel are exchanged via XML Metadata Interchange
XML Metadata Interchange
The XML Metadata Interchange is an Object Management Group standard for exchanging metadata information via Extensible Markup Language .It can be used for any metadata whose metamodel can be expressed in Meta-Object Facility ....
(XMI) documents.
Initially, CWM contained a local definition for a data translation facility. It is not clear how the QVT
QVT
QVT is a standard set of languages for model transformation defined by the Object Management Group .- Overview :...
final adopted specification will affect CWM.
Submitters of Common Warehouse Metamodel Specification
While the Object Management Group owns the standard for CWM, some companies are considered co-submitters of the CWM specification. The following companies were listed as co-submitters to the v1.1 specification:- International Business Machines CorporationIBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
- Unisys Corporation
- NCR Corporation
- Hyperion Solutions Corporation
- Oracle CorporationOracle CorporationOracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
- UBS AG
- Genesis Development Corporation
- Dimension EDI
Compliance with the CWM Specification
Software vendors claiming CWM support differ in the degree to which they comply with CWM. Some were co-submitters of the specification, and are actively using the OMG trademark in marketing literature. Other vendors have expressed support for CWM or claim they have products that are "CWM-compliant."Questions about compliance are addressed within the specification itself. Chapter 18 in both the 1.0 and 1.1 specification list required and optional compliance points.
The Object Management Group has a list of CWM implementations, but it is unclear how this list is maintained.
Interoperability of CWM Tools
Compliance with the CWM specification does not guarantee tools from different vendors will integrate well, even when they are "CWM-compliant". The OMG addressed some of these issues by releasing patterns and best practices to correct these problems in a supplementary specification, CWM Metadata Interchange PatternsCWM Implementations identified by OMG
These vendors have been identified as having a CWM implementation or have active projects to support CWM.- IKAN, a CWM compliant database modeling and design tool
- Meta Integration Technology (MITI)
- SASSAS InstituteSAS Institute Inc. , headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, USA, has been a major producer of software since it was founded in 1976 by Anthony Barr, James Goodnight, John Sall and Jane Helwig...
SAS adheres to the Object Management Group’s Common Warehouse Metamodel (CWM) as the interoperability and interchange standard. An alliance between SAS and Meta Integration Technology Inc. (MITI) enables SAS to provide bridges for sharing and exchanging metadata with more than 40 design tool and repository vendors - Oracle CorporationOracle CorporationOracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
Oracle Warehouse Builder - InformaticaInformaticaInformatica Corporation is a NASDAQ listed company with ticker INFA. Founded in 1993, its headquarters is in Redwood City, California. Founded by Diaz Nesamoney and Gaurav Dhillon...
produces Superglue, a data integration tool with a Metadata extension (Metadata Manager formerly known as SuperGlue). Informatica is one of the members of the OMG - IBMIBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
- Dimension EDI
- Genesis Development
- prudsys AG - XELOPES library for embedded data mining
- UBS
- Pentaho Metadata Editor
Other Vendors Supporting CWM
The following products or companies have claimed CWM support, but are not listed by OMG as having a CWM implementation. In some cases, the vendor may have implemented the v1.0 specification, which was replaced by the v1.1 specification. Refer to the software vendor to determine if the product is compliant with CWM or merely supports a subset of the required portions of the specification.- Hyperion SolutionsHyperion SolutionsHyperion Solutions Corporation was a business performance management software company, located in Santa Clara, California, USA, which was acquired by Oracle Corporation in 2007...
, now a division of Oracle CorporationOracle CorporationOracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems... - PentahoPentahoThe Pentaho BI Suite is open source Business Intelligence suite with integrated reporting, dashboard, data mining, workflow and ETL capabilities. Pentaho is headquartered in Orlando, USA.- Overview :...
Pentaho Open Source Business Intelligence Project has recently added "Pentaho Metadata" which supports CWM - CognosCognosCognos was an Ottawa, Ontario-based company making business intelligence and performance management software. Founded in 1969, at its peak Cognos employed almost 3,500 people and served more than 23,000 customers in over 135 countries.Originally Quasar Systems Limited, it adopted the Cognos...
, now a division of IBMIBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, is listed as a supporter of CWM in the v1.1 specification. Cognos product literature claims support for "Common Warehouse Model (CWM)" but never mentions an actual OMGObject Management GroupObject Management Group is a consortium, originally aimed at setting standards for distributed object-oriented systems, and is now focused on modeling and model-based standards.- Overview :...
specification. - Enterprise Elements
- TalendTalendTalend is an open source software vendor that provides data integration, data management and enterprise application integration software and solutions. Headquartered in Suresnes, France and Los Altos, California, Talend has offices in North America, Europe and Asia, and a global network of...
supports CWM
See also
- Data WarehouseData warehouseIn computing, a data warehouse is a database used for reporting and analysis. The data stored in the warehouse is uploaded from the operational systems. The data may pass through an operational data store for additional operations before it is used in the DW for reporting.A data warehouse...
- MetadataMetadataThe term metadata is an ambiguous term which is used for two fundamentally different concepts . Although the expression "data about data" is often used, it does not apply to both in the same way. Structural metadata, the design and specification of data structures, cannot be about data, because at...
- Metadata registryMetadata registryA metadata registry is a central location in an organization where metadata definitions are stored and maintained in a controlled method.-Use of Metadata Registries:...
- Metadata standardsMetadata standardsMetadata standards are requirements which are intended to establish a common understanding of the meaning or semantics of the data, to ensure correct and proper use and interpretation of the data by its owners and users...
- XMLXMLExtensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
- XML Metadata InterchangeXML Metadata InterchangeThe XML Metadata Interchange is an Object Management Group standard for exchanging metadata information via Extensible Markup Language .It can be used for any metadata whose metamodel can be expressed in Meta-Object Facility ....
(XMI) - Domain Specific Language (DSL)
- Domain-specific modelling (DSM)
- Model-based testingModel-based testingModel-based testing is the application of Model based design for designing and optionally executing the necessary artifacts to perform software testing. Models can be used to represent the desired behavior of the System Under Test , or to represent the desired testing strategies and testing...
(MBT) - Meta-modeling
- UMLUnified Modeling LanguageUnified Modeling Language is a standardized general-purpose modeling language in the field of object-oriented software engineering. The standard is managed, and was created, by the Object Management Group...
- ATLATLAS Transformation LanguageATL is a model transformation language and toolkit developed and maintained by OBEO and AtlanMod. It was initiated by the team...
- VIATRAVIATRAThe VIATRA framework is the core of a transformation-based verification and validation environment for improving the quality of systems designed using the Unified Modeling Language by automatically checking consistency, completeness, and dependability requirements.- Target Application Domains...
- XMI
- OCLOCLThe initialism OCL can have several meanings, depending on context:*OCl−, the hypochlorite ion, in chemistry*Object Constraint Language*Ocean Climate Laboratory *Ocean County Library*Old Colony League, a high school sports league in Massachusetts...
- MTLModel Transformation LanguageA model transformation language in systems and software engineering is a language for model transformation.- Overview :The notion of model transformation is of central importance to information technology. A software system may be seen as a set of information transformations...
- MOFMeta-Object FacilityThe Meta-Object Facility is an Object Management Group standard for model-driven engineering. The official reference page may be found at OMG's website.- Overview :...
- QVTQVTQVT is a standard set of languages for model transformation defined by the Object Management Group .- Overview :...
Further reading
- John Poole, Dan Chang, Douglas Tolbert, and David Mellor (2002). The Common Warehouse Metamodel: An Introduction to the standard for Data Warehouse Integration. OMG Press (John Wiley & Sons), 2002 ISBN 0-471-20052-2
- John Poole, Dan Chang, Douglas Tolbert, and David Mellor (2003). Common Warehouse Metamodel Developer's Guide. OMG Press (John Wiley & Sons), 2003 ISBN 978-0471202431