Globally Unique Identifiers Workshop GUID1

1
Globally Unique Identifiers Workshop (GUID-1)

• International Working Group on Taxonomic
  Databases - TDWG
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility - GBIF
• National Evolutionary Synthesis Center - NESCent
• February 1-3, 2006
• Durham, North Carolina, USA

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GUID Definition

• GUID system provides mechanisms to identify
  and access data objects

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GUID Main Characteristics

• It has identifiers
• Character strings associated with data objects
• Examples GBIF and doi10.1000/182
• An identifier is persistent
• it is permanently associated with the data
  object
• An identifier is globally unique
• It identifies a single data object uniquely
  within the system
• Identifiers are actionable
• Identifiers take to the data object.
• In other words, objects are locatable.
• GUID system provides metadata about data
  objects.

4
GUID Scope

• GUID identifiers
• Are associated with data objects
• Identifiers are persistent
• Identifiers are globally unique
• Identifiers are actionable
• Take you to data and metadata

• And thats it!!
• Outside of scope of GUID System
• Establishing relationships between objects.
• Query on properties other than ids
• Indexing services and data warehouses
• Discovery and harvest of data and metadata
• Etc.

5
GUID

• Outside scope of GUID system
• Relationships between objects
• Query on other properties
• Indexing services and warehouses
• Discovery and harvest of data and metadata,
  etc

• Outside of scope
• But still very important!
• Tackled by other groups
• ABCD, DarwinCore, NCD, SDD, TCS, TAG
• This group (and TAG) will provide
  guidelines for others to follow