The OpenAPI architecture is designed to help people connect with data. The architecture specifies an XML schema for wrapping pieces of data analysis code in modules, and combining modules in pipelines. The architecture also specifies the requirements of OpenAPI glue systems—software which can interpret and execute modules and pipelines (Introducing OpenAPI). In this report we describe the changes to the OpenAPI architecture implemented in version 0.5.
Version 0.3 of OpenAPI introduced a host attribute to the module specification as a method for guaranteeing that module source script requirements would be met (OpenAPI version 0.3). This report describes how the module host attribute has been replaced with host elements in version 0.5. This implementation permits more control over the host types supported. This report describes how vagrant and docker hosts are supported in version 0.5. Version 0.5 of OpenAPI also introduces a persistent result format for saving and sharing the results of executing modules and pipelines.
Ashley Noel Hinton and Paul Murrell
