Content Management Interoperability Services (CMIS) is an

open standard An open standard is a standard that is openly accessible and usable by anyone. It is also a prerequisite to use open license, non-discrimination and extensibility. Typically, anybody can participate in the development. There is no single definition ...

that allows different content management systems to inter-operate over the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

. Specifically, CMIS defines an

abstraction layer In computing, an abstraction layer or abstraction level is a way of hiding the working details of a subsystem. Examples of software models that use layers of abstraction include the OSI model for network protocols, OpenGL, and other graphics librar ...

for controlling diverse document management systems and repositories using web

protocols Protocol may refer to: Sociology and politics * Protocol (politics), a formal agreement between nation states * Protocol (diplomacy), the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state * Etiquette, a code of personal behavior Science and technology ...

Concept

CMIS defines a

domain model In software engineering, a domain model is a conceptual model of the domain that incorporates both behavior and data.Fowler, Martin. ''Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture''. Addison Wesley, 2003, p. 116. In ontology engineering, a dom ...

plus bindings that can be used by applications to manipulate content stored in a repository. CMIS provides a

common data model A common data model (CDM) can refer to any standardised data model which allows for data and information exchange between different applications and data sources. Common data models aim to standardise logical infrastructure so that related applic ...

covering typed files and folders with generic properties that can be set or read. There is a set of services for adding and retrieving documents ('objects'). There may be an access control system, a checkout and version control facility, and the ability to define generic relations. Three protocol bindings are defined, one using

WSDL The Web Services Description Language (WSDL ) is an XML-based interface description language that is used for describing the functionality offered by a web service. The acronym is also used for any specific WSDL description of a web service (also ...

and

SOAP Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are used ...

, another using AtomPub, and a last browser-friendly one using

JSON JSON (JavaScript Object Notation, pronounced ; also ) is an open standard file format and data interchange format that uses human-readable text to store and transmit data objects consisting of attribute–value pairs and arrays (or other se ...

. The model is based on common architectures of document management systems. The CMIS specification provides an API that is programming language-agnostic, as

REST Rest or REST may refer to: Relief from activity * Sleep ** Bed rest * Kneeling * Lying (position) * Sitting * Squatting position Structural support * Structural support ** Rest (cue sports) ** Armrest ** Headrest ** Footrest Arts and entert ...

and

are implemented in many languages.

Reasoning

Many of the original contributors to the specification believed a simplified and standardized way to access unstructured content across all vendors would increase the adoption of ECM products, but only if the standard could remain compatible with existing deployed systems, much the way that ODBC

Open Database Connectivity In computing, Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is a standard application programming interface (API) for accessing database management systems (DBMS). The designers of ODBC aimed to make it independent of database systems and operating systems. An ...

did for the relational database market in the 1990s.

History

The initial work of developing the momentum and use cases that led to the CMIS proposal was conducted by the iECM Initiative sponsored by AIIM. This ongoing project to foster interoperability among ECM systems is supported by the collaborative efforts of governmental, commercial, vendor, and consulting organizations. Although initiated by AIIM, CMIS is now administered by

OASIS In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

, a web standards consortium. Participants in the process include

Adobe Systems Incorporated Adobe Inc. ( ), originally called Adobe Systems Incorporated, is an American multinational computer software company incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in San Jose, California. It has historically specialized in software for the crea ...

, Alfresco, EMC, eXo, FatWire, HP, IBM,

ISIS Papyrus Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdo ...

Liferay Liferay, Inc., is an open-source company that provides free documentation and paid professional service to users of its software. Mainly focused on enterprise portal technology, the company has its headquarters in Diamond Bar, California, United ...

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washingt ...

Nuxeo Nuxeo is a software company making an open source content management system. Corporate history Nuxeo was founded in the year 2000 by Stefane Fermigier. Eric Barroca became the CEO and Director of the management Board in December 2008. Sometime ...

, OpenText,

Oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word ''o ...

, Newgen OmniDocs and

SAP Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...

. The standard is available for public comment at OASIS. OASIS approved CMIS as an OASIS Specification on May 1, 2010. CMIS 1.1 has been approved as an OASIS specification on December 12, 2012. The specification is currently approved as

CMIS v1.1 standard. There are public discussion lists. The Technical Committee (TC) includes the following organizations:

, AIIM, Alfresco Software, ASG Software Solutions,

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, Content Technologies,

dotCMS dotCMS is an open source content management system (CMS) written in Java for managing content and content driven sites and applications. Architecture * Java based * API Based Content Store * Hybrid CMS (API First CMS) * Provides " Content as a ...

, Ektron,

EMC Corporation Dell EMC (EMC Corporation until 2016) is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Hopkinton, Massachusetts and Round Rock, Texas, United States. Dell EMC sells data storage, information security, virtualization, analytics, cloud ...

, Entropysoft, Exalead, Inc., FatWire,

Fidelity Investments Fidelity Investments, commonly referred to as Fidelity, earlier as Fidelity Management & Research or FMR, is an American multinational financial services corporation based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was established in 1946 and is on ...

, GX Software, HP, IBM,

Microsoft Corporation Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washingt ...

Open Text Corporation OpenText Corporation (also written ''opentext'') is a Canadian company that develops and sells enterprise information management (EIM) software. OpenText, headquartered in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, is Canada's fourth-largest software compan ...

Oracle Corporation Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in Austin, Texas. In 2020, Oracle was the third-largest software company in the world by revenue and market capitalization. The company sells da ...

, Quark,

Pearson PLC Pearson plc is a British multinational publishing and education company headquartered in London, England. It was founded as a construction business in the 1840s but switched to publishing in the 1920s. Spender, J. A., ''Weetman Pearson: Fi ...

SAP AG Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...

Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Sun for short) was an American technology company that sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services and created the Java programming language, the Solaris operating system, ZFS, th ...

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and inter ...

, WeWebU Software AG and Zia Consulting. The TC was closed on May 9, 2017 and is no longer active.

Criticism

There is some discussion on the name of CMIS. Some blogs and authors say that it should be named "DMIS", with D for Document since it is more targeted on ECM. From the CMIS Specification 1.1, page:http://docs.oasis-open.org/cmis/CMIS/v1.1/cs01/CMIS-v1.1-cs01.pdf " ..this data model does not cover all the concepts that a full-function ECM repository ..transient entities (such as programming interface objects), administrative entities (such as user profiles), and extended concepts (such as compound or virtual document, work flow and business process, event and subscription) are not included."

List of implementations

CMIS Servers

A CMIS server stores content, and offers access via the CMIS protocol. Some servers also allow access via other protocols.

Capabilities

Each CMIS server declares a set of capabilities. For instance, servers that allow documents to be filed in different places declare the capability "Multifiling". This mechanism allows clients to interact differently with servers that support or don't support a particular operation. Some server products allow certain capabilities to be disabled or enabled by configuration. the table below lists maximum capabilities.

Server libraries

A CMIS server library allows developers to create CMIS server applications.

Client applications

A CMIS client application typically allows users to browse, read and modify content.

Books and publications

* ''Alfresco CMIS'', by Martin Bergljung, March 2014. ''Packt Publishing'' * ''OpenCMIS Server Development Guide 2nd Edition'', October 2014, at ''Github'

* ''CMIS and Apache Chemistry in Action'', July 2013, by Florian Müller, Jay Brown, and Jeff Potts. ''Manning Publications'', * ''Implementing a Case Management Modeling and Notation (CMMN) System using a Content Management Interoperability Services (CMIS) compliant repository'', by Mike A. Marin and Jay A. Brown, April 27, 2015, at ''arXiv.org'

References

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External links

CMIS 1.1 specification
Standards Content management systems XML-based standards Atom (Web standard)