HTTP-Based Implementation Strategies for the FAIR Digital Object Framework Identifier Resolution

Abstract

Directly or indirectly, the FAIR principles define a number of requirements for the data and services ecosystem. Among them, there are requirements for the identifiers of digital objects, including the separation between metadata and the objects they describe, the need for identifier to be globally unique and persistent and that the metadata record includes the identifier of the object they describe. In order to pursue an increased level of automation, the FAIR Digital Object Framework defines a predictable identifier resolution behaviour that not only support the access to the target object but also allows the client application to request the reference to a minimal metadata record named Identifier Record containing basic information such as the object's location, its type and reference to its metadata records. In this paper we report and comment an experiment of implementing these identifier resolution behaviours using different approaches.