xmlhack: URN Namespaces based on dated URIs

Larry Masinter has published an Internet Draft entitled '"duri" and "tdb": URN Namespaces based on dated URIs'.

The draft defines two persistent namespaces of URNs based on preprending a date to a URI. The result is a namespace in which names can readily be assigned but which also offers the persistence of reference required by URNs.

Two schemes are defined: "duri," which is used to refer to URI-identified resources, and "tdb," used to refer to abstractions that are not network resources but which are described by them. Masinter gives some examples:

For example, urn:duri:2001:http://www.ietf.org is a persistent identifier to 'http://www.ietf.org' as of the very first moment of the year 2001...

So "urn:tdb:2001:http://www.ietf.org" can be used to designate the Internet Engineering Task Force organization, at least as it was described by or referenced by its home page at the first instant of 2001.

Re: URN Namespaces based on dated URIs (Lars Marius Garshol - 07:51, 4 Sep 2001)

Something along these lines is definitely needed. The tag: URI scheme described at http://www.taguri.org/ is also very interesting, perhaps more so than duri: and tdb:.

Great idea putting a date in a URL. However, there seems to be a trend to distinguish between data and meta-data. Is this tdb and duri trying to make this same distinction? Confusing. The difference should depend on context rather than upon some stilly lettering difference.