Definition
Metadata is structured information that describes the characteristics, context, or management attributes of an Object. Metadata supplements an Object but does not define its identity or operational state. Metadata may evolve throughout the lifecycle of an Object.
Purpose
This document defines Metadata within the OCOM Specification.
Metadata provides descriptive information about an Object without altering its identity, behavior, or business meaning.
Metadata supports discovery, governance, interoperability, traceability, and operational management.
Business meaning
Metadata enables organizations to understand, organize, discover, and govern Objects consistently across operational environments.
Metadata improves interoperability by providing common descriptive attributes independent of implementation technologies.
Design principles
Every Metadata shall:
- be descriptive
- be structured
- be extensible
- support interoperability
- support governance
- remain technology independent
Core characteristics
- identity attributes
- descriptive attributes
- administrative attributes
- governance attributes
- operational attributes
- technical attributes
Relationship to other specifications
Metadata is used throughout the OCOM Specification, including:
ocom:Objectocom:Identityocom:Registryocom:Relationshipocom:Referenceocom:Lifecycleocom:Governanceocom:Evaluation
All managed Objects may possess Metadata.
Compared with
- OCOM vs Digital Twin — Partial
- OCOM vs Knowledge Graph — Similar
Independence — does not prescribe
- metadata schemas
- storage mechanisms
- serialization formats
- implementation technologies
Conformance
A compliant implementation shall ensure that every managed Metadata:
- support structured Metadata
- preserve Metadata traceability
- support Metadata governance
- allow Metadata extension
- remain technology independent
Provenance
Governance records: —
| Version | Date | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | 20 July 2026 | Initial draft |