A URN Namespace for OASIS
A namespace for OASIS to identify its published resources persistently.
Best, K. and N. Walsh, "A URN Namespace for OASIS", RFC 3121, DOI 10.17487/RFC3121, June 2001, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3121>.
@misc{rfc3121,
series = {Request for Comments},
number = 3121,
howpublished = {RFC 3121},
publisher = {RFC Editor},
doi = {10.17487/RFC3121},
url = {https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3121},
author = {K. Best and N. Walsh},
title = {{A URN Namespace for OASIS}},
pagetotal = 7,
year = 2001,
month = jun,
} RFC text
Contents
Network Working Group K. Best
Request for Comments: 3121 OASIS, Inc.
Category: Informational N. Walsh
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
June 2001
A URN Namespace for OASIS
Status of this Memo
This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does
not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of this
memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2001). All Rights Reserved.
Abstract
This document describes a URN (Uniform Resource Name) namespace that
is engineered by the Organization for the Advancement of Structured
Information Standards (OASIS) for naming persistent resources
published by OASIS (such as OASIS Standards, XML (Extensible Markup
Language) Document Type Definitions, XML Schemas, Namespaces,
Stylesheets, and other documents).
1. Introduction
The Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information
Standards (OASIS) produces many kinds of documents: specifications,
working drafts, technical resolutions, schemas, stylesheets, etc.
OASIS wishes to provide global, distributed, persistent, location-
independent names for these resources.
The Extensible Markup Language (XML) requires that all resources
provide a system identifier, which must be a URI, in addition to an
optional public identifier (which provides an alternate mechanism for
constructing identifiers) and many evolving specifications require
authors to identify documents by URI alone (XML Namespaces, XML
Schema, XSLT, etc.).
Motivated by these observations, OASIS would like to assign URNs to
some resources in order to retain unique, permanent location-
independent names for them.
This namespace specification is for a formal namespace.
2. Specification Template
Namespace ID:
"oasis" requested.
Registration Information:
Registration Version Number: 3
Registration Date: 2001-02-05
Declared registrant of the namespace:
Karl Best
OASIS - Organization for the Advancement of Structured
Information Standards
Post Office Box 455
Billerica, MA USA 01821
Phone: +1 (978) 667 5115
Declaration of structure:
The Namespace Specific String (NSS) of all URNs assigned by OASIS
will have the following hierarchical structure:
There are two branches at the top of the hierarchy: "names" and
"member".
The Names Hierarchy
The NSS in the names hierarchy begins with a document class
identifier. There are three classes of identifiers:
"specification", "tc", and "technical".
Specifications
The "specification" hierarchy is for OASIS Specifications. The
general structure of the NSS in the specification hierarchy has
the form:
urn:oasis:names:specification:{specification-id}
:{type}{:subtype}?:{document-id}
where "specification-id" is a unique identifier for the
specification, "type" identifies the document type (document,
schema, stylesheet, entity, xmlns, etc.), the optional
"subtype" provides additional information about the document
type (for example, stylesheet or schema language), and
"document-id" is a unique identifier for the document.
The Director of Technical Operations at OASIS assigns document
types, subtypes, and all unique identifiers.
Technical Committee Work Products
The "tc" hierarchy is for work products of OASIS Technical
Committees. The general structure of the NSS in the tc
hierarchy has the form:
urn:oasis:names:tc:{tc-id}:{type}{:subtype}?:{document-id}
where "tc-id" is a unique identifier for the Technical
Committee, and the remaining fields are assigned as per the
specification hierarchy.
Technical Papers
The "technical" hierarchy identifies legacy documents
(Technical Notes, Resolutions, Memoranda, and Research Papers).
The general structure of the NSS in the "technical" hierarchies
has the form:
urn:oasis:names:technical:{document-type}
:{document-id}:{amendment-id}
The document type is one of the following: "note",
"resolution", "memorandum", or "researchpaper".
The document and amendment identifiers are derived from the
legacy system for naming these documents. The document
identifier consists of a two digit year and a sequential
number, the amendment identifier is the year of the amendment.
The Members Hierarchy
The NSS in the members hierarchy begins with a unique member
identifier assigned by OASIS. The string following the member
identifier is opaque. For example:
urn:oasis:member:A00024:x
The member identifiers will be assigned by The Director of
Technical Operations at OASIS. The opaque string is defined by
the owner of the branch that begins with
"urn:oasis:member:{member-id}:".
Relevant ancillary documentation:
None
Identifier uniqueness considerations:
Identifier uniqueness will be enforced by the Director of
Technical Operations who assigns unique identifiers to all
documents identified by URN.
Identifier persistence considerations:
OASIS is committed to maintaining the accessibility and
persistence of all the resources that are assigned URNs.
Process of identifier assignment:
Assignment is limited to the owner and those authorities that are
specifically designated by the owner. OASIS will assign portions
of its namespace (specifically, those under the members hierarchy)
for assignment by other parties.
Process of identifier resolution:
The owner will distribute catalogs (OASIS TR9401 Catalogs) that
map the assigned URNs to resource identifiers (e.g., URLs). A
more interactive, online resolution system will also be deployed
in the near future.
The owner will authorize additional resolution services as
appropriate.
Rules for Lexical Equivalence:
URNs are lexically equivalent if they are lexically identical.
Conformance with URN Syntax:
No special considerations.
Validation mechanism:
None specified. The owner will publish OASIS TR9401 Catalogs.
The presence of a URN in a catalog indicates that it is valid.
Scope:
Global
3. Examples
The following examples are not guaranteed to be real. They are
listed for pedagogical reasons only.
urn:oasis:names:specification:docbook:dtd:xml:4.1.2
urn:oasis:names:tc:docbook:dtd:xml:docbook:5.0b1
urn:oasis:names:technical:memo:9502:1995
urn:oasis:member:A00024:x
4. Security Considerations
There are no additional security considerations other than those
normally associated with the use and resolution of URNs in general.
References
[1] Goldfarb, C. F., "ISO (International Organization for
Standardization) ISO 8879:1986(E) Information Processing -- Text
and Office Systems -- Standard Generalized Markup Language
(SGML)", 1986.
[2] W3C, XML WG, "Extensible Markup Language (XML) 1.0", February
1998, <http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml>.
[3] W3C, Namespaces WG, "Namespaces in XML", January 1999,
<http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml-names>.
[4] OASIS, Entity Mgmt. TC, "Entity Management: OASIS Technical
Resolution 9401:1997 (Amendment 2 to TR 9401)", January 1994,
<http://www.oasis-open.org/html/a401.htm>.
[5] Moats, R., "URN Syntax", RFC 2141, May 1997.
[6] Mealling, M. and R. Daniel, "URI Resolution Services Necessary
for URN Resolution", RFC 2483, January 1999.
Authors' Addresses
Karl Best
OASIS, Inc.
P.O. Box 455
Billerica, MA 01821
US
EMail: karl.best@oasis-open.org
Norman Walsh
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
One Network Drive
MS UBUR02-201
Burlington, MA 01803-0902
US
EMail: Norman.Walsh@East.Sun.COM
Full Copyright Statement
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2001). All Rights Reserved.
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included on all such copies and derivative works. However, this
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Acknowledgement
Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
Internet Society.
AI ELI5
On this page
§1Introduction
OASIS, the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards, publishes many types of documents: XML standards, stylesheets, schemas, and other technical resources. These documents need to be referenced reliably, especially because XML-based standards require all resources to have a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI).
The challenge is creating names that stay the same forever, regardless of where a document is stored on the internet. RFC 3121 solves this by defining a URN namespace (Uniform Resource Name) that OASIS can use to assign permanent names to all resources it publishes.
When your school gives you a student ID number, it stays the same even if you move classrooms. This RFC creates the rulebook for how OASIS assigns permanent ID numbers to its documents.
§2The OASIS URN Structure
The OASIS URN namespace is named 'oasis' and has two main branches: names for published resources and member for member-assigned namespaces.
Under the names branch, there are three categories. The specification category is for OASIS standards and their associated documents like schemas and stylesheets. The tc (technical committee) category covers work products from OASIS committees. The technical category covers legacy documents such as technical notes, resolutions, and memoranda.
Each category has its own hierarchical structure. For example, a specification URN looks like: urn:oasis:names:specification:{specification-id}:{type}{:subtype}?:{document-id}. This structure lets OASIS assign unique identifiers to specifications, define the document type (such as a DTD or schema), and give each document a unique ID.
Think of it like a file cabinet with drawers labeled 'Specifications', 'Committee Work', and 'Old Documents'. Each drawer is organized by number so you can find any paper instantly, and the system never changes.
§3Three Hierarchies for Different Resource Types
The specification hierarchy names OASIS standards and their components, with fields for the specification ID, document type (such as document, schema, stylesheet, entity, or xmlns), an optional subtype, and the document ID. The Director of Technical Operations at OASIS assigns all identifiers.
The technical committee hierarchy works similarly but is rooted at the committee level rather than the specification level, allowing committees to publish their own work products.
The technical (legacy) hierarchy covers older documents like technical notes and research papers, with a structure based on document type, year, and amendment ID. This preserves identifiers from OASIS's earlier systems.
The member hierarchy allows OASIS members to have their own sub-namespaces. Each member gets a unique member ID, and the string after that is opaque (meaning members can structure it however they want).
Different kinds of documents (new standards, committee work, old documents, and member stuff) each get their own filing system. This way OASIS can handle anything they publish without conflicts.
§4Persistence and Resolution
OASIS commits to maintaining the accessibility and persistence of all resources assigned URNs. Once a resource is given a URN, that name will never change, even if the resource is moved or updated.
When someone needs to find a resource by its URN, OASIS distributes catalogs (based on OASIS TR9401 Catalogs) that map URNs to actual URLs where the resources can be retrieved. A more interactive online resolution system may also be deployed. This separation of the stable name from the current location is the key strength of URNs.
Assignment of identifiers is limited to OASIS and those it explicitly authorizes. OASIS will assign portions of its namespace to member organizations so they can manage their own sub-namespaces without needing OASIS to approve every name.
OASIS promises never to change a document's permanent name. When you look up a name, OASIS tells you where the document is today. If they move it tomorrow, the name stays the same, but OASIS updates where it points.