Problem Statement
Typical digital repository systems use complex data structures, such as databases, to store collections. These data structures, while providing performance benefits, create difficulty with the preservation and dissemination of digital objects (for example, images). This is as a result of the tools provided by the digital repository system allowing users to access and interact with the digital objects. However, without these tools, the objects within the data structures are not human-readable. This means that if the tools to access the data structures are lost, so is the data within the data structures.
One possible solution is to build a digital repository system using a simple file hierarchy as a data structure, as the digital objects will always be human-readable. However, this solution raises concerns regarding the performance and usability of the system.