[OAI-general] "info" URI update

[herbert van de sompel]

Hi All:

Following our announcement of the "info" URI scheme a couple months back
[1] we would like to notify the list of a revision to the I-D which has
now been posted on the I-D repository [2]. The revision targets three key
areas which further simplify the "info" URI scheme as a facilitator for
referencing information assets:

      a) "info" now excludes any dereference capability
         Consequence: no resolution systems are to be associated with "info"
URIs

      b) "info" now includes support for full hierarchy
         Consequence: the identifier component of an "info" URI may include "/"
chars

      c) "info" now includes support for URI fragments
         Consequence: secondary resources may be indirectly identified by "info"
URIs

Additionally, three other changes have also been made:

      d) The BNF now reuses many of the RFC2396bis productions
         Consequence: facilitates comparison with future generic URI syntax

      e) Some of the examples have been changed for simplification
         Consequence: removes possible confusion with other works in progres

      f) Section 7 "Rationale" has been improved
         Consequence: clearer justification why "info" URI scheme is required

Together with this new I-D we are pleased to announce that an early
implementation of the "info" URI Registry is now available online at the
"info" website [3]. The namespace registration records are human/machine
accessible and can be harvested using the OAI-PMH protocol [4].
Alternative disclosures of registration records using e.g. RSS may be
made available at a future time.

Two additional documents are also made available on the "info" website
[3]:

      1. A comprehensive FAQ which answers common questions re "info"
        (Follow the link <About "info" URI> on the menu bar)

      2. An "info" Registry policy document
        (Follow the link <Registry Policy> on the menu bar

Please note that both documents are currently evolving and are being made
available at this time for discussion purposes. They should not be treated
as authoritative but will be improved through comments received. [Also
note that the link to the I-D on the "info" website points to the previous
version ('-00'), not the current version ('-01') - we will amend this.]

We would like to invite feedback on the Registry and associated documents
and any comments on the revised I-D.

One particular question we have regards the use of the BNF productions
from the draft RFC2396bis [5] rather than from the reference RFC2396 [6]
itself. The reasons are twofold: i) we would like to futureproof this
specification, and ii) the "segment" production in RFC2396 is overly
restrictive, and has now been generalized in the work ongoing in the
successor to that RFC. We believe this is the correct approach - and seems
to follow the approach taken in the IRI work [7].

Herbert Van de Sompel - Los Alamos National Laboratory
Tony Hammond - Elsevier
Eamonn Neylon - Manifest Solutions
Stuart L. Weibel - OCLC


[1] http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/uri/2003Sep/0100.html
[2] http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-vandesompel-info-uri-01.txt
[3] http://info-uri.info/
[4] http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/openarchivesprotocol.html
[5]
http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-fielding-uri-rfc2396bis-03.txt
[6] http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2396.txt
[7] http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-duerst-iri-05.txt

--
Herbert Van de Sompel
digital library research & prototyping
Los Alamos National Laboratory - Research Library
+ 1 (505) 667 1267 / http://lib-www.lanl.gov/~herbertv/

"met gestreken jeans de dansvloer penetreren"