In OData, theservice metadata document(typically accessed via the $metadata endpoint) is theformal description of the OData service. It is defined using the Conceptual Schema Definition Language (CSDL / EDMX).
The metadata document:
Describesentity types, complex types, and their properties(types).
Definesentity sets and singletons(sets).
Includes ODatafunctions and actions, together with parameters and return types.
Describes therelationships and navigation propertiesamong entities.
This matches optionD:“To describe the types, sets, functions, and actions.”
OptionB(“list the available entity sets, functions, and singletons”) is incomplete, since the document also defines types and relationships.
Why the others are incorrect:
A – API’s security requirements:Security is handled elsewhere (OAuth/XSUAA, configuration, API gateways), not in the OData metadata document.
C – Human-readable description:While a developer can read the XML, the primary intent is amachine-readableformal model for tools and clients.
[:, SAP CAP Documentation – Sections on “Using OData” and “Service Metadata ($metadata)”, OData Version 4.0 Specification – Conceptual Schema Definition Language (CSDL), ]