What is Metadata?

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Metadata are data about (some other) data. Metadata describe the structure and meaning of this other data. Metadata control processes and processing steps of this other data. Other data means any kind of data, be it base data or metadata. This position paper discusses the concept of metadata and provides several examples.


Dirk Riehle. "What is Metadata?" Position Paper for OOPSLA '99 Workshop 21 on Metadata and Active Object Models.

The paper is available online.

Copyright (©) 2007 Dirk Riehle. Some rights reserved. (Creative Commons License BY-NC-SA.) Original Web Location: http://www.riehle.org