3. Copy core data locally

3.1. Status

Accepted

3.2. Context

We want to be able to access data from external sources of truth and to provide some guarantees about core functionality that is derived from that data.

Open edX services generally try to be Self-Contained Systems.

3.3. Decision

For external data that is core to our functionality, we will store local copies of that data. That way, we aren’t dependent on other services being available.

Data that is not core to our functionality, we can query as needed from other services.

3.4. Consequences

We will need to provide end points or management commands, to allow us to pull or be pushed the data, as appropriate.

For example, we keep a local copy of portions of the course catalog (for which Discovery is the source of truth) and portions of the grades table (for which LMS is the source of truth).