Context-Based Identifier Mapping for Cross-System Uniqueness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing identifier systems lack clarity in ensuring uniqueness across different systems and applications, leading to potential ambiguity when identifiers are shared or exchanged between independent businesses or systems.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves defining identification contexts using both structural and issuing identification schemes, which include a structural identification context that specifies dependencies and an issuing identification context that accounts for the system or agency issuing the identifier, ensuring global uniqueness through a combination of supplementary components like schemeID, schemeVersionID, and schemeAgencyID.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If identifiers are shared between independent systems, then interoperability is improved, but ambiguity in identifier uniqueness increases
Solution Approach 1:
The identifier is segmented into multiple components: a system identifier (identifying the issuing system) and an object identifier (identifying the object within that system). This segmentation allows identifiers to be shared across systems while maintaining uniqueness through the combination of system context and object context, resolving the contradiction between interoperability and uniqueness.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution adds a new dimension to identifier identification by introducing the system identifier as an additional layer. Instead of relying solely on the object identifier, the system identifier provides an extra dimension of context that ensures global uniqueness while enabling cross-system interoperability.
2Device complexity
If a single identification scheme is used, then simplicity is improved, but ability to handle multiple identification contexts is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The identification scheme is designed to be universal by handling multiple identification contexts through a single unified structure. The scheme can accommodate different systems and object types by combining system identifiers with object identifiers, providing multi-functionality without requiring separate schemes for each context.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution merges different identification contexts into a single unified identifier structure. By combining the system identifier and object identifier into one composite identifier, the system can handle multiple identification contexts simultaneously while maintaining a simple, unified scheme structure.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and apparatus, including computer program products, providing unique identifiers for data-bearing digital objects. Scheme-based definition of uniqueness contexts and scheme-based mappings between identifiers are described. A method of one aspect includes generating a first object identifier for a first object of a first object type on a first system, the first object identifier having an identification context. The identification context includes a first system identifier or one or more second object identifiers of one or more respective second objects. The method further includes providing the first object identifier with the identification context to identify the first object uniquely. A method of another aspect includes defining an equivalence mapping between first identifiers with respective first identification context values and second identifiers with respective second identification context values; and using the equivalence mapping to map an identifier for one object to an identifier for another semantically equivalent object.