1. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; a memory coupled to the at least one processor; a repository residing in the memory that includes a plurality of objects; and a content management system residing in the memory and executed by the at least one processor, the content management system managing the plurality of objects in the repository, the content management system comprising: an external data mechanism that processes a document containing a query to a data source external to the repository, executes the query, creates a query object in the repository that is separate from the document and contains the query, creates a lifecycle corresponding to the query object that determines when the query in the query object is executed, and creates from data returned from the query a returned data object in the repository that is separate from the document, wherein the returned data object is created in the repository according to classification rules that determine from a type of the data returned from the query a corresponding type for the returned data object.