Difference between Asset attributes and Category schema.

Hi Aruna,

They're pretty much the same in one thing. They are used to 'find' a required asset. The difference then? It's the way you find that is different with each one. Let me break down.

How to find an asset using it's attributes?

A: In RAM, attributes are the data that users include when they submit an asset to the repository. When you submit an asset you must enter some data which are attributes. They are of three types: Required, Optional, Custom.

Required attributes are Name, Version, Community, Type, Short description.

Optional attributes are Tags, Creation time, usage time, Description.

Custom attributes are created by Administrators that can then be added to asset types.

So u can find an asset by entering either of the above attributes.

How to find an asset using Category Schema?

A: This is confusing. So, I'll start with an example. A company creates a category schema called 'Software' for reuse across many software asset types. The schema has fields for 'Platform', 'Languages' and 'has Official documentation (Boolean)'.

Now those field are nothing but Categories which may or may not have subcategories. So, you can find an asset using a Category Scheme and filter your results based on categories.

A: Note than this is used for more than just searching an asset. With categories, you can organize an group assets that have different asset types. Community roles can be assigned to assets WITH specific categories. And more, which you may not understand at this point of time.

Hope this helps you.