Attaching forms

You can standardize metadata by defining form types, which are reusable, structured schema templates. The schema can then be populated by attaching instances of these forms to assets.

Defining form types

A form type defines the schema using Smithy IDL syntax. Names must start with an uppercase letter.

structure DataResidency {
    region: String
    complianceFramework: String
    retentionDays: Integer
}

To create a form type

Use PutFormType to create or update a form type.

aws glue put-form-type \
    --name DataResidency \
    --schema 'structure DataResidency {
    region: String
    complianceFramework: String
    retentionDays: Integer
}'

Example output:

{
    "Id": "DataResidency",
    "Name": "DataResidency"
}

To retrieve a form type

aws glue get-form-type --identifier DataResidency

Attaching forms to assets

To attach a form to an asset

Use PutAttachment with the asset identifier, attachment name, form type ID, and JSON content conforming to the schema.

aws glue put-attachment \
    --asset-identifier asset-id \
    --attachment-name residencyInfo \
    --form-type-id DataResidency \
    --content '{"region":"us-east-1","complianceFramework":"SOC2","retentionDays":730}'

To view an asset's forms and attachments

Use GetAsset to retrieve an asset along with its forms and attachments.

The following command retrieves an asset:

aws glue get-asset --asset-identifier asset-id

To attach a form to a column

You can attach a form to a single column of an asset.

Each column is a single item of the columns iterable form with column name as the item identifier.

The following command attaches a form to a specific column:

aws glue put-attachment \
    --asset-identifier asset-id \
    --iterable-form-name columns \
    --item-identifier region \
    --attachment-name sensitivity \
    --form-type-id DataClassification \
    --content '{"classification":"PII","sensitivity":"HIGH"}'

After you attach the form, use SearchAssets to discover the asset by any searchable fields on the form.

Retrieving column metadata

To list columns for an asset

aws glue list-iterable-forms \
    --asset-identifier asset-id \
    --iterable-form-name columns \
    --max-results 20

To retrieve specific columns with their forms

Use BatchGetIterableForms to retrieve columns and attached forms in a single request.

aws glue batch-get-iterable-forms \
    --asset-identifier asset-id \
    --iterable-form-name columns \
    --item-identifiers region email

Deleting attachments and form types

To delete an attachment

aws glue delete-attachment \
    --asset-identifier asset-id \
    --attachment-name residencyInfo

To delete an attachment from a specific column

To remove a form attached to a single column, run the following command. Pass the iterable form name, item identifier, and attachment name:

aws glue delete-attachment \
    --asset-identifier asset-id \
    --iterable-form-name columns \
    --item-identifier region \
    --attachment-name sensitivity

To delete a form type

You cannot delete a form type that is still referenced by an asset type.

aws glue delete-form-type --identifier DataResidency

Listing form types

aws glue list-form-types --max-results 20

Example output:

{
    "Items": [
        {"Id": "DataResidency", "Name": "DataResidency"},
        {"Id": "DataClassification", "Name": "DataClassification"}
    ]
}