Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
of AIPs. Storing AIPs locally or sending them to remote storage is done using the
PDS Demo Web Client by IBM. Other clients may also be implemented for this
purpose.
17.10.3.1 XFDU Manifest Editor
Packaging an AIP requires tremendous care, as errors made in the present are diffi-
cult to detect and correct in the distant future. XFDU manifests, which are extremely
detailed and rely heavily on identifiers, are quite prone to errors. This is where
the XFDU Manifest Editor (XME) yields an enormous benefit. Developed by the
PDS team at IBM, XME - formerly known as XFDU AIP Generator [
207
]-isan
easy-to-use graphical tool for viewing, creating and editing XFDU manifest files
(Fig.
17.28
). Most graphical XML editors find errors only after they have been
made; XME prevents the user from making them in the first place, by limiting one to
enter valid values only. For example, XME will decline non-numeral values entered
for the
size
attribute, used for recording the content data object's size in bytes; or,
upon editing the metadataObject attribute
classification
, will present a drop-down
menu listing only the possible values.
By removing irrelevant options, XME reduces the potential for confusion and
facilitates the creation of XFDU manifests, thus significantly reducing errors.
Fig. 17.28
XFDU manifest editor screen capture
