Where to Find Reference Implementations for Ossie Converters in Apache Ossie

The reference implementations for Ossie converters are located in the converters/ directory of the Apache Ossie repository, with each vendor maintaining a dedicated subfolder containing the bi-directional translation logic between the Ossie Semantic Interface (OSI) and vendor-specific formats.

The Apache Ossie project provides canonical converter implementations that translate between the Ossie Semantic Interface (OSI) and various vendor-specific modeling languages. These reference implementations for Ossie converters follow a hub-and-spoke architecture centered in the converters/ directory, enabling consistent bi-directional mapping between OSI and formats like OrionBelt Markup Language (OBML), Snowflake YAML, and dbt models.

Directory Structure and Architecture

The converters/ directory serves as the root for all translation logic in the apache/ossie repository. Each supported vendor maintains an isolated subfolder containing Python modules that handle the bi-directional transformation between OSI and the vendor's native format.

The architecture follows a facade pattern where ossie_orionbelt.converter acts as the main entry point, re-exporting concrete converter classes from sibling modules. This design ensures that existing imports (such as ossie_orionbelt.converter.OSItoOBML) remain stable while allowing vendor-specific implementations to evolve independently.

Core Converter Components

The Main Facade

The primary interface for all converters resides in converters/orionbelt/src/ossie_orionbelt/converter.py. This module functions as a public façade, re-exporting symbols from concrete implementation files to maintain backward compatibility for downstream consumers.

Rather than importing directly from vendor-specific submodules, applications should import from this façade:

from ossie_orionbelt.converter import OSItoOBML, OBMLtoOSI

Export Converters (OSI → Vendor)

Export converters transform OSI representations into vendor-specific formats. Each vendor implements this logic in dedicated modules:

• OrionBelt: converters/orionbelt/src/ossie_orionbelt/osi_to_obml.py contains the OSItoOBML class
• Snowflake: converters/snowflake/src/osi_to_snowflake_yaml_converter.py implements osi_to_snowflake_yaml_converter
• dbt: converters/dbt/src/ossie_dbt/osi_to_msi.py provides the osi_to_msi functionality
• Omni: converters/omni/src/osi_omni/osi_to_omni.py handles OSI-to-Omni translation
• GoodData: converters/gooddata/src/ossie_gooddata/osi_to_gooddata.py contains the osi_to_gooddata implementation
• Honeydew: converters/honeydew/src/honeydew_osi_converter.py provides the honeydew_osi_converter class

Import Converters (Vendor → OSI)

Import converters perform the reverse translation, ingesting vendor formats and producing canonical OSI models:

• OrionBelt: converters/orionbelt/src/ossie_orionbelt/obml_to_osi.py implements the OBMLtoOSI class
• dbt: msi_to_osi handles dbt model imports (located alongside export logic)
• Omni: omni_to_osi provides bi-directional support
• GoodData: gooddata_to_osi enables GoodData-to-OSI translation

Note that Snowflake and Honeydew currently provide export-only implementations without corresponding import converters.

Shared Utilities and Validation

All converters leverage common infrastructure located in the OrionBelt converter package:

• converters/orionbelt/src/ossie_orionbelt/_common.py houses shared constants, regex patterns, and vendor mapping tables used across all implementations
• converters/orionbelt/src/ossie_orionbelt/validation.py provides JSON-Schema validation for both OSI and OBML payloads, ensuring structural integrity before and after conversion

Vendor-Specific Implementation Paths

The following breakdown maps each supported vendor to their specific implementation files within the converters/ directory:

OrionBelt (Reference Implementation)

• Export: OSItoOBML class in converters/orionbelt/src/ossie_orionbelt/osi_to_obml.py
• Import: OBMLtoOSI class in converters/orionbelt/src/ossie_orionbelt/obml_to_osi.py
• Ontology: converters/orionbelt/src/ossie_orionbelt/ontology.py manages OBML-to-OSI ontology mappings

Snowflake

• Export only: osi_to_snowflake_yaml_converter in converters/snowflake/src/osi_to_snowflake_yaml_converter.py

dbt

• Export: osi_to_msi in converters/dbt/src/ossie_dbt/osi_to_msi.py
• Import: msi_to_osi (bi-directional support)

Omni

• Export: osi_to_omni in converters/omni/src/osi_omni/osi_to_omni.py
• Import: omni_to_osi (bi-directional support)

GoodData

• Export: osi_to_gooddata in converters/gooddata/src/ossie_gooddata/osi_to_gooddata.py
• Import: gooddata_to_osi (bi-directional support)

Honeydew

• Export only: honeydew_osi_converter in converters/honeydew/src/honeydew_osi_converter.py

Working with Reference Implementations

Command-Line Usage

The OrionBelt converter supports direct execution via Python's module interface:

python -m ossie_orionbelt.converter osi2obml model.yaml -o obml.yaml

This command executes the OSI-to-OBML conversion and writes the resulting OrionBelt markup to obml.yaml.

Python API Integration

Import and instantiate converters directly for programmatic access:

from ossie_orionbelt.converter import OSItoOBML, OBMLtoOSI
import yaml

# OSI → OBML conversion

with open("model.yaml") as f:
    osi_data = yaml.safe_load(f)
converter = OSItoOBML(osi_data, database="ANALYTICS", schema="PUBLIC")
obml = converter.convert()

# OBML → OSI conversion

converter = OBMLtoOSI(obml, name="my_model", description="Demo model")
osi = converter.convert()

Extending the Converter Framework

To add a new vendor implementation, create a Python class following the established converter interface:

# converters/myvendor/src/myvendor_converter.py

class OSItoMyVendor:
    def __init__(self, osi, **opts):
        self.osi = osi
        self.opts = opts
        self.warnings = []

    def convert(self):
        # Map OSI constructs to MyVendor format

        return my_vendor_representation

Expose the class via converters/myvendor/src/__init__.py and add corresponding test suites under converters/myvendor/tests/. Follow the validation patterns in converters/orionbelt/src/ossie_orionbelt/validation.py to ensure schema compliance.

Summary

• The reference implementations for Ossie converters reside in the converters/ directory at the root of the apache/ossie repository
• OrionBelt provides the canonical implementation and shared infrastructure, including validation utilities in converters/orionbelt/src/ossie_orionbelt/validation.py
• Each vendor maintains isolated subfolders (e.g., converters/snowflake/, converters/dbt/) containing specific export and import logic
• The facade module at converters/orionbelt/src/ossie_orionbelt/converter.py serves as the stable public API for all converter operations
• Bi-directional support varies by vendor: OrionBelt, dbt, Omni, and GoodData support full round-trip conversion, while Snowflake and Honeydew currently offer export-only capabilities

Frequently Asked Questions

Where exactly are the Ossie converter reference implementations located?

The reference implementations are located in the converters/ directory within the apache/ossie GitHub repository. Each vendor has a dedicated subfolder (such as converters/orionbelt/, converters/snowflake/, or converters/dbt/) containing the Python source files that handle translation between OSI and vendor-specific formats.

What is the main entry point for accessing OrionBelt converters?

The primary entry point is converters/orionbelt/src/ossie_orionbelt/converter.py, which functions as a façade that re-exports concrete converter classes like OSItoOBML and OBMLtoOSI. This module ensures backward compatibility while abstracting the underlying implementation details found in osi_to_obml.py and obml_to_osi.py.

How does Apache Ossie handle validation in the converter pipeline?

Validation logic resides in converters/orionbelt/src/ossie_orionbelt/validation.py, which provides JSON-Schema validation for both OSI and OBML payloads. This ensures that all data passing through the converters conforms to the expected semantic structure before and after transformation, preventing malformed models from propagating through the pipeline.

Which vendors support bi-directional conversion in the Ossie converter framework?

OrionBelt, dbt, Omni, and GoodData support bi-directional conversion, providing both export (OSI → Vendor) and import (Vendor → OSI) capabilities. Snowflake and Honeydew currently provide export-only implementations, allowing OSI models to be converted to their formats but not vice versa.

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