Implementation:Datahub project Datahub HasGlossaryTerms Mixin

Knowledge Sources	Datahub_project_Datahub
Domains	Java_SDK, Metadata_Management
Last Updated	2026-02-10 00:00 GMT

Overview

Description

HasGlossaryTerms is a mixin interface in the DataHub Java SDK V2 that provides glossary term operations for entities. Entities implementing this interface can have glossary terms attached for semantic meaning and governance purposes.

The interface supports two mutation strategies:

• Patch-based (addTerm() / removeTerm()): Uses GlossaryTermsPatchBuilder for incremental additions or removals, enabling safe concurrent modifications.
• Full replacement (setTerms()): Creates a complete MetadataChangeProposalWrapper replacing all existing terms, clearing any pending patches.

The interface uses a self-bounded generic pattern (T extends Entity & HasGlossaryTerms<T>) for fluent API chaining.

Usage

Entity classes implement this interface to gain glossary term management. addTerm() and removeTerm() accumulate patch operations that are applied at save time, while setTerms() performs a full aspect replacement. getTerms() retrieves the current list of term associations via lazy loading.

Code Reference

Source Location

metadata-integration/java/datahub-client/src/main/java/datahub/client/v2/entity/HasGlossaryTerms.java

Signature

public interface HasGlossaryTerms<T extends Entity & HasGlossaryTerms<T>> {

    @Nonnull
    default T addTerm(@Nonnull String termUrn)

    @Nonnull
    default T addTerm(@Nonnull GlossaryTermUrn termUrn)

    @Nonnull
    default T removeTerm(@Nonnull String termUrn)

    @Nonnull
    default T removeTerm(@Nonnull GlossaryTermUrn termUrn)

    @Nonnull
    default T setTerms(@Nonnull List<String> termUrns)

    default List<GlossaryTermAssociation> getTerms()
}

Import

import datahub.client.v2.entity.HasGlossaryTerms;

I/O Contract

Inputs

Method	Parameter	Type	Description
addTerm	termUrn	String	URN string of the glossary term to add
addTerm	termUrn	GlossaryTermUrn	URN object of the glossary term to add
removeTerm	termUrn	String	URN string of the glossary term to remove
removeTerm	termUrn	GlossaryTermUrn	URN object of the glossary term to remove
setTerms	termUrns	List<String>	Complete list of glossary term URN strings to set

Outputs

Method	Return Type	Description
addTerm	T	The entity itself for fluent chaining
removeTerm	T	The entity itself for fluent chaining
setTerms	T	The entity itself for fluent chaining
getTerms	List<GlossaryTermAssociation> (nullable)	The list of glossary term associations, or null if none present

Exceptions:

• InvalidUrnException - thrown if a URN string cannot be parsed

Usage Examples

Dataset dataset = Dataset.builder()
    .platform("snowflake")
    .name("my_table")
    .build();

// Add individual terms (patch-based, accumulated)
dataset.addTerm("urn:li:glossaryTerm:CustomerData");
dataset.addTerm("urn:li:glossaryTerm:SensitiveInfo");

// Remove a specific term
dataset.removeTerm("urn:li:glossaryTerm:SensitiveInfo");

// Set all terms at once (full replacement)
dataset.setTerms(Arrays.asList(
    "urn:li:glossaryTerm:CustomerData",
    "urn:li:glossaryTerm:PII"
));

// Retrieve current terms
List<GlossaryTermAssociation> terms = dataset.getTerms();

Related Pages

• Datahub_project_Datahub_HasOwners_Mixin - Mixin for ownership management (similar patch/replace pattern)
• Datahub_project_Datahub_HasDomains_Mixin - Mixin for domain assignment
• Datahub_project_Datahub_HasStructuredProperties_Mixin - Mixin for structured property management
• Datahub_project_Datahub_PatchTransformer - Interface for transforming patch MCPs