Re: [Handle-info] Handle System and PURL

[Larry Lannom <llannom@cnri.reston.va.us>]

Hi,

You will find many different opinions on this and the debate goes  
back years. Simplifying it a bit, I would say that the Handle System  
is a heavier weight solution that offers more capability over time  
but requires some added effort. An short analysis that has been  
frequently quoted over the course of the debate can be found here:

http://web.mit.edu/handle/www/purl-eval.html

In both cases the item identifier can be generated by the user, if by  
user you mean the person who is responsible for the identifier. Both  
assume that id persistence over time depends on organizational  
commitment, i.e., someone will be responsible to keep things working.  
You may want to look at DOI, which is an implementation of the Handle  
System with a built-in organizational back-up component - its a  
consortial arrangement such that if some organization decides to stop  
maintaining its identifiers, the consortium adopts them - no orphans.

Beyond the charge for a domain name, which you may already be paying,  
there are no fees associated with PURLs. There is a small charge to  
support the root of the Handle System. PURL doesn't have a root  
outside of DNS - as you'll see in the reference above, a big  
difference is that the Handle System can be run completely  
independently of DNS. So in that sense it is a much different system,  
much less a tool for managing things in the current web environment  
and much more a fundamental approach to persistent identification of  
digital objects in a networked environment.

I'm sure others can offer opinions. You may want to ask someone who  
uses PURL. There may or may not be any PURL users reading this list.

Larry


On Sep 22, 2007, at 12:43 PM, Carlos Narváez wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Can someone please advice me on the pros and cons between Handle
> System and PURL dealing with relocated items, and if the item
> identifier can be generated by the user.
>
> Thanks.
>
> --
> Carlos Narváez
> http://www.juegopixel.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Handle-Info mailing list
> Handle-Info@cnri.reston.va.us
> http://www.handle.net/mailman/listinfo/handle-info




=========================================
Larry Lannom
Director of Information Management Technology
Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI)
Suite 100, 1895 Preston White Dr, Reston, VA 20191

email:  llannom@cnri.reston.va.us
web: www.cnri.reston.va.us
tel:  703 620 8990


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