Latvian URN namespace: A Uniform Resource Name (URN) Formal Namespace for the Latvian National Government Integration Project
A standard way to name and find resources in the Latvian government.
Kornijenko, J., "A Uniform Resource Name (URN) Formal Namespace for the Latvian National Government Integration Project", RFC 4617, DOI 10.17487/RFC4617, August 2006, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4617>.
@misc{rfc4617,
series = {Request for Comments},
number = 4617,
howpublished = {RFC 4617},
publisher = {RFC Editor},
doi = {10.17487/RFC4617},
url = {https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4617},
author = {J. Kornijenko},
title = {{A Uniform Resource Name (URN) Formal Namespace for the Latvian National Government Integration Project}},
pagetotal = 8,
year = 2006,
month = aug,
} RFC text
Contents
Network Working Group J. Kornijenko
Request for Comments: 4617 ABC software
Category: Informational August 2006
A Uniform Resource Name (URN) Formal Namespace for
the Latvian National Government Integration Project
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 (2006).
Abstract
This document describes a Uniform Resource Name (URN) namespace that
is engineered by a consortium (general contractor, Olimps LTD, and
subcontractors, ABC software LTD, Microsoft Latvia LTD, Riga Internet
eXchange (RIX) Technologies LTD, and Microlink LTD) for naming
information resources published and produced by the Latvian National
Government Integration Project (Latvian abbreviation IVIS).
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ....................................................2
2. Specification Template ..........................................2
3. Example .........................................................4
4. Community Considerations ........................................4
5. IANA Considerations .............................................4
6. Namespace Considerations ........................................5
7. Security Considerations .........................................5
8. Acknowledgements ................................................5
9. References ......................................................6
9.1. Normative References .......................................6
9.2. Informative References .....................................6
1. Introduction
The IVIS uses and produces many kinds of information resources such
as E-services, E-service instances, specifications, standards,
working documents, and XML schemas. An ID in IVIS has to be unique
for global use every time.
2. Specification Template
Namespace ID:
"IVIS" requested according to [RFC3406].
Registration information:
Registration Version Number: 1
Registration Date: 2006-MM-DD
Declared registrant of the namespace:
Organization: ABC software LTD on behalf of The Secretariat of the
Special Assignments Minister for Electronic Government Affairs
Name: Jurijs Kornijenko
Title: Software Architect
Address: Tallinas - 51, Riga, LV-1012
Phone: +371 7082635
Email: j.kornienko@abcsoftware.lv
Declaration of structure:
The Namespace Specific String (NSS) of all URNs assigned by the
IVIS will have the following hierarchical structure (ABNF,
according to [RFC4234]):
<NID> ::= "IVIS"
<NSS> ::= <IVIS Org ID>:<ResID - suffix>
<IVIS Org ID> ::= 1*<number> { subsystem ID from IVIS database}
<ResID - suffix> ::= 1*(<upper> | <lower> | <number> | <other>)
{an ID generated by IVIS subsystem that is unique within
this subsystem}
<other> ::= "(" | ")" | "+" | "," | "-" | "." |
"=" | "@" | ";" | "$" |
"_" | "!" | "*"
<upper> ::= "A" | "B" | "C" | "D" | "E" | "F" | "G" | "H" |
"I" | "J" | "K" | "L" | "M" | "N" | "O" | "P" |
"Q" | "R" | "S" | "T" | "U" | "V" | "W" | "X" |
"Y" | "Z"
<lower> ::= "a" | "b" | "c" | "d" | "e" | "f" | "g" | "h" |
"i" | "j" | "k" | "l" | "m" | "n" | "o" | "p" |
"q" | "r" | "s" | "t" | "u" | "v" | "w" | "x" |
"y" | "z"
<number> ::= "0" | "1" | "2" | "3" | "4" | "5" | "6" | "7" |
"8" | "9"
Relevant ancillary documentation:
IVIS ancillary documentation is under development.
Identifier uniqueness considerations:
Uniqueness is guaranteed by the IVIS that issues the numbers. The
numbers are not reassigned.
Identifier persistence considerations:
Persistence of identifiers is dependent upon the persistence of
the system name assignment by system name holders.
Process of identifier assignment:
All the assignments of identifiers are fully controlled and
managed by the IVIS and its subsystems.
Process of identifier resolution:
The holders of system names are responsible for operating or
delegating resolution servers for the system in which they have
assigned URNs.
Rules for Lexical Equivalence:
The entire URN is case insensitive.
Conformity with URN syntax:
IVIS schema URN fully conforms to [RFC2141] syntax, except that
symbols "'" and ":" were excluded from <other>.
Validation mechanism:
<IVIS Org ID> could be validated by using a special IVIS database
service. <ResID - suffix> could be validated by an appropriate
subsystem.
Scope:
Global.
3. Example
The following examples are not to be real. They are provided for
pedagogical purposes only.
URN:IVIS:000000:DOC-METADATA
URN:IVIS:000000:NDR1021365
4. Community Considerations
Every Latvian ministry's local authority produces many kinds of
different documents, offers public services. Each of the information
resources is already uniquely identified within an authority-
producer. The IVIS URN namespace helps unify information resource
identifiers by using existent Latvian government authority
identification procedures to produce E-services and different
documents where many parties are involved. Any citizen or
organization with Internet web browser capability will be entitled to
access the namespace and its associated application, registration,
and resolution services. The primary IVIS namespace usage is to
identify information resources, such as XML messages, their schemas,
and other resources, which can be public or have a special
destination, when a few different parties are involved in the
interchange.
5. IANA Considerations
This document includes a RUN Network Identifier (NID) registration
for IVIS for entry in the IANA registry of URN NIDs (see [RFC2434]
for more information).
6. Namespace Considerations
To select necessary identifier schema, we spend a lot time and
decided on URN, because an IVIS URN namespace has to resolve the
following problems:
- Information resource uniqueness
Uniqueness makes it possible to find a necessary resource and call
it anytime. Uniqueness gives stability in message sending and
storing operations.
- Namespace understandability
IVIS URN consists of parts, which can guarantee namespace
legibility.
- Information resource resolution
One of the IVIS namespace parts identifies the place where the
resource can be found (resolved).
Therefore, a new URN assignment is required, and individual URNs
shall be assigned through the process of development of each XML
schema.
7. Security Considerations
There are no additional security considerations besides those
normally associated with the use and resolution of URNs in
general.
8. Acknowledgements
Since the specification described in this document is derived from
[RFC3305], [RFC3616], [RFC3986], [RFC3622], and [RFC3406] the
acknowledgements in those documents still apply. In addition, the
author wishes to acknowledge Leslie Daigle, Ted Hardie, and Dinara
Suleymanova for their suggestions and review.
9. References
9.1. Normative References
[RFC3406] Daigle, L., van Gulik, D., Iannella, R., and P.
Faltstrom, "Uniform Resource Names (URN) Namespace
Definition Mechanisms", BCP 66, RFC 3406, October 2002.
[RFC3986] Berners-Lee, T., Fielding, R., and L. Masinter, "Uniform
Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax", STD 66, RFC
3986, January 2005.
9.2. Informative References
[RFC2434] Narten, T. and H. Alvestrand, "Guidelines for Writing an
IANA Considerations Section in RFCs", BCP 26, RFC 2434,
October 1998.
[RFC3305] Mealling, M. and R. Denenberg, "Report from the Joint
W3C/IETF URI Planning Interest Group: Uniform Resource
Identifiers (URIs), URLs, and Uniform Resource Names
(URNs): Clarifications and Recommendations", RFC 3305,
August 2002.
[RFC3616] Bellifemine, F., Constantinescu, I., and S. Willmott, "A
Uniform Resource Name (URN) Namespace for Foundation for
Intelligent Physical Agents (FIPA)", RFC 3616, September
2003.
[RFC3622] Mealling, M., "A Uniform Resource Name (URN) Namespace
for the Liberty Alliance Project", RFC 3622, February
2004.
[W3C/IETF] URI Planning Interest Group, W3C/IETF September 2001,
<http://www.w3.org/TR/2001/NOTE-uri-clarification-
20010921/>http://www.w3.org/TR/2001/NOTE-uri-
clarification-20010921/.
[RFC2141] Moats, R., "URN Syntax", RFC 2141, May 1997.
[RFC4234] Crocker, D., Ed. and P. Overell, "Augmented BNF for
Syntax Specifications: ABNF", RFC 4234, October 2005.
Author's Address
Jurijs Kornijenko
ABC software LTD
Software Architect
Tallinas - 51
Riga, LV-1012
Phone: +371 7082635
EMail: j.kornienko@abcsoftware.lv
Full Copyright Statement
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2006).
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Acknowledgement
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AI ELI5
On this page
§1What the IVIS URN Namespace Does
RFC 4617 describes a Uniform Resource Name (URN) namespace for the IVIS, the Latvian National Government Integration Project. The IVIS creates and publishes many kinds of information resources: e-services offered to citizens, technical specifications, working documents, and XML schemas used to exchange data between government agencies and with the public.
Each of these resources needs a unique, permanent identifier so it can be reliably named and retrieved over time. The RFC defines how to construct URN identifiers that fit within the standard URN framework (defined in RFC 3406) and follow the general URN syntax rules (defined in RFC 2141).
The Latvian government has lots of documents and services. They needed a system like library card numbers that would let people always find the right one.
§2How IVIS URN Identifiers Are Built
An IVIS URN follows a simple hierarchical structure: urn:IVIS:<subsystem-id>:<resource-id>. The namespace identifier (NID) is always IVIS. The namespace-specific string (NSS) has two parts separated by a colon.
The first part is the subsystem ID, a number that identifies which government agency or division created or owns the resource. The second part is the resource ID, a unique identifier assigned by that subsystem for the resource within itself. Resource IDs can contain uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters like parentheses, plus signs, hyphens, periods, equals signs, at signs, semicolons, dollar signs, underscores, exclamation marks and asterisks. The entire URN is case-insensitive.
Two example URNs are provided: urn:IVIS:000000:DOC-METADATA and urn:IVIS:000000:NDR1021365.
The name has two numbers: first, which government office has it, then the office's own number for that thing. Like 'Government-Health:12345'.
§3Uniqueness and Resolution
The IVIS guarantees that every URN it assigns is unique and is never reused. The IVIS URN framework says each subsystem can assign unique identifiers within itself, and the IVIS database service can validate that a subsystem ID exists and is legitimate. The subsystem responsible for assigning a resource ID is responsible for validating that ID.
For each resource that has been assigned an IVIS URN, the holder of the subsystem name must operate or delegate resolution servers that can resolve that URN to the actual resource. This means when someone has an IVIS URN, they can use a resolver to find where the resource is stored and how to access it.
Nobody gets the same number twice, so each thing stays unique forever. If you have an IVIS name, you can ask a server to find it for you.
§4Why a URN Namespace Was Needed
The Latvian government wanted a solution that would guarantee information resource uniqueness, making it possible to find and retrieve a resource anytime. The URN namespace also provides readability and understandability: because the identifier is split into subsystem and resource parts, people can understand which part of government created a resource. Finally, the namespace structure provides a way to resolve resources: one of the URN parts identifies the place where the resource can be found.
Many different parties across government agencies are involved in publishing e-services and documents. By using IVIS URNs, all government authorities can use a single, consistent naming scheme instead of each maintaining separate, incompatible identification systems for their resources.
Government offices needed a single naming system so everyone could find documents made by anyone. If each office used its own numbers, people would get confused.
§5Status
RFC 4617 is Informational. It registers the IVIS URN namespace in the IANA registry but does not define a protocol or Internet standard. The document was submitted by ABC software LTD on behalf of The Secretariat of the Special Assignments Minister for Electronic Government Affairs in Latvia.
This is an informational document that just explains the system. It's not a protocol that the whole internet has to follow.