unique identifier
Let an agent explain unique identifiers and their design, help choose or resolve identifiers, describe persistence and governance, and address privacy issues.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Understand What identifiers do.
Concept
Uniqueness and scope.
Concept
Concept.
- What makes an identifier unique, and within what scope? definition
- How do names, identifiers and keys differ? definition
Scheme
A specific scheme.
Scheme
Specific scheme.
- What is this identifier scheme, who governs it, and how is it structured? provenance
- Which entry fits it? action
Use Resolving and assigning.
Resolve
Looking up identifiers.
Resolve
Resolution.
- How can this identifier be resolved to its entity, and which service provides that? action
- Is the identifier valid, judging by its format and check digits? action
Assign
Designing identifiers.
Assign
Design.
- How should identifiers be designed for this system, considering uniqueness, opacity, persistence and format? action
- When should UUIDs, sequential IDs or registered identifiers be used? boundary
Govern Persistence and privacy.
Persist
Persistence.
Persist
Persistence.
- How are persistent identifiers kept resolvable over time, and who is responsible? provenance
- What happens when entities merge or split? action
Privacy
Privacy.
Privacy
Privacy.
- Which privacy rules apply to personal identifiers, and how can tracking harms be reduced? provenance
- When should identifiers be pseudonymised? boundary
Learn Context.
History
History of identifiers.
History
History.
- How did unique identifiers develop, from serial numbers to persistent web identifiers? provenance
- Which schemes are widely adopted? provenance
Teach
Teaching.
Teach
Teaching.
- How can identifier design be taught in data management courses? action
- Which misconceptions arise? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Information and virtual systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- INF
- Domain
- INF.MED
- Other names and narrower kinds
- 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
What it is Filled
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.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent explain unique identifiers and their design, help choose or resolve identifiers, describe persistence and governance, and address privacy issues.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Uniqueness in scope
- Persistence
- Resolvability
- Governed
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- 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.
Only with a human decision
- Merging or retiring identifiers that other systems depend on.
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.
Moral aspects Filled
- 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.
Who is affected
- People identified by them
- Users of linked systems
- Register maintainers
Owners Filled
Steward
The issuing authority or system operator for each identifier scheme.
Master systems
- The register of the scheme that issues the identifier
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q420330 - registry parent class
related
- persistent identifier - category
- data set - identified records
- ordered pair - key-value pairs
- dependency - identifier resolution chains
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.unique-identifier
- Wikidata: Q6545185 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6545185)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Plane INF: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- 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 and actions required Filled
- explain identifier types and design
- resolve or look up identifiers
- describe persistence and governance
- address privacy and misuse
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Collisions and reuse
- Broken resolution
- Tracking and privacy harms
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- Identifier standards such as ISO 26324 for DOIs and UUID specifications
- Data protection rules on personal identifiers
- Registry governance policies
Context of use required Filled
- 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 Filled
- Wikidata item Q6545185: unique identifier - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Unique identifier - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should each identifier scheme be a separate entry?
- How should registries be linked?
- How should privacy rules be linked?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q6545185/spec.json