A content repository is a store of digital content with an associated set of data management, search and access methods allowing application-independent access to the content, rather like a digital library, but with the ability to store and modify content in addition to searching and retrieving. A content repository thus typically forms the technical underpinning of a content application, like a Content Management System

Content management system

A content management system is a system providing a collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based...

 or a Document Management System

Document management system

A document management system is a computer system used to track and store electronic documents and/or images of paper documents. It is usually also capable of keeping track of the different versions created by different users . The term has some overlap with the concepts of content management...

.
It functions as the logical storage facility for content.

Content repository features

A content repository exposes amongst other the following facilities:

• Read/write of content
• Hierarchy and sort order management
• Query / search
• Versioning
• Access control
• Import / export
• Locking
• Life-cycle management
• Retention and hold / records management

Commonly known Content Applications / Content Management Systems

• Content Management System
  Content management system
  A content management system is a system providing a collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based...
  
  
• Digital Asset Management
  Digital asset management
  Digital asset management consists of management tasks and decisions surrounding the ingestion, annotation, cataloguing, storage, retrieval and distribution of digital assets...
  
  
• Source Code Management
• Web Content Management System
  Web content management system
  A web content management system is a software system that provides website authoring, collaboration, and administration tools designed to allow users with little knowledge of web programming languages or markup languages to create and manage website content with relative ease...
  
  
• Document Management System
  Document management system
  A document management system is a computer system used to track and store electronic documents and/or images of paper documents. It is usually also capable of keeping track of the different versions created by different users . The term has some overlap with the concepts of content management...
  
  
• Social collaboration
  Social collaboration
  Social collaboration refers to processes that help multiple people interact, share information to achieve any common goal. Such processes find their 'natural' environment on the internet, where collaboration and social dissemination of information are made easier by current innovations.Sharing...
  
  
• Records Management
  Records Management
  Records management, or RM, is the practice of maintaining the records of an organization from the time they are created up to their eventual disposal...
  
  

Content repository or related standards and specification

• Content repository API for Java
  Content repository API for Java
  Content Repository API for Java is a specification for a Java platform application programming interface to access content repositories in a uniform manner. The content repositories are used in content management systems to keep the content data and also the metadata used in content management...
  
  
• WebDAV
  WebDAV
  Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning is a set of methods based on the Hypertext Transfer Protocol that facilitates collaboration between users in editing and managing documents and files stored on World Wide Web servers...
  
  
• Content Management Interoperability Services
  Content Management Interoperability Services
  Content Management Interoperability Services is a specification for improving interoperability between Enterprise Content Management systems. OASIS, a web standards consortium, approved CMIS as an OASIS Specification on May 1, 2010....