Ok, how would you describe the core architecture of your current project? Inspired by Ralf’s idea, I really thought about the WebComposition/DGS architecture. What are the e core concepts and the key ideas of it? If everything has to fit on a napkin, you really have to restrict yourself in drawing different components. The interactive NapkinNotebook thus cam in very handy. Let’s look at the first try of the architecture sketch?

What are the core components we find in the WebComposition/DGS? Well, there is the Data Grid Service (DGS) as central entity? What else? Some storage solution for data and some other storage solution for metadata. Ok, here we have to think the first time? Two of them? Definitely yes. Metadata might be saved a completely different way than the data itself. You don’t think so? Let’s see, think about our images as digital photos and the metadata created from the EXIF data extracted from the imaged. The EXIF data is stored as RDF in some triple store, the images are stored on the file system. Consequently, we need two storage solutions.

OK, next component on the diagram: Users; do the interact directly with the DGS? No, usually the use a Web-based application. The user also might be another application or a service – but that’s no information to be on this sketch. The important thing is: there is usually only interaction through some other component – usually a Web-based application.
After some feedback from Ralf, I’ve updated my sketch using another software cell for the Web application. Makes much more sense though, what do you think?