{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.unique-identifier","code":"thing-q6545185","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q6545185/","name":"unique identifier","alternateNames":["color code","tracking number","Wikibase entity ID","OpenStreetMap numeric user ID","TMDB movie ID","TMDB TV series ID","TMDB film series ID","TMDB person ID","MediaWiki page version ID","MediaWiki page title","Buzer.de Law ID","Rijksmonument ID"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.2","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Information and virtual systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"INF","domain":["INF.MED"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A code or string assigned to one entity so that it can be distinguished from all others within a system, such as tracking numbers, database identifiers such as Wikibase entity IDs, media database IDs, user IDs, colour codes and product codes, often designed to be persistent, unambiguous and resolvable; unique identifiers underpin data integration, provenance and interoperability.","purpose":"Let an agent explain unique identifiers and their design, help choose or resolve identifiers, describe persistence and governance, and address privacy issues.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Uniqueness in scope","Persistence","Resolvability","Governed"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What identifiers do.","layers":[{"id":"concept","name":"Concept","description":"Uniqueness and scope.","findings":[{"id":"concept-finding","name":"Concept","description":"Concept.","questions":[{"text":"What makes an identifier unique, and within what scope?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"How do names, identifiers and keys differ?","kind":"definition"}]}]},{"id":"scheme","name":"Scheme","description":"A specific scheme.","findings":[{"id":"scheme-finding","name":"Scheme","description":"Specific scheme.","questions":[{"text":"What is this identifier scheme, who governs it, and how is it structured?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits it?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"use","name":"Use","description":"Resolving and assigning.","layers":[{"id":"resolve","name":"Resolve","description":"Looking up identifiers.","findings":[{"id":"resolve-finding","name":"Resolve","description":"Resolution.","questions":[{"text":"How can this identifier be resolved to its entity, and which service provides that?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Is the identifier valid, judging by its format and check digits?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"assign","name":"Assign","description":"Designing identifiers.","findings":[{"id":"assign-finding","name":"Assign","description":"Design.","questions":[{"text":"How should identifiers be designed for this system, considering uniqueness, opacity, persistence and format?","kind":"action"},{"text":"When should UUIDs, sequential IDs or registered identifiers be used?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"govern","name":"Govern","description":"Persistence and privacy.","layers":[{"id":"persist","name":"Persist","description":"Persistence.","findings":[{"id":"persist-finding","name":"Persist","description":"Persistence.","questions":[{"text":"How are persistent identifiers kept resolvable over time, and who is responsible?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What happens when entities merge or split?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"privacy","name":"Privacy","description":"Privacy.","findings":[{"id":"privacy-finding","name":"Privacy","description":"Privacy.","questions":[{"text":"Which privacy rules apply to personal identifiers, and how can tracking harms be reduced?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"When should identifiers be pseudonymised?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"learn","name":"Learn","description":"Context.","layers":[{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History of identifiers.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How did unique identifiers develop, from serial numbers to persistent web identifiers?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which schemes are widely adopted?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"teach","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","findings":[{"id":"teach-finding","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","questions":[{"text":"How can identifier design be taught in data management courses?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which misconceptions arise?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Issue identifiers within a system it is authorized to manage, following that system's rules.","Resolve an identifier to its entity in the register that issued it.","Detect and report duplicate or conflicting identifiers."],"mustNot":["Reuse or reassign an identifier that already belongs to another entity.","Link identifiers across systems to profile a person without consent or legal basis.","Forge or alter identifiers to pass one entity off as another.","Publish personal identifiers such as user IDs beyond their intended audience."],"requiresHuman":["Merging or retiring identifiers that other systems depend on."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Persistent identifiers can turn scattered records into a profile of a person.","A broken or reassigned identifier can attach one person's records to another."],"affectedParties":["People identified by them","Users of linked systems","Register maintainers"]},"owners":{"steward":"The issuing authority or system operator for each identifier scheme.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["The register of the scheme that issues the identifier"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q420330","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"persistent identifier","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"data set","type":"related","note":"identified records"},{"target":"ordered pair","type":"related","note":"key-value pairs"},{"target":"dependency","type":"related","note":"identifier resolution chains"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.unique-identifier","Wikidata: Q6545185 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6545185)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["One-to-one with an entity within a scope","Persistent and unambiguous ideally","A name may be shared by many entities","Not physical; codes, numbers and strings."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain identifier types and design","resolve or look up identifiers","describe persistence and governance","address privacy and misuse"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Collisions and reuse","Broken resolution","Tracking and privacy harms"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Identifier standards such as ISO 26324 for DOIs and UUID specifications","Data protection rules on personal identifiers","Registry governance policies"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Distinguishing entities in systems.","database and entity identifiers","persistent identifiers such as DOIs and ORCIDs","tracking and product numbers","user and account identifiers","colour and classification codes"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q6545185: unique identifier","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6545185","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Unique identifier","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unique_identifier","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should each identifier scheme be a separate entry?","How should registries be linked?","How should privacy rules be linked?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q6545185/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q6545185/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-11T21:52:35Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:52:01+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane INF: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}