alabaster.matrix

alabaster.matrix saves matrices, arrays and similar objects into file artifacts, and loads them back into memory as a portable alternative to RDS serialization for computational biology data exchange.

Key Features:

• Artifact-based storage: Saves matrices, arrays and similar objects into file artifacts with associated metadata for further interpretation.
• Portable serialization: Provides a more portable alternative to serialization of objects into RDS files.
• Metadata enrichment: Supports downstream applications enriching artifact metadata with context-specific properties.
• Round-trip data loading: Loads saved artifacts back into memory from file storage.

Scientific Applications:

• Computational biology data exchange: Enables portable storage and transfer of matrix and array data structures between analysis environments and collaborators.
• Reproducible research workflows: Preserves biological data objects with interpretable metadata to support reproducible computational analyses.
• Downstream analysis integration: Allows downstream applications to add context-specific metadata properties to stored artifacts for specialized analyses.

Methodology:

Objects are saved into file artifacts with associated metadata; the metadata can be enriched by downstream applications with context-specific properties.