As per Relevance of the word resolution, we have this rfc below:
Network Working Group S.
Request for Comments: 3044 ISSN International
Category: Informational January 2001
Using The ISSN (International Serial Standard Number)
URN (Uniform Resource Names) within an ISSN-URN
Status of this
This memo provides information for the Internet community. It
not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of
memo is unlimited
Copyright
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2001). All Rights Reserved
This document presents how the ISSN - International Standard
Number - which is a persistent number for unique identification
serials widely recognised and used in the bibliographic world, can
supported within the Uniform Resource Name (URN) framework as
specific URN namespace identifier
An ISSN URN resolution system using the ISSN identifier as
resource Name within an ISN URN Namespace has been developed by
ISSN International Centre (ISSN-IC) and is operating as
demonstrator to evaluate all requirements to deploy it in
operational environment
This proceeds from concepts and proposals developed in several
RFCs emphasising the way to implement and to use "recognised
existing numbering system within the URN framework (RFC 2248,
2141, RFC 2611).
Rozenfeld Informational [Page 1]
RFC 3044 ISSN as URN within an ISSN-URN Namespace January 2001
Table of
1. Introduction .................................................. 2
2. The ISSN system ............................................... 3
2.1 The ISSN code .............................................. 3
2.2 Construction of ISSN ...................................... 3
2.3 The ISSN Bibliographic record .............................. 4
2.4 The ISSN Network ........................................... 4
2.5 The ISSN Register .......................................... 5
3. The ISSN and URN .............................................. 5
3.1 compatibility .............................................. 5
3.2 identification and access .................................. 7
4 Resolution .................................................... 7
4.1 Overview of the ISSN URN Resolution system ................. 8
4.2 Global Resolution .......................................... 9
5. Registration of an ISSN URN Namespace ......................... 10
6. Security Considersations ...................................... 13
7. References .................................................... 13
8. Contact information and useful links .......................... 14
9. Full Copyright Statement ...................................... 15
1.
The ISSN International Centre has undertaken in 1999-2000 an
implementation taking advantage of the functional
between the ISSN and the URN
The present implementation at the ISSN-IC Centre based on IETF
on URN includes a centralised resolution system which allows
access to electronic resources by using the ISSN identifiers
Uniform Resource Names within an ISSN URN Namespace
It demonstrates that the URN can integrate existing identifiers
well established identification schemes used by the
community
Nevertheless, to deploy this demonstrator into a wider
system a responsible body or infrastructure is needed to
namespaces and manage an RDS/NAPTR global resolution framework.
is intended here that serials refer to all forms of serials
in printed form as well as in form of electronic resources.
this document contains a Registration form for an ISSN URN Namespace
this form also includes some paragraphs already present in
parts of this document
All figures and descriptions are dated 13 July 2000.
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RFC 3044 ISSN as URN within an ISSN-URN Namespace January 2001
2. The ISSN
The ISSN system results from a joint UNESCO and ICSU-AB working
on bibliographic descriptions set up in 1967 in order to establish
world registry of serial titles currently issued, stored or archived
Today, the ISSN system which is defined by an International
(ISO 3297), relies on two main data elements
The International Standard Serial Number which is a unique
for a specific serial publication
The key-title, which is a unique name assigned to a serial, and
inseparably linked with its ISSN
And on a well established framework: the ISSN International network
2.1 The ISSN
The ISSN - International Standard Serials Number is defined in
ISO standard 3297:1998 as a code for the unique identification
serials
This standard states that
Each ISSN is a unique identifier for a specific serial publication
ISSN are applicable to the entire population of serials,
past, present or to be published in the foreseeable future,
the medium of publication
Serials include periodicals, newspapers, annuals (such as reports
yearbooks, directories, etc.), and the journals, series, memoirs
proceedings, transactions, etc., of societies
Today, ISSN are assigned to data bases and electronic
resources. Further broadening of the scope to continuing
is under discussion
2.2 Construction of
The ISO 3297 standard states that
An ISSN consists of eight digits in arabic numerals 0 to 9,
the last digit which is a check digit and can be sometimes an X.
ISSN has no internal meaningful elements to identify language
country, publisher [or medium.]
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RFC 3044 ISSN as URN within an ISSN-URN Namespace January 2001
The check digit is always located in the extreme right position
is calculated on a modulus 11 basis with weights 8 to 2, using X
lieu of 10 where 10 would occur as a check digit
Each ISSN is inseparably linked a "the key title". The Key title
a form of the title which is constructed in order to avoid
so that each key title is unique in the ISSN Data base also named
ISSN Register. ISSN and key titles are equivalent, they
identify without ambiguity a same serial
When printed or displayed the ISSN is preceded by the ISSN prefix
a space, and shall appear as two groups of four digits separated by
hyphen
examples ISSN 0000-0019 ISSN 1560-1560
ISSN are constructed and distributed by the ISSN International
to National Centres for assignment
2.3 The ISSN Bibliographic
It contains in addition to the ISSN and key-title some
bibliographic data elements enabling the unambiguous and
identification of a serial
One characteristic of an ISSN bibliographic record is that
contains other ISSN in linking fields in order to
relationships between the given serial and a set of other
serials already identified
To recognise and to allow access to serial resources in digital form
the ISSN format has included additional data elements
- A medium code which indicates the medium of the given
- A linking field to express relations between the different
of "equivalent" serials on different media (from printed
to online as well as from online to printed
- The location of an electronic resource: the URLs of a
resource
2.4 The ISSN
It is the operational structure, main functions of which are
- collecting the material which needs to be
- assigning the ISSN and the key title to a serial for
- creating and editing bibliographic records in ISSN
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RFC 3044 ISSN as URN within an ISSN-URN Namespace January 2001
- making available the bibliographic
It consists of
- National Centres - 69 centres - responsible for the
of serials published in their respective countries
Records created by National Centres are transmitted to the ISSN-
for validation and update of the ISSN Register
- The International Centre which co-ordinates the network and
as a National Centre for serials published by
institutions and by countries with no National Centre
It collects and checks all bibliographic records to update in
consistent way the ISSN Register
It maintains the ISSN Register and makes it available
2.5 The ISSN
It is a data base controlled and maintained by the ISSN-IC.
consists in 970 000 bibliographic records stored in ISSN-MARC
(a subset of USMARC format ) which are available on different
(CD-ROM, DAT, and on the Internet).
3. THE ISSN AND
3.1 ISSN compliance with URN
The different specifications and requirements on URNs have
studied from the following documents
URN
(RFC 2141, May 1997 - R. Moats
Using Existing Bibliographic Identifiers as Uniform Resource
(RFC 2288 February 1998 - C. Lynch, R. Daniel
Functional Requirements for Uniform Resource
(RFC 1737, December 1994 - K. Sollins, L. Masinter
URN Namespace Definition
(RFC 2611, June 1999 - L. Daigle, R. Iannella
A URN Namespace for IETF
(RFC 2648, August 1999 - R. Moats
Requirements for URNs' functional capabilities (from RFC 1737)
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RFC 3044 ISSN as URN within an ISSN-URN Namespace January 2001
Global scope: A URN is a name with global scope which does not
a location. It has the same meaning everywhere
- Applicable for ISSN. Accordingly to ISO standard 3297 there is
limitations for serial resource identification
Global uniqueness: The same URN will never be assigned to
different resources
- Applicable for ISSN. By definition an ISSN is assigned to one
only one serial resource. Once assigned, an ISSN is never re
assigned
Persistence: The lifetime of a URN is permanent
- Applicable for ISSN. All ISSN are registered in the ISSN
data base which covers current serial resources as well as ceased
Scalability: URNs can be assigned to any resource that
conceivably be available on the network, for hundreds of years
- Applicable for ISSN. More than 98500000 ISSN have yet
assigned
Legacy support: The scheme must permit the support of existing
naming systems
- Applicable for ISSN. By definition the ISSN system is a
identification system for serial resources
Independence: It is solely the responsibility of a name
authority to determine the conditions under which it will issue
name
- Applicable for ISSN. By definition of the ISSN system
Resolution: For URNs that have corresponding URLs, there must be
feasible mechanism to translate a URN to a URL
- Applicable for ISSN. The ISSN-IC has developed an ISSN
resolver which translates one given ISSN into one or several URLs
In addition to these basic requirements on the functional elements
the URNs, there are other requirements for how they are encoded in
string
Single encoding, Simple comparison, Simple human transcribability
Transport friendliness, Machine consumption, Text recognition
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RFC 3044 ISSN as URN within an ISSN-URN Namespace January 2001
- Applicable to ISSN. As defined in the ISO standard the ISSN is
very simple and short character string which fully responds
those requirements
Considering the aim of the ISSN, its framework and new
for electronic serial resources identification, we can state that
ISSN fulfills all expressed URN requirements
Syntax
Considering syntax requirements (RFC2141) for an URN namespace
the URN syntax, an ISSN based URN namespace is compliant with
requirements since it does not use any reserved characters
In RFC 2288 (4.2 Encoding Considerations and Lexical Equivalence)
is stated that
There is no problem representing ISSN in the namespace -
string of URNs since all characters valid in the ISSN are valid
the namespace-specific URN string, and %-encoding is never required
Example: urn:ISSN:1046-8188
Supplementary comparison rules are also appropriate for the
namespace, hyphens should be dropped prior to comparison
occurrences of 'x' normalised to uppercase
3.2 Identification and
The role of an URN is also to provide safe access to
characteristics of a resource and to the resource itself. One
view an ISSN bibliographic record as a metadata since it
different data information on the resource which is to be identified
described, located and/or accessed
The ISSN is widely used as an identification number for
resources. Since the ISSN Network provides the URLs corresponding
the identified resources the ISSN is now also a tool for the
and access to resources on the Internet. This is achieved by an
URN resolution system
4.
The different specifications and requirements on URN resolution
been studied from the following documents
URI Resolution Services Necessary for URN
(RFC 2483, January 1999 - M. Mealling
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RFC 3044 ISSN as URN within an ISSN-URN Namespace January 2001
Resolution of Uniform Resource Identifiers using the Domain
(RFC 2168 June 1997 - R. Daniel, M. Mealling )
Architectural Principles of Uniform Resource Name
(RFC 2276, January 1998 - K. Sollins )
4.1. Overview of the ISSN URN Resolution
Using ISSN as Uniform Resource Name implies that some
mechanism is provided to ensure a reliable access to
resources when using Internet tools like a standard Web browser
From the technical point of view this has led to develop within
system the different pieces of software and services required
fulfill such aim
The resolution software be able to translate a given ISSN-URN
electronic locations
- location of the bibliographic description or
- location of the periodical itself (if it is in electronic form).
These electronic locations are expressed in form of URLs for
persistence is not ensured. As a consequence the URLs which
stored for resolution have to be checked and updated to
relevant mapping with the corresponding URNs
The URLs which are stored in the database must be checked
for accuracy and if changes occur they have to be reported in
ISSN-URN resolver database
The browser has to include the URN facility which allows to
the location of a given resource in form of an ISSN, this means
if the standard browsers do not include the URN option a "plug-in"
to be developed
Thus, four types of developments have been considered
Design and implementation of a resolver
- In a first step a global centralised resolution system has
developed and implemented on one resolution server located at
ISSN International Centre
It ensures effective mapping between a given ISSN and one or
URL(s) which implies that "multiple resolution" is performed
design and implementation of an ISSN-URL mapping file
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RFC 3044 ISSN as URN within an ISSN-URN Namespace January 2001
- Today, the principal method to map ISSN with URLs is to
them from ISSN registered records and to store them in a
file structured specially for the resolution process. Besides
other ways to get URLs for bibliographic resources identified
ISSN are tested. Management data as well as attributes are
to URLs in order to recognise objects handled by the resolver
Design and implementation of an URL checker
- In order to control the persistence and the accessibility
ISSN-URN a robot called the "URL Watcher" has been written
control the status of all URLs stored in the ISSN-URL
file. Broken or redirected URLs are detected and stored to
efficient resolution
Design and implementation of a browser plug-in
- The existing browsers do not include today the URN "protocol
functionality. One expect to have it implemented in a
future. A plug-in for Netscape communicator and MS-Explorer
been developed and is available
This enables to enter directly the ISSN preceded by the
"urn:ISSN:" in the browsers address box instead of typing the URL
as result to get displayed the bibliographic record or/and the
resource. Clicking on an ISSN on an HTML page gives the same result
example: urn:ISSN:1560-1560
4.2 Global
Since the ISSN system is not addressing a local environment (like
given Library) and is expected to be linked to other URNs (or
identification services) for identification of serial
resources having other levels of granularity, we have to consider
evolution of the present resolution implementation to a
resolution system
Resolution and especially global resolution is considered as a
issue for becoming an ISSN URN Namespace
This is expressed in the following statement (from RFC 2611, "
Namespace Definition Mechanisms"):
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RFC 3044 ISSN as URN within an ISSN-URN Namespace January 2001
Process for identifier resolution
If a namespace is intended to be accessible for global resolution
it must be registered in an RDS (Resolution Discovery System,
[RFC2276]) such as NAPTR. Resolution then proceeds according
standard URI resolution processes, and the mechanisms of the RDS
Our present views and evaluations to be integrated in such RDS
for global resolution for an ISSN URN Namespace are mainly based
concepts and proposals from the following RFCs
RFC 2276 for RDS architecture for global resolution
RFC 2168 for the NAPTR DNS extension
From a technical point of view our present resolution system
flexible enough to take place in a RDS/NAPTR resolution framework
5. Namespace
Namespace ID
Registration Information
Version 1
Date: 2000-08-28
Declared registrant of the namespace
Name: S. ROZENFELD (Mr.)
E-mail: rozenfeld@issn.
Affiliation: ISSN International
Address: 20, rue
75002
Declaration of syntactic structure
In accordance with the ISO standard 3297 - Information
documentation International Standard Serial Number(ISSN)-(1998)
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RFC 3044 ISSN as URN within an ISSN-URN Namespace January 2001
The ISSN consists of eight digits in Arabic numerals 0 to 9,
the last digit which is a check digit and can sometimes be an X.
ISSN has no internal meaningful elements to identify language
country, publisher
The check digit is always located in the extreme right position
is calculated on a modulus 11 basis with weights 8 to 2, using X
lieu of 10 where 10 would occur as a check digit
Each ISSN is inseparably linked to the serials title "the key title
which is a constructed form of the title in order to avoid
so that each key title is unique within the ISSN Data base. ISSN
key titles are equivalent, they both identify without ambiguity
same serial
When printed or displayed the ISSN is preceded by the ISSN prefix
a space, and shall appear as two groups of four digits separated by
Therefore the ISSN structure is as follows
NNNN-
where N is a Digit character [0..9]
C is either a Digit character or letter "X" [0..9,X
C is the check
An ISSN URN Namespace structure is conformant to URN
requirements (RFC 2141).
examples urn:ISSN:0259-000
urn:ISSN:1560-1560
Relevant ancillary documentation
ISO 3279 Information and documentation -
Standard Serial Number (ISSN
The ISSN: an identifier for serials in digital form
Compatibility with the URN framework
(ISSN International Centre - January 1999)
The ISSN-URN project
(ISSN International Centre - October 1999)
Identifier uniqueness considerations
Uniqueness is guaranteed by ISSN definition
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RFC 3044 ISSN as URN within an ISSN-URN Namespace January 2001
As defined in the ISO 3279 each ISSN is a "unique" identifier
a specific serial publication
A different ISSN is assigned to each publication issued
different media
An ISSN is never re-assigned
Identifier persistence considerations
Persistence of ISSN is guaranteed by the maintenance and update
the ISSN Register by the ISSN Centres
Even records for "ceased" publications still remain in the
database, and links between serials belonging to a same "family
are expressed with related ISSN within the records. This
mechanism extends the current Identifier persistence concept
Process of identifier assignment
The ISSN network consisting in 68 National Centres and
International Centre
- collects the material to be
- checks for identification all types of serials
electronic serial resources
- assigns an ISSN to each different periodical
- establish the bibliographic record
- makes available the data
The data consisting in bibliographic records is centralised at
ISSN International Centre for global uniqueness checking
A given ISSN refers to one and only one form of the title,
key-title which is a key element of the bibliographic record
well as the ISSN
Today, the ISSN database contains more than 950 000
records and a special attention is given to electronic
resources and related metadata, and the way to access them
Process for identifier resolution
As a first step the ISSN International Centre has developed
centralised ISSN-URN resolver with multiple
capabilities which runs as a demonstrator
In a second step we expect the ISSN Namespace to be accessible
global resolution and to provide a set of resolution
compliant with the RDS/NAPTR proposals
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RFC 3044 ISSN as URN within an ISSN-URN Namespace January 2001
Rules for Lexical Equivalence
The check digit if 'X' is case-sensitive
Thus, if "x" is found it must be translated in upper case
The hyphen between the 4th and the 5th digit can be
Conformance with URN Syntax
There are no characters reserved
Security
Because this namespace defines no additional reserved characters
does not add any security consideration
Validation mechanism
None specified today
Scope
Global
6. Security
Security issues are discussed in section 5.
7.
[1] ISO 3279 Information and documentation - International
Serial Number (ISSN
[2] The ISDS Manual - ISSN International Centre (Paris, 1983) (
revision
[3] Moats, R., "URN Syntax", RFC 2141, May 1997.
[4] Sollins, K. and L. Masinter, "Functional Requirements for
Resource Names", RFC 1737, December 1994.
[5] Lynch, C., Preston, C. and R. Daniel, "Using
Bibliographic Identifiers as Uniform Resource Names", RFC 2288,
February 1998.
[6] Daniel, R. and M. Mealling, "Resolution of Uniform
Identifiers using the Domain Name System", RFC 2168, June 1997.
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RFC 3044 ISSN as URN within an ISSN-URN Namespace January 2001
[7] Sollins, D., "Architectural Principles of Uniform Resource
Resolution", RFC 2276, January 1998.
8. Contact Information and useful
Slawek Rozenfeld (Mr.)
Head, Computer
ISSN International
20, rue
750002
EMail: rozenfeld@issn.
issnic@issn.
ISSN Web site http://www.issn.
ISSN-URN links http://www.issn.org/urn
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9. Full Copyright
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2001). All Rights Reserved
This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished
others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain
or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied,
and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of
kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph
included on all such copies and derivative works. However,
document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by
the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or
Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose
developing Internet standards in which case the procedures
copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must
followed, or as required to translate it into languages other
English
The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not
revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns
This document and the information contained herein is provided on
"AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET
TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE
HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by
Internet Society
Rozenfeld Informational [Page 15]
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