Federated management of content repositories

A method for integrating a plurality of content repositories into a virtual content repository (VCR), comprising:

• authorizing each one of said plurality of content repositories;
• incorporating each one of said plurality of content repositories into a hierarchical namespace;
• extending a content model to include content from each one of said plurality of content repositories;
• and
• wherein each one of said plurality of content repositories exposes a first set of services to enable its integration into the VCR.

A method of organizing content stored in a plurality of content repositories into a virtual content repository (VCR) namespace wherein said content is represented by at least one node, said method comprising:

• providing a first identifier that uniquely identifies said at least one node within one of said plurality of content repositories;
• providing a second identifier that uniquely identifies said at least one node within said namespace;
• wherein the namespace is hierarchical and spans said plurality of content repositories;
• and
• wherein each one of said plurality of content repositories exposes a set of services to enable its integration into a virtual content repository (VCR).

A system comprising:

• means for authorizing each one of said plurality of content repositories;
• means for incorporating each one of said plurality of content repositories into a hierarchical namespace;
• means for extending a content model to include content from each one of said plurality of content repositories;
• and
• wherein each one of said plurality of content repositories exposes a first set of services to enable its integration into the VCR.

A machine readable medium having instructions stored thereon that when executed by a processor cause a system to:

• authorize each one of said plurality of content repositories;
• incorporate each one of said plurality of content repositories into a hierarchical namespace;
• extend a content model to include content from each one of said plurality of content repositories;
• and
• wherein each one of said plurality of content repositories exposes a first set of services to enable its integration into the VCR.

A computer data signal embodied in a transmission medium, comprising:

• a code segment including instructions to authorize each one of said plurality of content repositories;
• a code segment including instructions to incorporate each one of said plurality of content repositories into a hierarchical namespace;
• a code segment including instructions to extend a content model to include content from each one of said plurality of content repositories;
• and
• wherein each one of said plurality of content repositories exposes a first set of services to enable its integration into the VCR.