Pluggable Blob Storage APIs

The APIs listed on this page have the following attributes in common:

They each provide a means to read and write persistent files with unique ids.
They were designed with back-end pluggability in mind.
They are not concerned with directory/folder semantics.
They are not concerned with versioning semantics, but may allow files to be overwritten.

API	Language	Target Application	Known Implementations
AKU-API: Akubra BlobStore	Java	General-Purpose	AKU-FS: FSBlobStore S3 (Planned) Transactional Impl (Planned)
ALF-API: Alfresco ContentStore	Java	Alfresco CMS	ALF-FS: FileContentStore ALF-HTT: HttpAlfrescoStore ALF-REP: ReplicatingContentStore ALF-ROU: TenantRoutingFileContentStore
BIT-API: DSpace BitStore	Java	DSpace 2 (Unreleased)	BIT-FS: DSBitStore BIT-SRB: SRBBitStore BIT-S3: S3BitStore BIT-FED: FedoraBitStore BIT-HON: HoneycombBitStore
DJA-API: Django FileStorage	Python	General-Purpose	DJA-FS: DefaultStorage DJA-S3: S3
DSY-API: Daisy BlobStore	Java	Daisy CMS	DSY-FS: FSBlobStore
EBS-API: Windows Sharepoint EBS	COM	MS SQL Server	EBS-FS: Custom Implementation
JKR-API: JackRabbit BLOBStore	Java	Apache JackRabbit	JKR-DB: DbBlobStore JKR-FS: FileSystemBLOBStore
LLS-API: Fedora ILowLevelStorage	Java	Fedora Repository (2.x to 3.1)	LLS-FS: GenericFileSystem LLS-IRD: iRODS LLS-HON: Honeycomb LLS-S3: S3 LLS-SRB1: Fedora22Ext LLS-SRB2: DARTFedoraDB
OTM-API: Topaz OTM BlobStore	Java	Topaz OTM	OTM-FED: FedoraBlobStore OTM-FS: SimpleBlobStore
XAM-API: SNIA XAM API	Java / C	General-Purpose	XAM-CNT: EMC Centera XAM-IAP: HP IAP XAM-HON: Honeycomb

API/Impl	ID Type	ID Gen	Write?	Rewrite?	Read-Only MD	Writable MD	Listing Options	Transactions
AKU-API	URI	User or Store	Yes	Yes	Size	?	All By Prefix	Optional, JTA
AKU-FS	file:/// URI	Store	Yes	Yes	Size	None	All By Prefix	No
ALF-API	URL	User or Store	Yes	Yes	Size Last-Modified	None	All Last-Modified Range	Optional, JTA
ALF-FS	store:// URL	User or Store	Yes	Yes	Size Last-Modified	None	All Last-Modified Range	Optional, JTA
ALF-HTT	http:// URL	N/A	No	No	Size Last-Modified	None	None	Optional, JTA
ALF-REP	URL	User or Store	Yes	Yes	Size Last-Modified	None	All Last-Modified Range	Optional, JTA
ALF-ROU	URL	User or Store	Yes	Yes	Size Last-Modified	None	All Last-Modified Range	Optional, JTA
BIT-API	Unicode String	User or Store	Yes	Yes	Any (Map)	None	None	No
BIT-FS	38-40 digit "Integer"	User or Store	Yes	Yes	Size MD5 Checksum	None	None	No

DSpace 1 BitstreamStorageManager - Single impl, supports either local filesystem or SRB
Eclipse - BlobStore- Single impl, maps UUIDs to files on disk
JAF DataSource - Not a Store API; just models a file with a MIME type
Jakarta Slide ContentStore - Defunct; has versioning semantics
Jargon API for SRB and iRODS - Models files and directories, with metadata
JSPWiki FileSystemProvider - Fedora Repository Impl available; API has versioning semantics.
OKI Repository OSID - Has container semantics (Assets may contain other assets)
Plone Large File Management - Several options, but no common interface
MediaWiki FileStore - PHP source