IBM InfoSphere Master Data Management, Version 10.1

Attribute dictionary

In WebSphere® Commerce an attribute dictionary is a set of common attributes as well as attribute values. It is a feature used to manage a set of attributes and its values that can be reused by multiple WebSphere Commerce catalog entries. If an attribute is changed in the WebSphere Commerce attribute dictionary, all WebSphere Commerce catalog entries that share that attribute are updated.

The solution includes a global, shared attribute dictionary, a central place where attribute definitions are managed with restricted functionality. The attribute dictionary distinguishes the following types of attributes. Attribute dictionary hierarchy has two predefined categories which are Defined attributes and Descriptive attributes. Business users should not overwrite these categories. New defined attributes and descriptive attributes should be created under these categories:

Defining attributes: A single attribute with a fixed range of values. Defining attributes are properties of products and SKUs in an online store, such as color or size for clothing.
Descriptive attributes: A set of attributes with any combination of value types. Descriptive attributes are properties of products and SKUs in an online store, such as care instructions for clothing. You can add descriptive attributes to a product if you need to provide additional information to customers. For example, some pieces of clothing must be dry cleaned. A descriptive attribute can specify the dry clean only condition.

Catalog entries when associated with any particular category under this hierarchy will have these particular attributes associated with them.

Changes to attribute definitions are only allowed if they amplify (but not restrict) the specification. This is necessary so that the already existing items using the attribute remain with valid values. The attribute dictionary allows creating defining attributes and descriptive attributes (which are grouped according to the needs of modeling product-types, for example, a group of descriptive attributes for a product type “smart phone”).

The attribute dictionary is one of the secondary hierarchies for InfoSphere® MDM Collaboration Server catalog catalog entry repository. You can also add the reusable attributes through the secondary spec's associated with the category in the attribute dictionary hierarchy.

Attribute definitions that are not assigned to any entry are still exported to WebSphere Commerce with the rest of the catalog and schema.

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Last updated: 28 Feb 2014

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