You can identify a repository’s default item descriptor, by setting its <item-descriptor> default attribute to true. Each repository can have a single default item descriptor. If a repository has only one item descriptor definition, it is the default. If no default item descriptor is explicitly identified, the first item descriptor in the XML file is the default.

When you use Repository methods such as getItem, createItem without specifying an item descriptor, you use the default item descriptor. These methods are not recommended for most applications, unless there is only one item type in the repository.