Registering Object Formats
==========================
While DataONE recognizes many of the common object formats, it is entirely 
expected that other ones will need to be registered in the future.  Object
formats are categorized into 3 types: *DATA*, *METADATA*, and *RESOURCE*, representing
data objects, metadata objects, and resource maps, respectively.  DataONE is
responsible for maintaining the extent and categorization of all individual object
formats.

All format identifiers are registered in each Coordinating Node environment via a manual process by CN operators.  See the following document for the technical details:

* :doc:`manually_adding_object_formats`

  DataONE is primarily concerned with the proper scoping and MIME type associations
  of new object formats that represent data objects. Registration is a 
  straightforward process that requires little testing.  Once formats are registered into the object format list, additional work may have to occur for further processing of metadata formats.  See below.

* :doc:`metadata_format_deployment`

  In addition to the concerns of data format registration, DataONE Coordinating 
  Nodes must parse metadata objects in order to add their information to the 
  search index, and so the format needs to be tested, and parsers built and 
  deployed before it can be considered fully registered.

* RESOURCE format registration

  Currently, DataONE only reads one type of object format for recording data package
  relationships (http://www.openarchives.org/ore/terms).  New formats also require
  development, testing and deployment of parsers before they can be considered
  fully registered.