*This page is out-of-date!!*
-- RicardoPereira - 02/Mar/2006
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---++ GUID Requirements

The requirements for the GUID framework can be divided into two categories:
   1.  Generic infrastructure that supports assignment and resolution of identifiers for any domain.
   2.  Domain specific requirements for each domain, such as taxonomic names, concepts, specimens, collections.

In this page we present what the group believes are requirements for a GUID system supporting biodiversity informatics.

Domain specific requirements pages: 
   * [[GUIDRequirementsTaxonomy][Taxonomic names and concepts]]
   * [[GUIDRequirementsSpecimens][Collections and specimens]]
   * Other domains to be addressed (add yours here)


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---+++ General Requirements

---+++++ R1. GUID must be persistent

The link between the identifier and the entity it identifies must be maintained indefinitely, regardless of changes in the entity location or ownership.

---+++++ R2. GUID must be actionable

The identifier must take the user to entity that it identifies, i.e., the user must be able retrieve data and metadata about an entity using its identifier.

---+++++ R3. GUID must be globally unique

A GUID resolves to a single entity (abstract or concrete) and is unique in the context of the system.

---+++++ R4. GUID identity digital objects

GUIDs identify digital representations of real world object, not the real objects themselves. For example, a GUID can represent a specimen catalog entry in a collection database, but not the physical entity.

---+++++ R5. GUID metadata infrastructure must be extensible

---+++++ R6. Intellectual Property Rights are defined in the metadata


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---++++ Requirements Under Discussion

---+++++ Data (and metadata?) are persistent