The CARMEN (Code, Analysis, Repository and Modelling for e-Neuroscience) system [1] provides a web based portal platform through which users can share and collaboratively exploit data, analysis code and expertise in neuroscience. The system has been beendeveloped in the UK and currently supports 200 hundred neuroscientists working in a Virtual Environment with an initial focus on electrophysiology data. The proposal here is that the CARMEN system provides an excellent base from which to develop an 'executable paper' system. CARMEN has been built by York and Newcastle Universities and is based on over 10 years experience in the construction of eScience based distributed technology. CARMEN started four years ago involving 20 scientific investigators (neuroscientists and computer scientists) at 11 UK Universities (www.CARMEN.org.uk). The project is supported for another 4 years at York and Newcastle, along with a sister project to take the underlying technology and pilot it as a UK platform for supporting the sharing of research outputs in a generic way. An entirely natural extension to the CARMEN system would be its alignment with a publications repository. The CARMEN system is operational on the domain https://portal.CARMEN.org.uk, where it is possible to request a login to try out the system.

The Code Analysis Repository & Modelling for E-Neuroscience (CARMEN) project aims to enable broad sharing of resources, through the provision of a secure, online environment for storage and curation of data, analysis code and experimental protocols, together with the ability to execute data analysis. While the CARMEN system is initially focused on electrophysiology data, it is equally applicable to many domains outside neuroscience. Metadata are essential for a system such as CARMEN that has the potential to store thousands of data collections and analysis codes; without metadata, resource discovery, interpretation, evaluation and re-use would be severely impeded. Therefore, when any resource (data, service or workflow) is added to the system, users must provide adequate descriptions. These descriptions form a metadata repository that is searchable to allow users to find any kind of resource held in the system, assuming that the user has appropriate access rights. This paper discusses and explores the project’s approach to implementing such a metadata repository that meets both system requirements and user expectations. Initial approaches were refined after user evaluations, and a more practical approach was followed that better aligned with the aims of the users and the project as a whole.