Data tables

Each of the topics that cover data feed formats contains detailed tables that describe each data attribute. The following columns appear in the data feed attribute tables:

  • XML Construction the XML hierarchy that defines each piece of data.
  • Description and Data Type the definition of the data and the formatting. Beginning with Blackboard Learn (Release 7.0) certain elements accept Multi-byte characters. These are noted in the tables below.

IMS standard

XML files processed by Snapshot conform to the IMS standard. Additional data, specific only to Blackboard Learn, is handled by extending the IMS standard with the element <EXTENSION>. Blackboard supports both the IMS 1.0.92 and the more recent IMS 1.1 standard.

To learn more about the IMS Standard, see http://www.imsglobal.org.

Create an XML file for Snapshot

Begin the XML file with the <ENTERPRISE> element. It is possible to include different data types, such as Course data, user data, and category membership data in the same XML file.

Begin by encapsulating each item with one of the following sets of tags:

  • User: <PERSON></PERSON>
  • Secondary Role Student: <PORTAL_ROLE_MEMBERSHIP></PORTAL_ROLE_MEMBERSHIP>
  • Course or Organization: <GROUP></GROUP>
  • Course Membership or Organization Membership: <MEMBERSHIP></MEMBERSHIP>
  • Course Category or Organization Category: <CATEGORY>
  • Course Category Membership or Organization Category Membership: <CATEGORY_MEMBERSHIP></CATEGORY_MEMBERSHIP>