Business Glossary

This plugin pulls business glossary metadata from a yaml-formatted file. An example of one such file is located in the examples directory here.

CLI based Ingestion

Install the Plugin

pip install 'acryl-datahub[datahub-business-glossary]'

Starter Recipe

Check out the following recipe to get started with ingestion! See below for full configuration options.

For general pointers on writing and running a recipe, see our main recipe guide.

source:
  type: datahub-business-glossary
  config:
    # Coordinates
    file: /path/to/business_glossary_yaml
    enable_auto_id: true # recommended to set to true so datahub will auto-generate guids from your term names

# sink configs if needed

Config Details

Options
Schema

Note that a . is used to denote nested fields in the YAML recipe.

Field	Description
file ✅ One of string, string(path)	File path or URL to business glossary file to ingest.
enable_auto_id boolean	Generate guid urns instead of a plaintext path urn with the node/term's hierarchy. Default: False

The JSONSchema for this configuration is inlined below.

{
  "title": "BusinessGlossarySourceConfig",
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "file": {
      "title": "File",
      "description": "File path or URL to business glossary file to ingest.",
      "anyOf": [
        {
          "type": "string"
        },
        {
          "type": "string",
          "format": "path"
        }
      ]
    },
    "enable_auto_id": {
      "title": "Enable Auto Id",
      "description": "Generate guid urns instead of a plaintext path urn with the node/term's hierarchy.",
      "default": false,
      "type": "boolean"
    }
  },
  "required": [
    "file"
  ],
  "additionalProperties": false
}

Business Glossary File Format

The business glossary source file should be a .yml file with the following top-level keys:

Glossary: the top level keys of the business glossary file

Example Glossary:

version: 1                                              # the version of business glossary file config the config conforms to. Currently the only version released is `1`.
source: DataHub                                         # the source format of the terms. Currently only supports `DataHub`
owners:                                                 # owners contains two nested fields
  users:                                                # (optional) a list of user IDs
    - njones
  groups:                                               # (optional) a list of group IDs
    - logistics
url: "https://github.com/datahub-project/datahub/"      # (optional) external url pointing to where the glossary is defined externally, if applicable
nodes:                                                  # list of child **GlossaryNode** objects. See **GlossaryNode** section below
    ...

GlossaryNode: a container of GlossaryNode and GlossaryTerm objects

Example GlossaryNode:

- name: Shipping                                                # name of the node
  description: Provides terms related to the shipping domain    # description of the node
  owners:                                                       # (optional) owners contains 2 nested fields
    users:                                                      # (optional) a list of user IDs
      - njones
    groups:                                                     # (optional) a  list of group IDs
      - logistics
  nodes:                                                        # list of child **GlossaryNode** objects
    ...
  knowledge_links:                                              # (optional) list of **KnowledgeCard** objects
    - label: Wiki link for shipping
      url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freight_transport"

GlossaryTerm: a term in your business glossary

Example GlossaryTerm:

- name: FullAddress                                                          # name of the term
  description: A collection of information to give the location of a building or plot of land.    # description of the term
  owners:                                                                   # (optional) owners contains 2 nested fields
    users:                                                                  # (optional) a list of user IDs
      - njones
    groups:                                                                 # (optional) a  list of group IDs
      - logistics
  term_source: "EXTERNAL"                                                   # one of `EXTERNAL` or `INTERNAL`. Whether the term is coming from an external glossary or one defined in your organization.
  source_ref: FIBO                                                          # (optional) if external, what is the name of the source the glossary term is coming from?
  source_url: "https://www.google.com"                                      # (optional) if external, what is the url of the source definition?
  inherits:                                                                 # (optional) list of **GlossaryTerm** that this term inherits from
    -  Privacy.PII
  contains:                                                                 # (optional) a list of **GlossaryTerm** that this term contains
    - Shipping.ZipCode
    - Shipping.CountryCode
    - Shipping.StreetAddress
  custom_properties:                                                        # (optional) a map of key/value pairs of arbitrary custom properties
    - is_used_for_compliance_tracking: true
  knowledge_links:                                                          # (optional) a list of **KnowledgeCard** related to this term. These appear as links on the glossary node's page
    - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Address"
      label: Wiki link
  domain: "urn:li:domain:Logistics"                                            # (optional) domain name or domain urn

To see how these all work together, check out this comprehensive example business glossary file below:

Example business glossary file

version: 1
source: DataHub
owners:
  users:
    - mjames
url: "https://github.com/datahub-project/datahub/"
nodes:
  - name: Classification
    description: A set of terms related to Data Classification
    knowledge_links:
      - label: Wiki link for classification
        url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classification"
    terms:
      - name: Sensitive
        description: Sensitive Data
        custom_properties:
          is_confidential: false
      - name: Confidential
        description: Confidential Data
        custom_properties:
          is_confidential: true
      - name: HighlyConfidential
        description: Highly Confidential Data
        custom_properties:
          is_confidential: true
        domain: Marketing
  - name: PersonalInformation
    description: All terms related to personal information
    owners:
      users:
        - mjames
    terms:
      - name: Email
        ## An example of using an id to pin a term to a specific guid
        ## See "how to generate custom IDs for your terms" section below
        # id: "urn:li:glossaryTerm:41516e310acbfd9076fffc2c98d2d1a3"
        description: An individual's email address
        inherits:
          - Classification.Confidential
        owners:
          groups:
            - Trust and Safety
      - name: Address
        description: A physical address
      - name: Gender
        description: The gender identity of the individual
        inherits:
          - Classification.Sensitive
  - name: Shipping
    description: Provides terms related to the shipping domain
    owners:
      users:
        - njones
      groups:
        - logistics
    terms:
      - name: FullAddress
        description: A collection of information to give the location of a building or plot of land.
        owners:
          users:
            - njones
          groups:
            - logistics
        term_source: "EXTERNAL"
        source_ref: FIBO
        source_url: "https://www.google.com"
        inherits:
          - Privacy.PII
        contains:
          - Shipping.ZipCode
          - Shipping.CountryCode
          - Shipping.StreetAddress
        related_terms:
          - Housing.Kitchen.Cutlery
        custom_properties:
          - is_used_for_compliance_tracking: true
        knowledge_links:
          - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Address"
            label: Wiki link
        domain: "urn:li:domain:Logistics"
    knowledge_links:
      - label: Wiki link for shipping
        url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freight_transport"
  - name: ClientsAndAccounts
    description: Provides basic concepts such as account, account holder, account provider, relationship manager that are commonly used by financial services providers to describe customers and to determine counterparty identities
    owners:
      groups:
        - finance
    terms:
      - name: Account
        description: Container for records associated with a business arrangement for regular transactions and services
        term_source: "EXTERNAL"
        source_ref: FIBO
        source_url: "https://spec.edmcouncil.org/fibo/ontology/FBC/ProductsAndServices/ClientsAndAccounts/Account"
        inherits:
          - Classification.HighlyConfidential
        contains:
          - ClientsAndAccounts.Balance
      - name: Balance
        description: Amount of money available or owed
        term_source: "EXTERNAL"
        source_ref: FIBO
        source_url: "https://spec.edmcouncil.org/fibo/ontology/FBC/ProductsAndServices/ClientsAndAccounts/Balance"
  - name: Housing
    description: Provides terms related to the housing domain
    owners:
      users:
        - mjames
      groups:
        - interior
    nodes:
      - name: Colors
        description: "Colors that are used in Housing construction"
        terms:
          - name: Red
            description: "red color"
            term_source: "EXTERNAL"
            source_ref: FIBO
            source_url: "https://spec.edmcouncil.org/fibo/ontology/FBC/ProductsAndServices/ClientsAndAccounts/Account"

          - name: Green
            description: "green color"
            term_source: "EXTERNAL"
            source_ref: FIBO
            source_url: "https://spec.edmcouncil.org/fibo/ontology/FBC/ProductsAndServices/ClientsAndAccounts/Account"

          - name: Pink
            description: pink color
            term_source: "EXTERNAL"
            source_ref: FIBO
            source_url: "https://spec.edmcouncil.org/fibo/ontology/FBC/ProductsAndServices/ClientsAndAccounts/Account"
    terms:
      - name: WindowColor
        description: Supported window colors
        term_source: "EXTERNAL"
        source_ref: FIBO
        source_url: "https://spec.edmcouncil.org/fibo/ontology/FBC/ProductsAndServices/ClientsAndAccounts/Account"
        values:
          - Housing.Colors.Red
          - Housing.Colors.Pink

      - name: Kitchen
        description: a room or area where food is prepared and cooked.
        term_source: "EXTERNAL"
        source_ref: FIBO
        source_url: "https://spec.edmcouncil.org/fibo/ontology/FBC/ProductsAndServices/ClientsAndAccounts/Account"

      - name: Spoon
        description: an implement consisting of a small, shallow oval or round bowl on a long handle, used for eating, stirring, and serving food.
        term_source: "EXTERNAL"
        source_ref: FIBO
        source_url: "https://spec.edmcouncil.org/fibo/ontology/FBC/ProductsAndServices/ClientsAndAccounts/Account"
        related_terms:
          - Housing.Kitchen
        knowledge_links:
          - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoon"
            label: Wiki link

Source file linked here.

Generating custom IDs for your terms

IDs are normally inferred from the glossary term/node's name, see the enable_auto_id config. But, if you need a stable identifier, you can generate a custom ID for your term. It should be unique across the entire Glossary.

Here's an example ID: id: "urn:li:glossaryTerm:41516e310acbfd9076fffc2c98d2d1a3"

A note of caution: once you select a custom ID, it cannot be easily changed.

Compatibility

Compatible with version 1 of business glossary format. The source will be evolved as we publish newer versions of this format.

Code Coordinates

Class Name: datahub.ingestion.source.metadata.business_glossary.BusinessGlossaryFileSource
Browse on GitHub

Questions

If you've got any questions on configuring ingestion for Business Glossary, feel free to ping us on our Slack.

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Business Glossary

CLI based Ingestion​

Install the Plugin​

Starter Recipe​

Config Details​

Business Glossary File Format​

Generating custom IDs for your terms​

Compatibility​

Code Coordinates​