Globally Unique Identifiers in Biodiversity Informatics Kevin Richards Landcare Research NZ TDWG 2008

Introduction GUID (Globally Unique IDentifier) –What, Why, Which, How –LSIDs –Issues

What are GUIDs Globally Unique IDentifier A short name for a complex entity on the web Each name identifies only one entity Examples: –UUID eg 3E9D6B68-A08C-4F15-BC8A-1265F15D30E2 –DOI eg doi: /jmbi –Handle eg hdl: /abc –LSID eg urn:lsid:indexfungorum.org:names: –PURL eg

What is a GUID –Properties Persistent Opaque Resolvable, sometimes - useful for locating information about the entity

Why use GUIDs Data at Provider 2 BOOK : “Three little pigs” 2 copies Data Consumer Data at Provider 1 BOOK : “The three little pigs” 3 copies BOOKS: “Three little pigs” … (2) “The three little pigs” … (3)

Data at Provider 2 (ID = P2) BOOK : “Three little pigs” ID (eg ISBN) = A123 2 copies Data Consumer Data at Provider 1 (ID = P1) BOOK : “The three little pigs” ID (eg ISBN) = A123 3 copies BOOKS: ID : A123 : “The three little pigs”… (5) … but with GUIDs … BOOK Titles: ID A123 : Provider P1 : “The three little pigs” ID A123 : Provider P2 : “Three little pigs”

Example in our domain Consensus Id : urn:lsid:compositae.org:names:45240C9B-D419-4B6F-93A5-D0A6DEAB4C81 Name : Anthemis gaudium-solis Velen. ProviderIdTaxon Name IPNI urn:lsid:ipni.org:names: :1.1 Anthemis gaudium-solis Vel. Tropicos Anthemis goudium-solis Velen. Euro+Med133202Anthemis gaudium-solis Velen. Govaerts {29FFBEDC-19F BCB3-05EE2C7816C8} Anthemis gaudiumsolis Velen.

GUIDs are vital to TDWG architecture

Which GUID GUID Subgroup Recommendations: Use LSIDs for identifying biodiversity data Reuse GUIDs where they already exist –GUID type –Existing assignments See GUID Report Also Canberra LSID Workshop report:

What is an LSID? Life Science IDentifier Developed by The Object Management Group & W3C Implemented by the team at IBM Used for – data objects, datasets, images, files

LSID Format urn:lsid:bioguid.org:taxon:1122:v1 Prefix - indicates that this is a URN URN type - indicates that it’s an LSID-type urn Authority - the authority who issued the LSID Namespace - internal to that authority Object identifier - within that authority Version - optional

LSID Rules Data doesn’t change (byte identical) Always available for resolution –Hand over to another authority if necessary At least some basic metadata

Pros of LSIDs  Not tied to physical addresses (as URLs are)  Comparison can be done without resolving the ID – eg for cases like “does object a = object b”  Do not require any central registration or central service  Quick to adopt  Encourage thought and planning before they are allocated

Cons of LSIDs However …  Requires DNS SRV record  Requires specialised software to resolve an LSID (not built in to most software)  The restriction - “LSID data cannot change” can be difficult

How What data/objects to apply Ids to Decide on –Authority –Namespace –Local ids (new vs existing) Issue LSIDs Setup resolver

LSID Code Current Code Stacks –Open Source (sourceforge.net) –Java, C++, Perl (IBM) –Microsoft.NET (Myself) –TAPIR LSID configuration

LSID Tools IBM LSID Launchpad Firefox LSID Browser LSID Tester (Rod Page) Web based resolver – get LSID metadata to get summary info of LSID object Example LSID servers: –Index Fungorum - urn:lsid:indexfungorum.org:names: –IPNI – urn:lsid:ipni.org:names: : –uBio - urn:lsid:ubio.org:namebank:11815

Issues to think about Who assigns new LSIDs? Who maintains LSID resolvers? What to assign LSIDs to: –Physical or Digital –Granularity –Only objects that need to be resolved / identified externally –Is there any data, or only metadata?

Issues to think about When to resolve LSIDs –Every time an LSID is encountered, or only when a client requests it? TDWG standards for metadata –Which ones? –Consistent application

References LSID Source Forge - LSID.NET Source Forge - LSID Tutorial ibm.com/developerworks/opensource/library/os-lsid/ 128.ibm.com/developerworks/opensource/library/os-lsid/ LSID Specification - LSID Tester - LSID Launchpad ibm.com/developerworks/downloads/detail.php?group_id=124&what= rele&id=553http://www- 124.ibm.com/developerworks/downloads/detail.php?group_id=124&what= rele&id=553 GUID Subgroup - GUID Subgroup Reports – show_comments=1http://wiki.gbif.org/guidwiki/wikka.php?wakka=GUID2Report& show_comments=1 – Firefox LSID developer site -