Search and retrieval Service
Description: This service gives access to the OICS resources by providing specific access methods for the different types of objects (learning outcome definitions, teaching methods, learning designs, assessment designs, assessment resources and learning opportunities). It also allows to retrieve metadata for objects and to resolve identifiers.
Business objects: collection, learning resource.
Notes: Filter expressions allow restricting the resource lists based on search criteria. Their syntax is dependent on the binding.
For the methods that return lists of objects, what information is returned is also implementation specific. One binding might return a complete metadata record for each object, another one may return only minimal information. The complete description should always be retrievable by calling getMetadata.
getLearningOpportunities
Description: This method returns a list of learning opportunities stored in the OICS.
Input parameters: filter_expression (optional); page number (optional).
Output: list of tuples (title and identifier).
getLearningOutcomes
Description: This method returns a list of definitions for learning outcomes stored in the OICS.
Input parameters: filter_expression (optional); page number (optional).
Output: list of tuples (title and identifier).
getTeachingMethods
Description: This method returns a complete list of all teaching methods and assessment methods stored in the OICS.
Input parameters: filter_expression (optional); page number (optional).
Output: list of tuples (title and identifier).
getLearningDesigns
Description: This method returns a complete list of all learning designs stored in the OICS.
Input parameters: filter_expression (optional); page number (optional).
Output: list of tuples (title and identifier).
getLearningContent
Description: This method returns a complete list of all learning content stored in the OICS.
Input parameters: filter_expression (optional); page number (optional).
Output: list of tuples (title and identifier).
getAssessmentMethods
Description: This method returns a complete list of all assessment methods stored in the OICS.
Input parameters: filter_expression (optional); page number (optional).
Output: list of tuples (title and identifier).
getAssessmentDesigns
Description: This method returns a complete list of all assessment designs stored in the OICS.
Input parameters: filter_expression (optional); page number (optional).
Output: list of tuples (title and identifier).
getAssessmentResources
Description: This method returns a complete list of all assessment resources stored in the OICS.
Input parameters: filter_expression (optional); page number (optional).
Output: list of tuples (title and identifier).
getObject
Description: This method returns the binary stream for the object. If the object is not stored on the OICS, but only a metadata record is available, the behaviour of this method is currently undefined.
Input parameters: object identifier
Output: binary stream
getMetadata
Description: This method returns the metadata record for an object stored in the OICS. This method returns the "default", "objective" metadata record for an object. If multiple metadata records for an object are stored in the OICS, an optional metadata identifier can be provided as input argument.
Input parameters: object identifier; metadata identifier (optional).
Output: string.
resolveIdentifier
Description: This method gives access to different representations of an object, based on the ICOPER identifier.
Input parameters: identifier: from the ICOPER catalog; type: allows to define the type of representation the client is interested in (implementation specific); query: for some types of resolution a query can qualify the information the client is interested in for example define a subset of metadata for "atom" or the packaging format for "download".
Output: Normally redirects the client to the URI for retrieving the requested representation of the object. If type equals "uri" the services returns the string value of the object's URI.