Packaging Elements in GRS

Issue raised by: Mills Stuart Tue, 6 Aug 1996 16:20:59 EST

GRS-1 record syntax appears to require the application of tags on each element of the returned data. For repetitive data (eg. CIP collections) this may be a significant overhead. Is it possible to have the server to package-up repetitive elements?

The server may package-up known repetitive elements upon client request. The capability for the server to do so unilaterally is more difficult and is not addressed here.

If the client knows the tag path subordinate to which there are multiple elements that it wants packaged, it may use the 'compositeElement' feature of eSpec, specifying a delivery tag so it can recognize the composite element on delivery, and specifying a variant request including a mime type of a format used to package the elements.

The client could request all subordinate elements (not necessarily immediately subordinate) of a particular type using wildPath, or the first N elements (or all elements at this level) regardless of type, using wildThing.